CHAT show host Simon Dee, one of the biggest stars of 1960s TV, has died of cancer aged 74.

Dee, who made his home in Winchester for the past 15 year, pioneered the chat show, compered Miss World, and appeared on Juke Box Jury and Top of the Pops.

During the Sixties the trailblazing DJ, who helped launch pirate Radio Caroline in 1964, was the hottest ticket in town.

He moved to BBC radio and in 1967 was offered Dee Time, a twice-weekly TV chat show. By the end of the first month it had 12 million viewers.

Sammy Davis Jr, Lee Marvin, Bob Hope, Charlton Heston, John Lennon were among the interviewees.

Dee, whose real name is Nicholas Henty-Dodd, commanded a reported £100,000 TV contract. But within a few short years he couldn’t pay his rates, and later ‘signed on’ at Fulham labour exchange — with the tabloid press there to record it.

He quickly disappeared from public view, his star waning as swiftly as it had risen.

Dee broke his public silence for the first time in 20 years in an interview with the Hampshire Chronicle in June.

Recalling his heyday, when he was mobbed on the streets, he said: “I had at last found my vocation. Now I was scoring – people liked me. It was fame, and it lifted me up to a new level.

“Sadly, honesty and intelligence have vanished from national TV. Truth, interesting stimulating conversation, and, above all, real ‘showbusiness’ has been replaced by juvenile ‘reality’ shows and endless audition programmes. We need to remember what original entertainers and entertainment is all about.

“I’ve no regrets. If you change your past, you change your present. Bitterness destroys, but laughter lifts you, it’s all been enlightening, but as a girlfriend said the other day, ‘you’ve still got your hair!’”

Dee lived in Hyde, Winchester, for the past 15 years, after moving there with his-then wife Judith and fourth child and third son, George.

He said: “It’s a pleasant place to live. But the council needs a kick up the backside about the state of the pavements. And rather too many beggars, much as I feel sympathy with them.”

His daughter Domino Henty-Dodd said he had bone cancer.

"He was dearly loved by his family," he said.

Dee was being treated at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester. In recent weeks, friends and family had been rallying round with daily visits.