The much-loved presenter was the frontman on the BBC’s regional news programme Look North for three decades, before moving to Tyne Tees in 1996 to front up its North East Tonight programme.

• Tributes to the North-East's legend of the living room

He was known for his jokes and his easy-going manner, which made him an icon of regional television, leading to him being given an MBE for services to broadcasting, and a lifetime achievement award by the Royal Television Society.

Mr Neville, who grew up in Willington Quay, North Tyneside, died peacefully at home, his family said.

Before going into broadcasting he worked briefly at the Daily Mail in Newcastle, and then spent two years in Cyprus on National Service.

• When you watched Mike you knew you were in safe hands

He spent time working at Newcastle’s Playhouse, then was recruited as a continuity announcer for Tyne Tees Television, which started life in 1959.

Within two years, he was reading the news at the BBC and went on to front Look North for 32 years.

There he carved a name for himself as the stalwart of North-East broadcasting, beamed into homes across the region every night and known for his sparkling wit and theatrical sense of fun.

In 1996, after half a lifetime at the BBC, he returned to Tyne Tees, to a programme which changed its name especially for him - North East Tonight with Mike Neville.

By 2006, after a bout of ill health and a major operation, he retired from our screens.

Jeff Brown, of BBC Look North, said: “If you lived in the North-East of England at any time from the 1960s to the turn of the new millennium and owned a television set, you’d have known Mike Neville.

“In this part of the world he was simply the godfather of regional TV.
“Mike became a local legend with his easy-going style and his terrific sense of humour. Millions of viewers gladly welcomed him into their homes from Monday to Friday nights.

“An actor in his early days, he had the happy gift of being able to cope with any situation. Even in retirement he remained a popular figure with a public that loved him for what he was - a TV star but always one of their own.”

When he received his lifetime achievement award Mr Neville was singled out by then-Prime Minister, and Sedgefield MP  Tony Blair as an “exceptional journalist” and a “respected and well loved figure in the North-East”.

Tributes poured in on Twitter last night from former colleagues and friends.