Wife of Worthing’s Derek Jameson pays tribute to Fleet Street legend

HAVING edited four national papers including the Daily Express, Daily Star and News of the World, Derek Jameson has quite rightly been regarded as a true legend of Fleet Street.

The Worthing-based 82 year-old’s death from a heart attack earlier this week has seen a flood of tributes being paid from friends, family and senior national media figures.

Many offered praise of his bold decisions in running a range of controversial stories during his newspaper career, which saw him mix within celebrity and government circles.

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He went on to become one of the BBC’s strongest assets on the airwaves with his breakfast show, which attracted an audience of around 10 million listeners during the 1980s.

Speaking to the Herald, his wife Ellen, who has herself enjoyed a rewarding career in national journalism, including fronting a radio show with her late husband, said he would be “much missed by many people.”

“Derek really did do some amazing things with his career and he was incredibly well loved.

“Even many years after he’d been on TV, people would still come up to him and say how much they missed his programme and missed him on the radio,” said Ellen, who lives in Broadwater.

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She added that although Derek was originally from the East End of London, he became extremely fond of their adopted home in Worthing.

According to Mrs Jameson, despite his relatively brash public image on screen, he was a very caring man who enjoyed giving something back to the community.

His funeral will be in Worthing later this month.

- For the full story, see the next edition of the Herald (September 20)