Really sad this, shocked by the news. My thoughts go to his family.
As said earlier, Neil ashton must have known how bad it was when he referred to Brian on the first SS of the new season - on reflection he has been presenting in a low key way since he took over.
Although I never read the daily star, I really looked forward to his appearances on 5 live on the pre-international night show, and his Hold the Back Page show from years back was excellent.
Always stood up re taggarts's antics too, unlike many other journo's.
RIP