Image caption Tidmarsh presented Outlook for more than 30 years

Tributes have been paid to the former BBC World Service presenter John Tidmarsh who has died at the age of 90.

He presented the Outlook magazine programme on the BBC World Service for more than three decades.

The programme offered world news, current affairs, features and celebrity interviews with the likes of Audrey Hepburn and Julie Andrews.

Jamie Angus, director of BBC World Service said he was "for many... the voice of the World Service".

"His light hearted and perceptive style endeared him to millions around the world.," he added. "He will be much missed and our thoughts are with his family."

Tidmarsh is survived by his partner, Anne Lount, and two children, Patrick and Emma.

One of the broadcaster's best known and personal favourite moments happened when the actress Beryl Reid gave some advice on how to get rid of unwanted guests

"Lovely to see you but I'm terribly sorry, I can't invite you in. I'm afraid you've caught me in bed with someone I hardly know," she joked.

He was born in Camberwell, south London and became a junior reporter at the age of 16 on the Western Daily Press in Bristol.

After his national service with the RAF, he joined the BBC Newsroom and covered global events like the Suez Canal dispute, Algeria's independence day and the Cuban missile crisis.

In 1965, he witnessed the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery in the US, led by Martin Luther King. A year later, he landed the job presenting Outlook.

In 1997, the same year he signed off from regular presenting, he was made an OBE for services to broadcasting.