Who is Des O'Connor?
Desmond Bernard O'Connor (12 January 1932 – 14 November 2020) was an English comedian, singer and television presenter. He was a long-time TV chat-show host, beginning with The Des O'Connor Show in 1963, which ran for ten years. He also presented several UK television game shows, including Take Your Pick! from 1992 to 1999, and the long-running Channel 4 game show Countdown for two years between 2007 and 2008. O'Connor recorded 36 albums and had four top-ten UK singles, including a number-one hit with "I Pretend", with global sales of more than sixteen million records. Well known for his friendship with comedians Morecambe and Wise, his singing ability was often light-heartedly mocked on their show, with O'Connor taking part in the sketches.