logo
Donald Macdonald dies as tributes paid to popular kids TV presenter

Donald Macdonald dies as tributes paid to popular kids TV presenter

Daily Record01-07-2025
Famed for hosting children's show Play School, the "showbiz great" lost his short battle with cancer on Monday.
Veteran TV presenter Donald Macdonald has died aged 86.
Famed for hosting children's show Play School, the "showbiz great" lost his short battle with cancer on Monday.
As reported by the Mirror, his career spanned more than 40 years and saw him star in a number of stage shows - including John McKellar's A Cup of Tea, a Bex and a Good Lie Down - as well as TV dramas he also wrote.
He is best remembered, however, for entertaining families on iconic BBC show Play School, which Donald presented from 1966 to 1969 alongside other famous faces, such as Trisha Goddard.
Journalist Craig Bennett shared on his social media yesterday: "One of our showbiz greats left us at 12:45am today.
"Donald Macdonald was a stalwart of stage and screen, who'd written smash-hit plays like Caravan, dazzled on London's West End, and delighted millions over the decades with his starring turns on TV series like Play School where he was a presenter from 1966 to 1969."
Bennett, who is based in Australia where Donald was born, added: "He guested on shows from Certain Women, The Box, Cop Shop and Skyways, to the raunchy Alvin Purple, and in movies like Superman Returns. Donald was a dapper delight and always great company."
Donald enjoyed early success as a stage actor in Australia before moving to the UK in the mid-1960s to broaden his career. He was able to write more theatre work, including Caravan, a comedic play about three couples on a hapless holiday together. He continued to act, and film credits included Superman Returns and Kenny.
However, a short journey with cancer put pay to acting and presenting in recent years, and Donald died in Australia on Monday. The performer spent time with his cousins Paula Duncan and Amelia Barrett during his last days.
Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community!
Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.
You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team.
All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in!
If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like.
To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
Mr Bennett's social media post continued: "On Saturday we turned his hospital room into a party, laughs and smiles a-plenty, as Donald enjoyed some bubbly and lemon meringue pie. Blue was always his colour, even in a hospital gown! He gave his permission to post his last photo, saying 'what the heck!' Vale to a true gentleman."
Facebook users responded to the journalist's post, sharing their sadness at the showbiz star's passing. One fellow actor wrote: "Honoured to have appeared in two of his plays. The consummate gentleman. And, no one played a High Court Judge like Donald. RIP."
Another shared: "We were VERY LUCKY to meet Donald through you both, get to know him, and be entertained by his lovely demeanor, sharp wit and of course his writing skills. What a lovely, gentle man."
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Coronation Street star Jack P Shepherd's lavish wedding revealed as 'no expense spared'
Coronation Street star Jack P Shepherd's lavish wedding revealed as 'no expense spared'

Daily Mirror

time2 hours ago

  • Daily Mirror

Coronation Street star Jack P Shepherd's lavish wedding revealed as 'no expense spared'

Coronation Street actor Jack P Shepherd's wedding plans have finally been revealed just before he prepares to say 'I do' to his fiancée Hanni Treweek in front of his soap co-stars Jack P Shepherd is ready to say 'I do' to his fiancée and has made sure no expense has been spared to make their day perfect. The Coronation Street actor, 37, is set to marry Hanni Treweek this weekend in a lavish ceremony. ‌ They met on the set of the soap and got engaged in June 2024 while on a Tanzania safari trip. While on Celebrity Big Brother earlier this year, Jack revealed his plans to marry Hanni this summer. ‌ He managed to keep most of the details under wraps as he previously told the Mirror: "The wedding is this year. We're very excited. It's all done. ‌ "It's all paid for. It should be a really good day actually. I love a wedding. Absolutely love a wedding. Weddings and funerals." Now, it has been revealed that Jack is set to tie the knot at Manchester Cathedral surrounded by his Corrie co-stars. "Jack and Hanni are having their big white wedding at Manchester Cathedral on Saturday," a source told The Sun. "They have gone all out to make sure it's their dream day and there has been no expensed spared." ‌ They added: "It's a very grand setting getting wed at the cathedral, and it will be packed with guests, including many of Jack's Corrie co-stars." Jack and Hanni will then reportedly entertain their guests at the five-star Lowry hotel for their after party. The actor has soaked up the wedding planning, yet he did reveal one part he would leave out. He didn't have a stag do and didn't want one. A few months ago he admitted: "No, I don't like the idea of going on a stag do where someone just takes the p*** out of you all weekend and you're the butt of every joke and you have to dress up like a f***ing baby.' ‌ Hanni did have a mini hen party, however, as she headed for lunch and cocktails at The Ivy with her pals. She sipped on a 'Bride' straw while her mates donned masks with Jack's face on. "The non hen party party, two weeks before the wedding," Hanni shared. "25 years of a special friendship with these beautiful girlies, how lucky are we. "I love you all so much, thank you for throwing me a non hen party party it was perfect. The next time I see you I'll be walking down the aisle." ‌ The bride-to-be has also made sure the couple are dancefloor ready for their big day as she revealed they have been taking dance classes. She shared a snap of the pair in a dance studio and teased: "Hungover but dancing through as Mrs Shepherd to be." Hanni and Jack have been dating since 2017 and they decided to go public a year later. During an appearance on Loose Women, the couple discussed their future plans, including marriage and children. Hanni said: "I think we fell quite quickly and from that we just clicked, and we were on the same page, and you do have those conversations but yeah I think we would like to... in the future."

Jack Osbourne says his dad Ozzy's final months were filmed for a BBC documentary
Jack Osbourne says his dad Ozzy's final months were filmed for a BBC documentary

Daily Mail​

time2 hours ago

  • Daily Mail​

Jack Osbourne says his dad Ozzy's final months were filmed for a BBC documentary

's final months were filmed for a BBC documentary, his son Jack has revealed. Osbourne made his remarks in today's Weekend magazine in an interview conducted before Ozzy's death at the age of 76 this week. Ozzy's youngest son, 39, told the Mail at the time of the interview that cameras were there filming Ozzy and his wife Sharon in their Buckinghamshire mansion. The series Home To Roost originally promised to follow the couple as they returned to their home in Buckinghamshire after 20 years of living in the US, but is now likely to be more of a tribute to the late rock star. He also confirmed that his father had finished an autobiography titled Last Rites, which is due out in the autumn. Jack also spoke excitedly about his work as co-producer on the much-anticipated biopic on his father. He promised there would be lots of drugs, groupies and mayhem in the dramatic retelling, but also Ozzy and Sharon's love story. He said: 'Right now it'll take place over the Sabbath era and early 1980s. We're definitely going for a more adult rating for the film. 'This is by no means going to be a fluff piece.' Oppenheimer's Oscar and Bafta-nominated Florence Pugh has been touted as a prospective Sharon with Hollywood funnyman Bill Hader as a possible Ozzy. Lee Hall, who wrote the Elton John biopic Rocketman, has submitted a draft script. 'Right now we're going through a rewrite with Craig Borten, who wrote [Matthew McConaughey-starring] Dallas Buyers Club,' Jack said. Five days before the interview with Jack, Ozzy had played a farewell concert in front of 40,000 at Birmingham's Villa Park and around 5 million watching on the live stream to belt out their classics such as Iron Man and Paranoid as he reunited with his band Black Sabbath for the first time in eight years. The plaudits following the gig were incredible, as his son told him afterwards, urging him: 'Dad, you've got to see these reviews – they're all amazing. Everyone loved the show and your performance.' Jack said watching his dad on stage was 'very emotional. Just to see him up there doing his job was great. We were all tearing up.' His dad, however, remained nonplussed and replied with his typical blunt wit: 'Lot of f***ing good that does me. I'm retired now!' In the interview, Jack gave no clue that Ozzy's demise would be so soon. He said: 'Listen, everyone gets old, everyone slows down as you age – it's part of the journey. 'I just try and support him as much as I can. We all do.' In a statement issued by the Osbournes after his death, they remarked that during his final moments, 'he was with his family and surrounded by love'. Kelly Osbourne said she had lost her 'best friend' following the death of her father. In a heartfelt message posted to her Instagram stories on Thursday, Kelly shared lyrics from the Black Sabbath song Changes, a track she famously re-recorded with her father. 'I feel unhappy I am so sad. I lost the best friend I ever had,' she wrote next to an emoji of a broken heart. Released in 2003, their re-imagined duet hit number one on the UK singles chart. The duo became only the second father-daughter act to top the charts, following Nancy and Frank Sinatra's Somethin' Stupid in 1967.

Gregg Wallace: I'm not a groper, sex pest or flasher
Gregg Wallace: I'm not a groper, sex pest or flasher

Telegraph

time2 hours ago

  • Telegraph

Gregg Wallace: I'm not a groper, sex pest or flasher

Former MasterChef host Gregg Wallace has pledged to clear his name following his sacking from the BBC and said: 'I'm not a groper, a sex pest or a flasher.' The 60-year-old defended himself and described being grouped with sex offenders Jimmy Savile and Huw Edwards as 'horrific'. In his first interview with The Sun at his home in Kent, he said his aim in speaking out was not 'to play the victim'. Wallace lost his job following complaints from a number of women over the years. 'There's so much that I want to say, and so much that I want to put right, if I can,' he said. 'I'm not saying I'm not guilty of stuff, but so much has been perceived incorrectly. Things that really hurt me and hurt my family.' The former TV star, who did not take a fee for the interview, added: 'I'm not a groper. 'People think I've been taking my trousers down and exposing myself – I am not a flasher. 'People think I'm a sex pest. 'I am not. 'I am not sexist or a misogynist, or any of it. 'There never were any accusations of sexual harassment. 'I have seen myself written about in the same sentence as Jimmy Savile and Huw Edwards, paedophiles and sex offenders. 'That is just so, so horrific.' 'I don't expect any sympathy' Wallace, who is married to wife Anna and has a six-year-old son, Sid, said he was still learning about himself and had done so over the past eight months as he was diagnosed with autism back in January. 'I know I have said things that offended people, that weren't socially acceptable and perhaps they felt too intimidated or nervous to say anything at the time,' he said. 'I understand that now – and to anyone I have hurt, I am so sorry. 'I don't expect anyone to have any sympathy with me but I don't think I am a wrong 'un.' A total of 45 of 83 complaints have been upheld in the wake of a report into Wallace's behaviour by law firm Lewis Silkin. The complaints were made by 41 people and during the course of his career he worked with 4,000 people, who were cast, crew and production; 0.5 per cent of people had criticised him. But he admitted the figure was too high. He also lent his support to former MasterChef co-host John Torode and said: 'He's not a racist.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store