BBC DJ Mike Smith dies after heart-surgery complications

Former BBC Radio 1 breakfast show DJ Mike Smith has died aged 59.

He died on Friday after complications from major heart surgery, his aerial filming company, Flying TV, said.

Smith spent six years at Radio 1 between 1982 and 1988, and was also a presenter on Top of the Pops and hosted the BBC's coverage of Live Aid.

His wife of 25 years, the TV presenter Sarah Greene, said she would like to thank hospital staff for their care and compassion.

The couple married in 1989 and had no children.

In 1983, Smith took over the weekday lunchtime show and took on the Breakfast Show in 1986, succeeding Mike Read.

Smith was a key figure in the early years of Comic Relief but largely stayed away from the limelight after a helicopter crash which injured both himself and Ms Greene in 1988.

The qualified pilot and his then-girlfriend Ms Greene were injured when the helicopter he was piloting crashed in Gloucestershire.

Both passengers survived, although Ms Greene broke both legs and an arm, and Smith suffered a broken back and ankle.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch concluded that “... examination of the helicopter (including flight control, fuel, engine control, dynamic systems and the engine itself) revealed no failure or unserviceability that could have resulted in a loss of rotor speed”.

Smith proposed to Ms Greene just weeks later and they were married the following year.