Revealed in April 2008 that he is being treated for prostate cancer after being diagnosed in late 2007.
Was responsible for The Sun's famous (but untrue) headline "Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster" in 1986. He also invented the story that David Mellor made love to his mistress in a Chelsea strip, which became another Sun headline in 1992.
Arrested in December 2012 for historical sex offences under Operation Yewtree, was found guilty of eight counts of indecent assault in April 2014 and sentenced to eight years in prison. He died while serving his sentence.