Jim Bowen, the comedian and broadcaster who was best known for hosting the darts-based gameshow Bullseye, has died at the age of 80.

A former teacher and one of a generation of comedians who earned and learned their trade in front of the audiences of working men’s clubs and other venues on the northern club circuit, he became a household name when he started to present Bullseye on ITV in 1981.

A number of strokes – in 2011 in 2014 – left him struggling to walk and talk but did not affect his trademark cheery disposition.

“I’m very well and I’m expecting to make it! Between your ears you feel 35 but when it gets to your legs and arms your body doesn’t know,” he told the Daily Mirror last year.