Blue Peter icon died a penniless taxi driver after spending decades on TV
A Blue Peter icon passed away without a penny to his name after nine years on the famous BBC children's programme. Christopher Trace started out his presenting career at 25-years-old in 1958 and was the man to launch the very first episode alongside his co-host Leila Williams.
From there, his TV career went from strength to strength as he landed a regular presenting role on BBC Schools programme Signpost in 1961 and kept his job there for four years. Prior to his Blue Peter stint, Trace even had an acting career, starring in titles such as 1959 film The Hound of the Baskervilles and 1960's Urge to Kill.
He also acted as Charlton Heston's body double in the 1959 film epic Ben-Hur. However, sadly things didn't work out well for the talented star in the end.
By 1967, Blue Peter bosses were said to be desperate to replace Christopher on the show after saying he was difficult to deal with on set, the Express reports.
Things went from bad to worse for him when his wife Margaret Cattrall filed for divorce after Trace cheated on her with a 19-year-old during a Blue Peter trip to Norway.
Christopher and his wife Meg shared two children together, Jonathan and Jessica.
Trace made his Blue Peter exit in 1967 and took a risk on a new business venture as a writer and production manager at a feature film company but the job failed and ended up costing him his life savings.
Trace was declared bankrupt in 1973, two years after marrying Prudence Da and ended up pulling pints behind a bar in Norwich and working as a taxi driver instead to make ends meet.
He eventually managed to get his TV career back on track by working for BBC's Nationwide, presenting regional programmes in East Anglia and the breakfast radio show on BBC Norwich.
One insider said at the time: 'I remember him being strong on screen on BBC East.
"He was only there as his wife had kicked him out, he'd lost all his money and was drinking and eventually he went off to run a pub in Norwich.'
However, in the mid 1970s he largely retired from his media career and instead tried his hand at a number of odd jobs.
Among these roles was a general manager position at an engineering factory.
While working there he lost two toes in an industrial accident and stopped coming into work.
He sadly died on September 5 1992 at 59-years-old from oesophageal cancer after battling the disease for the final five years of his life.
At the time of his passing, he was living in Walthamstow and was relying on benefits.
Trace was visited by fellow presenters Valerie Singleton and Biddy Baxter in hospital in his final days.
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