Good Morning Britain presenters Ranvir Singh and Richard Madeley paid tribute on air to their colleague Donovan Parsons, a cameraman who worked at ITN for 25 years, after he died following a battle with cancer.
During Thursday's show (October 22), Ranvir Singh told viewers that Donovan, who had worked at ITN for over two decades, had sadly passed away. She said: "I just want to take a moment to pay tribute to a loving, wonderful member of our crew. Donovan Parsons, a long-standing cameraman, worked with ITN for 25 years. He worked on many, many, many stories with me when I was doing politics."
Tributes from the GMB team
A series of photographs then flashed up on-screen of Donovan, displaying him alongside various members of the ITV team while shooting on location. Ranvir continued: "We just wanted to say this morning, because it takes a whole family to put this programme on air. When you work these ungodly hours overnight, in the middle of the night, sometimes in the freezing cold and the battling wind and rain. Wherever you are bringing the stories to Good Morning Britain, what you really need is upbeat, happy cameramen with a can-do attitude, and Donovan epitomised absolutely the absolute best of what you need."
Ranvir emphasised that producing shows requires "a lot of work" behind the scenes as she informed audiences the crew "really misses" Donovan before expressing their love to his family, reports the Mirror. Richard went on to say: "One of the huge things that I've enjoyed so much about joining this programme is the team. It's a proper team effort. But, of course, in all teams there are always exceptional characters, and he was one."
Laura Tobin's heartfelt memories
Weather presenter Laura Tobin then joined Ranvir and Richard to pay warm tribute to her time alongside Donovan, having worked with him on numerous occasions while reporting on location over the years. Ranvir acknowledged it had been "a hard week for us this week", with Laura wholeheartedly agreeing.
She said: "More than a cameraman, he was just an amazing friend to everybody as well. I think that's what's really unusual to hear. Not only was he incredible at his job, but he also used to watch the show when he wasn't working and phone up the crew to give feedback on how wonderful they were."
A photo of Laura alongside Donovan and a fellow crew member then appeared on screen, taken in Brighton, as the ITV star described the image of Donovan sporting a beaming grin as one of her all-time favourites.
She continued: "Everybody is saying he was so supportive and loyal, he made me laugh every single morning. He was a one-off; we've had so many happy, fun memories. I feel so privileged to have known him. He had amazing knowledge, he was a brilliant colleague, and he was always smiling. He was just so passionate about his job. He even worked on his 50th birthday because he said he couldn't think of a better place to be. So, to his wife and four children, we just want to send out love to them and say he was just a really lovely human being, and his smile lit up the room."
As Laura began to well up towards the close of her heartfelt tribute, her voice breaking, Ranvir reached across to grasp her hand as she described Donovan as a "good person". She added: "We just send out love to his family."
