Shropshire presenter shocked by death of former DJ Mike Smith

Mr Smith, who was married to fellow television personality Sarah Greene, died in hospital on Friday from complications connected to his recent major heart surgery.

Wem-born Miss Ruscoe worked with the former DJ and TV host on Radio 1 in the late 1980s after leaving Radio Shropshire.

She said: "In the summer of 1988 during the Seoul Olympic Games I was reading the news and the Olympic news on Mike's breakfast show.

"He was really generous and encouraged me to chat back with him to and fro.

"He was leaving the show later that year, but as a result of that banter, if you like, I got the job on the breakfast show with Simon Mayo when Simon Mayo took over.

"He gave me an enormous step up in my career at Radio 1 and he was a really generous, encouraging DJ.

"He didn't have any arrogance. He was really friendly and supportive."

Mr Smith's career began at hospital radio before joining BBC Radio 1 in 1975.

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

Mr 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.

He spent much of his time working as managing director and aerial cameraman for Flying TV, and Miss Ruscoe said she had met him a number of times over the following years.

She said she admired the way her friend had changed his career.

"He was somebody I admired because he had the big time fame and then he decided 'Right, what am I going to do for the second half of my life? I'm going to do something completely different'. And I really admired that, that he followed his passion, which was flying.

"He was devoid of ego, totally supportive and didn't have any kind of arrogance," said Miss Ruscoe, who today runs a media consultancy and presents farming programmes for BBC Radio.

She added: "He was a really great, creative DJ."

Mike Smith's other friends and former colleagues have also paid tribute to him.

Noel Edmonds, a long-term friend, said in a statement: "I am totally stunned and heartbroken for Sarah and his family.

"Mike introduced me to motor racing and I introduced him to radio.

"He was so much more than simply a presenter. Mike was that rare individual – the consummate broadcaster in an era when professionalism, dedication and hard work were truly valued.

"I am typing this through the tears. I wish I had told him more forcefully and frequently how much I admired his talent and valued his support."

Simon Mayo wrote on Twitter: "Shocked to hear of Mike Smith's death today. Condolences to Sarah and all his family.

"When we joined Radio 1 in 86, he was the guy who had it all. His breakfast show was a shiny, sparkly thing, a must-listen."

A BBC spokesman said: "We are saddened to hear of Mike's passing. He was a talented presenter and a brilliant Radio 1 Breakfast Show host, and our thoughts are with his family."

Fellow Breakfast Show host Mike Read said: "The news is just devastating. Sarah and Mike were a wonderful couple – it is truly horrible to hear.

"I knew Mike as there were only five of us to have presented the Breakfast Show at that time. He became a mainstay of Radio 1, was highly successful on television, too, and started up his own business which he was very good at.

"I worked with Sarah for a number of years, including around the time of the crash, so I was very fond of them both.

"The helicopter crash was really bad but they just got on with it and married.

"Mike was a very affable guy, fantastically business-like. It's a real loss and has come as quite a shock."