Geoffrey Hayes, the former presenter of beloved 80s children’s staple Rainbow, has died.

Hayes passed away in hospital from pneumonia, alongside his wife and son. He was 76.

“It is with great sadness that the family announce that Geoffrey passed away from pneumonia in hospital with his wife, Sarah, and son, Tom, by his side,” the sometime actor’s agent Phil Dale said in a statement.

Hayes was the chief presenter of more than 1,000 episodes of Rainbow between 1974 and 1992, a kind of variety ITV show starring the iconic puppets Zippy and George, and Bungle, a sort of man-bear becostumed humanoid, with ‘Geoffrey’ the put-upon custodian of the three.

Hayes, along with (l to r) Bungle, Zippy and George at Christie's auction house in Kensington, London, in 2001 Source: PA Archive/PA Images

“Geoffrey Hayes was an English television presenter and actor, best known as the host of Thames Television’s top-rated children’s show Rainbow, and for his portrayal of Detective Constable Scatliff in the successful TV series Z Cars for the BBC,” Dale said in his statement to the Press Association.

“The family would like to express their thanks to the many fans over the years as it always gave Geoffrey so much pleasure to know that he and his Rainbow team had given so much fun to TV and theatre audiences over the years,” he added.