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Ted Moult was born on February 11, 1926.

After leaving school he moved into dairy farming and was running his own farm by the age of 22. He is credited with inventing the idea of pick-you-own-strawberries - and many Derbeians will have fond memories of summer days and evenings spent picking strawberries at Scaddows Farm in Ticknall where ted often greeted customers personally.

He became an improbably and accidental radio and TV personality after competing in Brain of Britain in the late 1950s. Although he got knocked out at an early stage of the competition, his Derbyshire accent, razor-sharp wit and natural sense of comic timing struck a memorable chord with BBC producers and he went on to appear on many live TV panels games and other programmes. By the mid 1960s he was a household name.

In the 1980s he was the front man for television commercials for Everest Double Glazing. The commercials were shot at England's highest pub - the Tan Hill Inn - and featured a helicopter hovering outside a double glazed window while inside, on the other side of the glass, a feather swayed gently to the floor untroubled by the windy commotion caused by the helicopter blades. The famous tagline for the commercial was: "You only fit double glazing once, so fit the best, fit Everest."

Ted helped to launch Channel 4 in 1982 when he appeared in the first-ever episode of the popular quiz show Countdown. But by 1986 he was suffering from depression and tragically he shot himself at the age of 60 on September 3, 1986.

• Autobiography: Down to Earth: The Life and Views of Ted Moult, ISBN 0-901482-18-8

• Ted Moult

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County:  Derbyshire

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