Published Monday, 11 March 2013
Tony Gubba, the voice of Dancing On Ice. (© Getty)
His death was announced by his family just hours after the final of the show he had worked on since its launch in 2006.
Gubba had been absent in recent weeks for medical reasons.
Among the many friends and colleagues paying tribute to the sports and entertainment presenter was Dancing On Ice host Phillip Schofield.
"We were all aware how poorly he was but this is very sudden and is a dreadful to everyone who knew and loved him," he said.
"A genuinely delightful, kind, dedicated and talented man."
He added: "All my love and condolences to his family. I'm so glad I had the privilege of working with him and getting to know him. All of us at Dancing On Ice will miss him terribly."
In a joint statement, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean spoke of their sadness and paid tribute to a "dear friend".
"Tony was a dear friend, a wonderful man and much loved by all," they said.
"It's been an absolute pleasure to work with him over the last eight years - he was always so professional and brought a real sense of fun to Dancing On Ice.
"We will miss him greatly and our hearts go out to his family at this sad time."
Gubba previously worked on a wealth of sports programmes and was a regular contributor to coverage of the Olympics over the the years.
Match Of The Day host Gary Lineker also said he was saddened to hear the news of his passing.
"Deeply saddened to hear that Tony Gubba has passed away. One of the great voices of football who graced Match Of The Day for so many years," he said on Twitter.
He has two daughters - Claire, 40 and Libby, 38 - and three granddaughters, and had been with his partner for 15 years.