He is viewed by some as a bit of a joke but he has a huge reputation in the magic world as one of the greatest magicians in the world. I've long been a fan and am saddened by this news.
I liked his shows as well. He never really made much of a recovery, career-wise, after the Beeb axed his last show. A pity because he was, as has been said, a very talented performer.
I was on his quiz show "Odd One Out" in the early 1980s. He didn't use a script and all his jokes were off the cuff and different every time he had to do a re-take. He was lovely to all of us, a really nice chap and it was a pleasure to meet him.
hellywelly, that is a real contrast to the experience a good friend of mine had on Countdown, in the Richard Whiteley years. He was a huge fan of the show and was really disappointed.