The late David Vine was perhaps best known for his presentation of snooker, and in particular that astonishing night back in 1985 when Ulsterman Dennis Taylor, right, won the World Championship on the last black

For nearly three decades David Vine, who has died of a heart attack at 73, was one of the most familiar faces in British sports broadcasting.

He presented a remarkable range of programmes, including Sportscene, Quiz Ball, It's a Knock Out, Miss UK, Miss World, the Eurovision Song Contest and flagship sporting shows such as Grandstand and Match of the Day.

He hosted A Question of Sport for its first nine years on our screens, and presented Ski Sunday for nearly 20 years.

But it is as the face of snooker on the BBC that he will be best remembered.

Vine anchored coverage of the world championships from Sheffield's Crucible theatre every year from 1978 — when the corporation began daily footage of the tournament — until his retirement in 2000.

His Devon burr became a familiar accompaniment to viewers of the dramas on the baize, and in 1985 he — and a remarkable 18 million others — stayed up to the early hours to see Ulsterman Dennis Taylor beat Steve Davis on the final black in a legendary final victory.

Born in Newton Abbott in 1936 and educated at Barnstaple Grammar School, Vine began his career in newspapers before working as a sports producer for ITV and then joining the BBC.

A safe pair of hands rather than a flashy, attention-seeking performer, Vine nevertheless developed his own distinctive broadcasting style: understated, witty and warm.

In an interview with the BBC to mark his retirement in 2000, Vine said his biggest regret came when a woman who was planning to streak during his presentation before a Masters snooker match waited for the match to start before making her move.

“I would have loved to have exploited the moment, milked it for all it was worth,” he joked.

There were moments of real toughness too — interviewing John McEnroe after he berated an umpire at Wimbledon, Vine demanded to know what right the American had to call anyone an “incompetent fool”.

Perhaps appropriately for a man of such varied talents, Vine's final job for the BBC was commentating on weightlifting at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

Vine, who celebrated his birthday earlier this month, died on Sunday night at his home near Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.

He had triple heart by-pass surgery several years ago.

His publicist Paul Madeley said that since Vine's retirement he remained working as a consultant for the BBC.

He described Vine as “a true and utter gentleman at all times”.

“I don't know of anybody who is regarded as he was in terms of his professionalism and dedication, whether he was presenting or commentating.

“He was like a member of my family. He was that close.”

According to the BBC, 18 million people watched as ‘Viney’ waited until the early hours of the morning to interview Coalisland man Taylor after that epic win against Davis 24 years ago.

And Vine tackled John McEnroe after an outburst at Wimbledon, asking him: “What right have you got to call anyone an incompetent fool?”

Vine told the BBC: “He told me he'd never talk to me again after that but he did the following day.”

According to Mr Madeley, in more recent years Vine had been a possible contender to commentate on Dancing On Ice, but he decided that “quite a lot of time was required”.

He leaves behind three children from his first marriage — Kim, Martin and Katherine. His first wife died and he married again in 1972 and they had a son named Christian.

Vine had four grandchildren — Ben, Georgia, Oliver and Emily.

Mr Madeley, who had represented Vine for nearly 20 years, said he had a lengthy conversation with him at his recent birthday celebrations. He said his health had not been good in recent times, as he had had a hip replacement as well as heart surgery.