In the quiet village of Diggle, nestled amid the rugged moors of Oldham, Lancashire, John Martin Stapleton entered the world on February 24, 1946. Born to Frank, a local co-operative secretary, and June, a part-time primary school teacher, young John’s upbringing was steeped in the unpretentious values of post-war Britain—hard work, community, and quiet determination. Educated at Diggle Primary and Hulme Grammar School, he bypassed university to dive straight into journalism at 17, starting as a trainee reporter on the Eccles and Patricroft Journal. By his early 20s, he had honed his craft at the Oldham Evening Chronicle and Fleet Street’s Daily Sketch, learning the raw essentials of who, what, when, where, and why that would define his five-decade career.

Stapleton’s television breakthrough came in 1971 as a reporter on Thames TV’s Today programme, where he captured poignant moments like the final speedway race at West Ham Stadium in 1972. By 1975, he joined the BBC’s Nationwide, evolving from reporter to one of its main presenters until 1980. This era showcased his versatility: blending hard-hitting investigations with lighter consumer stories, he became a trusted voice for everyday Britons. His move to Newsnight in 1980 thrust him into global hotspots. As a correspondent for Panorama and Newsnight, Stapleton reported from the Middle East, El Salvador, and crucially, Argentina during the 1982 Falklands War. There, amid the tension of impending conflict, he interviewed key figures, including a young Tony Blair in later years, embodying the unflappable professionalism that earned him the Royal Television Society News Presenter of the Year award in 2003.

The 1980s marked Stapleton’s foray into breakfast television, joining ITV’s fledgling TV-am in 1983 as a reporter and presenter on Good Morning Britain. He navigated the chaotic launch of commercial morning TV, even enduring a memorable on-air scuffle with the mischievous puppet Emu, who once shredded his scripts in a live broadcast. Returning to the BBC in 1986, Stapleton anchored London Plus and co-hosted the iconic consumer watchdog programme Watchdog until 1993. This role intertwined his personal and professional worlds profoundly. In 1977, he had married Lynn Faulds Wood, the fiery Scottish journalist he met while she moonlighted as a barmaid in a Richmond pub. Their partnership on Watchdog was electric: together, they exposed shoddy practices, championed victims of corporate negligence, and turned consumer advocacy into prime-time must-watch TV. Their son, Nick, born in 1987, would follow suit, becoming a BBC journalist specializing in scam-busting on Scam Interceptors.

Yet, Stapleton’s story is as much tragedy as triumph. Lynn, a relentless campaigner who survived bowel cancer and raised awareness for antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), suffered a devastating stroke on April 24, 2020, at age 72. Her sudden death left John, then 74, grappling with profound grief. “She was invincible,” he later reflected, her optimism a beacon during her own health battles. Widowed and resolute, Stapleton continued working, presenting on ITV’s GMTV (1993-2010), Daybreak, and Good Morning Britain until 2015, while contributing to Tonight and Sky News. A lifelong Manchester City devotee—he once quipped he’d travel the country just to watch them play—Stapleton found solace in football’s rhythms, especially after sharing a Champions League triumph with Nick in 2023.

In October 2024, at 78, Stapleton revealed his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis on BBC’s Morning Live, alongside Nick. The progressive neurological condition, which had claimed his mother’s vitality, struck at the core of his identity: “Speaking is how I’ve earned my living for 50 years.” Yet, true to form, he approached it pragmatically, pledging his brain to research—a commitment he’d made in 2009 alongside figures like Jeremy Paxman. He remained positive, vowing independence and even joking about installing a stairlift in their St Margarets home.

John Stapleton passed peacefully in hospital on September 21, 2025, at 79, from pneumonia complications tied to Parkinson’s. Flanked by Nick and daughter-in-law Lise, he slipped away, reunited in spirit with Lynn after 43 devoted years. Tributes flooded in: Kate Garraway called him a “journalistic hero” and “ultimate gentleman”; Charlotte Hawkins, a “brilliant broadcaster” and “lovely man.” Erron Gordon, Good Morning Britain co-creator, praised his unmatched versatility—from war zones to sofa chats.

Stapleton’s legacy endures not just in awards or airtime, but in the lives he touched. He was the everyman journalist: approachable yet authoritative, resilient amid heartbreak. From Diggle’s humble lanes to the nation’s living rooms, John’s life reminds us that true strength lies in loving fiercely, fighting fairly, and facing the fade with grace. As Nick shared, after that euphoric City win, his father simply said, “I’d die happy.” In the end, he did—leaving a void, but a light that flickers on.