Eric Morley with his wife Julia

His career in the entertainment industry started in 1946 when he joined the Mecca organisation. It grew into one of the UK's largest leisure groups with Morley as its chairman.

Miss World began as a promotional vehicle for Mecca, and profits from the pageant were donated to charities.

It was launched in 1951, timed to tie in with the Festival of Britain.

Global audience

Eric Morley was a giant man in every sense of the word

Tony Hatch, Variety Club

Morley's wife Julia took over day-to-day control of the contest in 1968 and in 1970 started to aim it at audiences around the globe.

The event grew in popularity around the world, and presently claims a television audience of two billion people.

In the UK, more than 18 million people watched it at its peak in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Miss World contests were regularly dogged by demonstrations

However, in the late 1980s it became increasingly unfashionable in its home country. It disappeared from British screens when it was dropped by ITV.

It returned to mainstream TV in 1998 with the newly-launched Channel 5.

British success

Morley is also credited with setting up the BBC's Come Dancing programme, which celebrated its 50th season in 1998.

As Mecca chairman he helped to popularise bingo, introducing the game to the company's venues across the UK.

He left Mecca in 1978 after falling out with its parent company, Grand Metropolitan.

Morley was a loyal supporter of the UK entertainers' charity, The Variety Club of Great Britain.

The organisation's chief barker Tony Hatch said: "Eric Morley was a giant man in every sense of the word, one of the great humanitarians of the 20th century.

"He will be sadly missed by all his friends throughout the world."

A spokeswoman for Channel 5 said Julia Morley was "in shock" and had asked for privacy.