I was shocked, after randomly deciding to check the BBC news website on a long boring car journey up to Manchester, to see a 'Breaking News' headline announcing he death of Gerry Anderson at the age of 83.

For as long as I can remember, I've enjoyed his work, from watching the same two episodes of Thunderbirds on VHS at the age of four, to my discovery of UFO and Space: 1999 on ITV4 just a few years ago.
There was a quality about his work that allowed it to be appreciated on multiple levels at different ages. When you're little, you're enthralled by the thrilling stories (and of course, the explosions), and as you get older, you come to appreciate the effort that went into making each episode of his series and the enormously high quality of the model work, on top of continuing to enjoy them for being fun, engaging entertainment. Yes, they could sometimes look dated (UFO immediately springs to mind) but that didn't take away from their otherwise being very good telly.

Gerry Anderson was a man filled to the brim with creativity and a unique talent that fed the imaginations of so many young (and older) children across the decades. There wasn't another like him.

Rest in peace Gerry, you will be missed.