Gerry Anderson, the creator of hit TV shows including Thunderbirds, Stingray and Joe 90, has died at the age of 83.

He also created Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and his puppet superheroes fired the imaginations of millions of young viewers in the 1960s and '70s. Thunderbirds, a science-fiction fantasy about a daring rescue squad, ran from 1965 and was his most famous show. Anderson had suffered from Alzheimer's since 2010 and the disease had worsened in recent months, his son Jamie said.

[This guy pretty much *was* my childhood. I grew up with Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet (who I desperately  wanted to be through most of my pre-teens), Stingray and, somewhat later, UFO. I have the complete Thunderbirds on DVD and will probably pick up the other series too. I'm sure that I'm not alone in being hugely influenced by the works of Gerry Anderson. They don't make things like his shows any more.]