Man of the Mirror

Legendary editor and showbiz journalist Bill Hagerty, 86, dies

- BY ANDY LINES Chief Reporter

Bill, centre, with fellow editors Ernie Burrington and Richard Stott. Right, stars Joan and Sammy

FORMER Fleet Street editor and legendary Mirror executive Bill Hagerty has died aged 86.

In 2023 Bill was named Journalist Laureate - an award honouring excellence in the industry.

A citation at the London Press Club read: "Bill Hagerty truly is a man of The People - a newspaper he edited - and a worthy Journalist Laureate for 2023."

Bill was born on St George's Day in Ilford, East London, just before the outbreak of war in 1939.

His headmaster at Beal Grammar School tried to put him off journalism but he ignored the advice.

He began his career aged 16 with the Walthamstow Post, followed by the Reynolds News, which in 1962 become the Sunday Citizen.

As showbusiness editor of the Daily Mirror, Bill interviewed some of the world's most famous names.