Darker side to the 'Hairy Cornflake' Dave Lee Travis
WITH his trademark beard and bushy hair, they called him "the Hairy Cornflake", a big, jolly, bear of a man.
But the jury at Southwark Crown Court believed there was a darker side to the offbeat star of 1970s light entertainment.
In his heyday, his breakfast show on Radio 1 pulled in millions of listeners and his regular stint on Top of the Pops confirmed his celebrity.
After yesterday's verdict, Travis - real name David Patrick Griffin - stands shamed.
Griffin began his career in clubs and on pirate radio before joining the BBC in the late 1960s.
Always over the top, he drove a yellow Pontiac saloon, which he called the Flying Banana.
Travis, complete with his 'quack, quack, oops' catchphrase and gimmicks was seen as old-fashioned
Travis even had a hit single of his own, under the name Laurie Lingo And The Dipsticks, with a spoof version of the trucking song Convoy GB.
But by the early 1990s, audiences for Radio 1 were falling and plans to bring in a new generation of DJs - who would bring a new generation of listeners with them - were under way.
Travis, complete with his "quack, quack, oops" catchphrase and gimmicks was seen as old-fashioned.
He was of a generation parodied on a weekly basis by Harry Enfield with his Smashie and Nicey characters.
The characters, which lampooned Travis as "BLT - the Hairy Sandwich", reflected the view that Radio 1 and its veteran presenters were falling behind the times.
DLT jumped before he was pushed when he famously quit Radio 1 live on air in 1993, telling listeners that "changes are being made here that go against my principles and I just cannot agree with them'.
He kept working, with stints on stations including Classic Gold, Garrison Radio and Spectrum FM, but did not leave the BBC entirely.