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Fred Dibnah, an unlikely TV star.

A steeplejack from Bolton, Fred Dibnah, who has died aged 66, became an unlikely television celebrity and was the star of 20 documentaries.

His first appearance, on a local news programme in the north west of England, led to his "discovery" in 1979, as he hung 240 feet up in the air, repairing Bolton's town hall clock.

While Fred wasn't Hollywood hero material, a BBC producer, Don Haworth, thought Dibnah's flat cap, flat vowels and eagerness to tackle hair-raising challenges would fascinate millions of television viewers.

And so it proved.

Haworth's documentary about Dibnah won two awards and led to a host of other programmes over the next 25 years.

Dibnah's ascent

Fred Dibnah had little enthusiasm for the electronic revolution but was a great admirer of the Industrial Revolution and its fast-vanishing relics like the chimneys that helped to make his name.

He never blew them up, saying: "With dynamite, they're all 200 yards