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"My doctor tells me if I go on drinking and smoking like this I shall drop dead - so I am going to double it".

Simon Fanshawe continues his investigation through the archives to reveal a picture of this clever, amusing and often outrageous broadcaster who had a deeply troubled and unhappy private life.

He was lonely, yet could not bear the thought of sharing his life with anybody. There is no evidence that he had a close relationship with a man or a woman.

Writer Brian Masters remembers staying with him as a young man. "If I had a bath he would come in and hand me a towel and that seemed pretty innocent to me at that age. I could see that it gave him pleasure, so why not?"

The second of a three-part exploration including extracts from:

* GIlbert Harding on Â鶹ԼÅÄ TV's WHAT'S MY LINE hosted by Eamonn Andrews - where he competed with fellow guests Isobel Barnett, David Nixon and Barbara Kelly.

Interviews with:

Gillian Reynolds
Jeffrey Richards
Andy Metcalf
Gavin Henderson
Roger Storey
Brian Masters

Plus Â鶹ԼÅÄ TV's FACE TO FACE interview with John Freeman, where Gilbert Harding wept on camera when the questioner touched a nerve.

Public sympathy for the broadcaster soared after the interview - and then he died on the steps of the Â鶹ԼÅÄ after recording Round Britain Quiz, eight weeks later.

Producer: Mike Greenwood

Made for Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in January 2014

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