Popular children’s art presenter whose talent inspired a generation

The life of Mark Speight - the popular children's television presenter and artist - was celebrated at a memorial service held on what would have been his 43rd birthday.

The emotional event, attended by about 400 former colleagues, family, friends and fans, also saw the launch of a charitable foundation in Mark's name to nurture young artistic talent.

The service, full of laughter and some tears, was held at the Parish Church of Saint Paul, Covent Garden and led by Rev Simon Gregg. Singer and artist Rolf Harris was introduced by Mark's father Oliver Speight as one of Mark's greatest heroes. Rolf broke down in tears as he spoke about Mark and sang Sun Arise.

But Rolf composed himself after a few minutes and had the audience singing along with his upbeat version of Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven.

Mr Speight was best known for presenting the BBC's children's art television programme, SMart . He also hosted Scratchy & Co and observational childrens' game show See It, Saw It .

As the many tributes left on this website prove, Mr Speight did much to foster a real love of art among children. He encouraged youngsters of all abilities and devoted time to supporting the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign.

Mark Speight was born in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, on 6 August, 1965, and raised in Wolverhampton. He took a degree in commercial and graphic art and first made his mark on TV when he appeared as a contestant on ITV's Blind Date in the 1980s. He wasn't picked to go on a date but his memorable impression of a lizard got him noticed.

By 1992, his talent for pulling comical expressions landed him a role in a crisp commercial.

The same year he made his West End debut in the musical Moby Dick , and also appeared in a video with Kylie Minogue.

But to millions of youngsters he was best known for presenting the CBBC art programme SMart from 1995 onwards.

He gained further fame on the BAFTA-nominated show Scratchy & Co (1995-98) where he showcased his ability to portray wacky characters.

On See It, Saw It , which first aired in 1999 and ran for three years, he played the King of Much Jollity-On-The-Mirth, a hapless monarch who was assisted in various madcap sketches by his court jesters, one of whom was played by Natasha Collins . The couple became good friends, but romance only developed after she suffered serious injuries in a car accident in 2001 and Mr Speight supported her through her long and painful recovery.They were engaged to be married and living together in London when Mr Speight found Ms Collins dead in their flat in January 2008.

Mr Speight was heartbroken and went missing days after her inquest at the start of April. His body was found in a building next to Paddington railway station six days later on Sunday, 13 April.

The Mark Speight Foundation set up by Mark's father is called SP8 of the Art and aims to work closely with schools, local authorities and communities to discover artistic skills and talents in forms such as portraiture, landscape, fashion design, architecture, graphic design and sculpture among the under 18s and award scholarships.

It is a fitting tribute for a man who was loved and admired for both his own talent and his ability to encourage and empower children to be creative and have fun.