The television prankster Jeremy Beadle has died after a short battle with pneumonia, aged 59.

Once dubbed the “most hated man in Britain” by critics, Beadle regularly attracted television audiences of more than 15 million for his programmes Beadle’s About and You’ve Been Framed. The programmes, which aired video clips sent in by viewers and pranks on unsuspecting members of the public, often disguised the ITV stalwart’s intellectual fascination with trivia and the history of practical jokes.

Beadle had leukaemia diagnosed in 2005 after developing cancer of the kidney, but he refused to use his condition as a reason to stop working. Last autumn he released three new books and before his illness he was working on some new television formats.

Beadle, a former editor at Time Out magazine, was catapulted to fame in 1981 by the success of Game for a Laugh, the hit ITV show that used hidden camera set-ups. Henry Kelly, his co-presenter, said: “Jeremy and I were firm friends for nearly 30 years. I loved and admired him and I shall miss him desperately. Not only was he a terrific colleague in our Game for a Laugh days and beyond, but he was a most wonderful friend to have and the most entertaining company you could possibly imagine.”

The entrepreneur Sir Alan Sugar, a close friend of Beadle, described him as “one of the most charitably minded and generous people I have ever come across”. He said: “He was also one of the greatest comedy talents of our generation. He made millions laugh and he will never be forgotten.”

When the ratings for Beadle’s About and You’ve Been Framed faded, Beadle published a series of trivia books, showcasing his knowledge of dates and events, which sold in their millions. He also appeared in numerous pantomimes and as circus ringmaster for Gerry Cottle.

Television fame brought Beadle considerable wealth, which he invested in his home in Hertfordshire with its library of 22,000 books.

Beadle’s charitable efforts included helping children with Poland’s syndrome, which he suffered from and which left him with a withered right hand. He was a significant fundraiser for Children with Leukaemia throughout his life and is estimated to have raised more than £100 million for charities. In 1998 he disclosed that he had helped a friend dying of motor neuron disease to commit suicide. He was appointed MBE in 2001.

Describing his role as a prankster to some, irritant to others, he once said: “I’m the Fouche, Talleyrand and Cardinal Wolsey.”

He once said: “People feel guilty about enjoying the cruelty of comedy which is at someone else’s expense. They transfer their guilt on to me. But I say let them hate me . . . as long as they watch.”

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