Renowned scientist and TV presenter Heinz Wolff has died, aged 89.
The German-born inventor and professor, famed for hosting BBC Two’s long-running science show The Great Egg Race, died of heart failure on 15 December, his family said.
A former advisor to the European Space Agency, he became emeritus professor at London’s Brunel University, working on projects linked to ageing populations.
Brunel colleagues described him as an “inventive and inspirational leader”.
Close friend Professor Ian Sutherland added: “There was nothing he loved more than having a team of people around him, devising completely new ways of doing things.”
A Jewish refugee, Wolff moved to the UK from Berlin at the age of 11 on the day World War Two broke out in September 1939.
After attending school in Oxford, he worked in haematology at the city’s Radcliffe Infirmary, where he invented a machine for counting patients’ blood cells.
He later went on to graduate from University College London with a first-class honours degree in physiology and physics.
Wolff moved into television in 1966, first appearing on the BBC’s Panorama programme with Richard Dimbleby, where he produced a pill that could measure pressure, temperature and acidity.
However, he was best known for hosting BBC Two’s The Great Egg Race from 1977 until 1986 – instantly recognisable for his trademark bow tie and eccentric hairstyle.
The show challenged contestants to invent useful objects out of limited resources.
Friends and colleagues also recalled his love of practical jokes, particularly one instance when he arrived at his 80th birthday party on a scooter propelled by fire extinguishers.
Professor Julia Buckingham, vice-chancellor and president of Brunel University, said: “Heinz’s remarkable intellect, ideas and enthusiasm combined to make him the sparkling scientist we will so fondly remember.
“He was a wonderful friend and supporter to staff and to students – and an inspiration to all of us.”
