Crediting Kevin with sparking his own interest in football, the I'm a Celebrity star added: "He was genuinely, genuinely my hero, but he just meant so much beyond football to the whole region [Newcastle]. He was just such a special man, and we were very lucky enough to meet him on a couple of occasions."

Recalling one of his fondest memories, Dec noted, "The first one [time we met]: I met him when I was, I think, six or seven. I won a competition to play football with Kevin Keegan. My eldest brother took me along to the brewery, I played loads of fun games and all of that, and then Kevin Keegan comes along at the end of it, and you get to kick a ball around with him.

""We all went in for sandwiches and crisps afterward, and then every single one of us had a photograph with Kevin. He sat with each of us and put his arms around us. As a six-year-old boy, that was just the best, meeting your hero.

"You know, they say you should never meet your heroes, but he was absolutely the exception. So yeah, I shed a tear last week, and I'm shedding another one this morning. RIP Kev, King Kev, Special K. What a guy."

Born in Doncaster in 1951, Kevin made his football debut for Scunthorpe United in 1968 before moving on to play for Liverpool, Southampton, and Newcastle United. He landed his first managerial role at Newcastle United in 1992, and later managed Fulham, the England team, and Manchester City.