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TV presenter Martin Roberts has opened up on the death of his co-star. Homes Under the Hammer auctioneer Clive Emson died peacefully on Wednesday, May 13, aged 79 with his family by his side.

Sharing a snap of the late auctioneer to Instagram, Martin, who presents the BBC One property auction series, emotionally penned: "So, so sad to hear of the passing of Clive Emson. He truly was the Doyen of auctioneers. God bless you, lovely man." Other co-stars and fans then also shared their own tributes in the comments. Presenter Lucy Alexander wrote: "What an absolute legend of a guy," followed by a heartbroken emoji.

A fan added: "I met a few times and always found him a really pleasant and quite funny," as another commented: "That's sad news! He was great fun to film all those years ago."

Clive appeared on the long-running BBC property show as an auctioneer for over 20 years, where he became known for his mantra "have gavel, will travel".

Away from the small screen, he ran the company Clive Emson Land and Property Auctioneers which spanned Kent to Cornwall.

Away from auctioneering, he was awarded an MBE in the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours list.

The award recognised his services to vulnerable and disadvantaged young people in Kent, specifically through his work with The Young Lives Foundation (YLF).

He admitted he wasn't expecting the honour saying: "The thing that's amazing is that I'm not sure who put me up for it. It was a complete and utter surprise. I've kept the charity work under the radar."

Speaking about his work with the YLF, of which he was president he said: "When you talk to children they say what they think, which is lovely. I'm completely non-judgemental.

"I'm not a social worker, a parent or a teacher. For a lot of the children, I'm the only person in their lives who is not paid to be there.

"These children in care have no meaningful contact with their family. Their schools change and social workers change so these independent visitors are the only stable person in their life."