Veteran broadcaster Robbie Shepherd dies aged 87

Veteran broadcaster Robbie Shepherd, who hosted BBC Radio Scotland's Take the Floor for 35 years, has died.

The 87-year-old, who was born in Dunecht in Aberdeenshire, was a champion of north-east Scotland's Doric dialect.

He was regular commentator for the Braemar Gathering, a Highland Games attended by members of the Royal family including the late Queen.

Mr Shepherd had presented Take the Floor since the early 1980s.

When he retired from the Scottish dance music show in 2016, Nicola Sturgeon, who was first minister, was among those to pay tributes and described him as a broadcasting legend.

Thousands of listeners tune in to Take the Floor on Saturday evenings.

Gary Innes, who took over show when Mr Shepherd retired and became close friends with the broadcaster, said: "The man was a legend.

"After 35 years he left with such grace and dignity. I said to him: 'Robbie, I have no idea how on Earth I am ever going to fill your boots'.

"And he just said with that lovely Doric accent: 'Ach Gary, ye ken I'm only a size five, you'll be fine'."

BBC Scotland director Steve Carson said Mr Shepherd's Take the Floor programme was a regular fixture of Scottish cultural life for decades.

He added: "All of us at BBC Scotland are desperately sad to hear the news of his passing.

"Our thoughts are with his family and friends in Aberdeen, and the wider family of radio listeners all around the world who loved hearing his Doric voice and his enthusiasm and passion for the music he so dearly loved."

Mr Shepherd told of initially being "slated" for his accent in some quarters, and dismissed as a "rough and ready country loon" when he first entered broadcasting.

Explaining his broadcasting philosophy in 2016, he said: "I like to think that I am broadcasting to a lady in the top tenement in Glasgow at the same time as I am chatting to a lady in a croft."

Mr Shepherd's work was recognised with an MBE, and he was also inducted into a hall of fame by the Trad Music Awards.

His career included stints on BBC Scotland's Beechgrove Garden and presenting televised sheepdog trials.

As well as his broadcast work, Mr Shepherd was a regular commentator on the Highland Games circuit, including Oldmeldrum Sports and Highland Games.

He wrote books on Scottish dance music and Scottish country dancing, and a newspaper column in Doric.