Last modified on Thu 14 Jan 2021 23.37 EST
The circus showman Gerry Cottle has died of Covid-19 at the age of 75. His agent, Mark Borkowski, announced that Cottle had been in hospital in Bath after contracting the virus.
A dynamic champion of circus with a lifelong passion for entertaining, Cottle toured his circus spectaculars around the UK and internationally for more than three decades before taking over Wookey Hole Caves in Somerset in 2003. There, he developed a host of popular visitor attractions alongside the limestone caves. The complex has a clown museum, a fairy garden, circus shows and a circus school and three resident witches. He recently staged a £1m magic show starring his daughter and granddaughter at the caves.