MARTIN Bell has paid tribute to Jill Dando, the BBC presenter who was murdered outside her London home on Monday.

Mr Bell, who worked with Jill during his days as a BBC journalist, described her as "a genuinely nice person."

He also described the last time he met Jill - while the star was filming her popular Holiday programme.

He said: "She turned up at my house in Great Budworth last year.

"I walked out of my house one Sunday morning and saw this incredible blonde in a green E-Type Jaguar. It was Jill, who was making a film about holidays in Cheshire."

During her visit, Jill was featured in the Northwich Guardian, when she arrived at Nunsmere Hall to film there.

Jill died as a result of a single gunshot wound to the head as she left her home in Fulham at lunchtime on Monday. Within hours, The Queen and Prime Minister Tony Blair had led the nation's tributes to her.

And while detectives work to find out whether her murder was linked to her role on Crimewatch UK, Mr Bell said that celebrities did attract the wrong sort of attention.

He added: "I do think celebrities become targets, especially women and especially TV presenters. People get obsessed with them.

"The BBC will be terribly upset about this. She was part of their family and she was deeply loved.

"I can sincerely say that she was one of the few people who regularly appeared on TV that was a genuinely nice person.

"She didn't have any enemies anywhere."

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