Barry Bucknell, designer of the Mirror dinghy and television’s first DIY Expert, died last week at the age of 91.

Bucknell was often given credit for having spawned an industry and his series Do It Yourself attracted seven million viewers, and at one stage, during his renovation of a house at Ealing, west London, he received 37,000 letters a week.

In the 60s he concentrated his attention on boat design, producing the Mirror dinghy, named for the newspaper which sponsored it. A family boat, which proved ideal for introducing young people to sailing – the Bucknells had been enthusiasts for years, sailing at Putney, Chichester and off Cornwall – it sold more than 90,000 models.

He married, in 1944, Betty Pearn, who survives him with their daughter and two sons.