Former Sunday People editor Len Gould dies aged 73 after cancer battle

Former Sunday People editor Len Gould has died aged 73 at his home in Spain after a lengthy cancer battle.

Len had an illustrious career that spanned five decades in Glasgow, Manchester and finally in London before a 21-year retirement.

Len started his career as a copy boy at the Scottish Daily Express in 1966, working the overnight shift and hitching a ride home to Coatbridge on the newspaper trucks.

He worked his way up to be on the back bench before moving to the Daily Express offices in Ancoats Street, Manchester where he worked again on the back bench as night editor and did extra shifts each Saturday covering the local football.

Len stayed with the Express until 1985 when he joined Manchester media mogul Eddie Shah in launching Today, the UK’s first colour newspaper.

He was hired as an assistant editor and left in 1988 as deputy editor to join the Daily Mail, again as assistant editor.

A key highlight from his time at the Mail included escorting Commons Call Girl Pamella Bordes to Hong Kong as part of a deal the Mail had done for her story.

He was away with her and a handful of other Mail reporters for three weeks, and a life-size photo of him sitting on a sofa looking oblivious while she sat in a dressing grown and curlers adorned his office for the rest of his career. His wife would not allow it in the home!

Len stayed at the Mail until 1991 when he was lured over to the Mirror Group at Canary Wharf to be Bill Hegarty and then Bridget Rowe’s deputy editor of The People.

He was appointed editor of The People in 1997, before moving over to The Independent in 1999 as part of their sports line-up. He then retired in 2000 and moved to Spain with his late wife Sandra.

While he never took another media role, his home was crammed with framed front pages, he continued to buy a newspaper every day, and was always across the news and sport of the day.

Len, who died on Sunday 12 September, is survived by his wife Maria, his children Claire, Leonard and Jennifer and his grandchildren Charlotte, Amber, Ben, Kristopher and James.