A TV director who helped launch the careers of Victoria Wood and Lenny Henry died from sepsis after surgery, an inquest has found.

Paul Stewart Laing directed New Faces – the show that produced household names including Les Dennis, Marti Caine and Showddywaddy.

He also produced and directed shows Celebrity Squares and The Golden Shot as well as This Is Your Life and What’s My Line.

Yesterday, an inquest in Plymouth, Devon, heard 83-year-old Laing died in a local hospital from septicaemia due to sepsis – two weeks after having keyhole surgery to remove his gallbladder.

Plymouth Hospital Consultant Aditya Kanwar said Laing was ‘very unfortunate’ that ‘some bugs were left behind’ after the surgery.

His body was unable to cope with them and his condition deteriorated quickly and died in January 2023. 

The television producer and director behind such popular 1970s shows had the surgery at Derriford Hospital, following worsening problems with gallstones over eight years. 

The Devon area coroner Nicholas Lane recorded a conclusion of natural causes contributed by complications of recent surgery.

A photo of Laing posted by his daughter Jemima on Twitter

Laing pictured with actor and cartoonist Willie Rushton, thought to be on Celebrity Squares set

Paul Stewart Laing as director of programmes at the ITV company TSW in the late 1980s

Four days after the surgery, the TV director was discharged from hospital. 

He was said to have been recovering well until nine days later, when he woke up feeling very unwell.

Laing was diagnosed with sepsis and the court heard how the operation was known to carry the risk of infection.

He was taken to theatre for emergency surgery in a bid to discover the origin of the sepsis but he suffered a cardiac arrest after being anaesthetised and died a short while later.

It’s thought doctors had conceded it was ‘likely’ his previous surgery would have triggered the infection. 

Dr Aditya Kanwar, a consultant surgeon specialising in liver and bladder surgery at University, said: ‘He probably did not have much reserves to fight it,’

There was also a massive IT outage on the day of his death and this meant a specialist radiologist had not been contactable before he was moved to theatre.

Assistant coroner Nicholas Lane stated that in his view, he did not believe the outage was ‘relevant to the chronology’ of events or eventual outcome. 

Actress Victoria Wood, one of those Laing helped with their careers

Actor and comedian Sir Lenny Henry

One of Laing’s successes was the talent show New Faces. When it began in 1973, he directed some episodes, but within 12 months was co-producing them. 

While working there, he helped launch the careers of Les Dennis, Victoria Wood, the pop group Showaddywaddy and the future Emmerdale star Malandra Burrows.

Wood, who had a CBE ,was an English comedian, actress, and singer. She died after ‘a short but brave’ battle with cancer aged 62 in 2016.

She found fame in the 1980s and was best known for her BBC sketch Acorn Antiques and comedy Dinnerladies. She won five Baftas including two for her one-off ITV drama Housewife, 49.

Laing was also the ‘go-to’ director on Celebrity Squares, which was presented by Bob Monkhouse.

Laing decided to make Kenny Everett the Voice of the Prizes on the show and the comedian credited him with reviving his career, saying that it made him ‘into a star’.