'Larger than life': ITV cameraman Rob Milburn dies aged 46 following a short illness

Tributes have been paid to ITV technician and cameraman, Rob Milburn, who died last weekend following a short illness.

For more than 10 years, Rob was at the heart of Channel Television's programmes - everything from filming the news of the day, to our coverage of the Gotland and Gibraltar Island Games.

He also had a soft spot for the station's history, curating The Channel Archive - an online collection of "superlative" content from days gone by.

Rob loved working alongside Channel's mascot, Oscar Puffin - keeping the magic alive online after the feathered friend had left our screens.

Rob with Channel's station mascot, Oscar Puffin, at Jersey's Battle of Flowers.

Karen Rankine, ITV Channel's Head of News and Programmes, paid tribute to the relentless supervision Rob put into preserving Channel's content:

"Rob was so passionate about the Channel Archive and he put so much into curating and preserving it, not just for us but for the benefit of the whole community. And aside from that work, he was such a talented camera operator, always with a smile.

"Whether he was out doing interviews or newsgathering with our reporters, he was an absolute joy to work with."

Rob getting the crowd going at the opening ceremony of the 2019 Island Games in Gibraltar.

In 2020, after a decade at ITV in the Channel Islands, Rob moved to Cardiff and took up a new job at ITV Wales.

He covered many high-profile international events, including the COP26 climate conference and most recently, travelling to Qatar to cover Wales' performance at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

It was only after returning he was diagnosed with cancer, and looked after by Jersey Hospice Care. Many of Rob's friends were only informed of his terminal diagnosis days before he died.

Tributes have been paid online to a much loved member of the Channel family: