Geoffrey Perkins, Former head of comedy for the BBC, was hit by a truck on the busy Marylebone High Street just after 9am this morning

One of the leading figures in British TV comedy has been killed in a horrific road accident in central London today.

Former head of comedy for the BBC Geoffrey Perkins, 55, was a producer, writer and performer who worked with some of the top names on telly including Catherine Tate, Angus Deayton and Harry Enfield.

Mr Perkins was hit by a truck on the busy Marylebone High Street just after 9am this morning.

One eyewitness suggested that Mr Perkins, who lived just a few streets away, was walking along the pavement when he fainted and collapsed into the path of the oncoming truck.

Paramedics battled to save Mr Perkins for 20 minutes but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said they were called to the scene of a collision involving a pedestrian and a flatbed truck.

The driver of the vehicle initially stopped, but drove off without speaking to police.

He was alter traced and breathalysed, but the results of the breath test are not yet known.

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said: "We were called to reports of a collision involving a pedestrian and a flatbed vehicle at around 9.20am this morning on Marylebone High Street.

"The 55-year old victim was given emergency First Aid at the scene, but was pronounced dead at 9.42am.

"We have identified the victim and next of kin have been informed. He is Geoffrey Howard Perkins, aged 55. He worked for Tiger Aspect Productions, an independent TV production company.

"The incident is being investigated by the Euston Collision Investigation unit.

"The driver initially stopped, but then drove off. We have traced the driver of the vehicle and spoken to him. He was breathalysed, which is routine, but we don't discuss the results." 

Geoffrey Perkins had worked with comedian Catherine Tate

A post mortem is due to be carried out at Westminster Mortuary. 

A police source said: "We believe that Mr Perkins worked for the BBC in the past.  The horrific smash brought the busy main road to a standstill as nearby shops and cafes were opening for business.

Local workers gave differing accounts of the events leading up to the death of Mr Perkins.

A woman who worked at a nearby hairdressing salon said the victim had been walking along the pavement before fainting and slumping into the road.

She added: "I'm not sure if the vehicle hit him - I didn't see that." 

Nicola Okafor, 21, who works in a nearby clothes shop, said she arrived in the immediate aftermath of the sickening collision.

She said: "I looked up and saw a guy lying on the floor with a truck right in front of him. It was yellow and blue and it was one of those open backed trucks.  

"Then an ambulance turned up and the paramedics began working on him immediately. They were doing chest compressions.  

"As soon as they turned up, three minutes later a guy got into the truck and drove off.

"People told me there was a collision. i didn't hear screeching of tyres. I was really shocked and upset but when I saw the ambulance workers and realised what had happened I was very upset." 

Educated at Harrow County School for Boys, Mr Perkins worked for several years in BBC Radio Light Entertainment, producing such shows as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.  

Along with Angus Deayton, he wrote and performed in Radio Active, which transferred to television as KYTV. He later produced The Uncyclopaedia of Rock for Capital Radio, which won the Monaco Radio Award. He created the game Mornington Crescent for the radio show I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.

He was a director of Hat Trick Productions, the independent television and radio production company for several years. His writing and production credits for television include Spitting Image, Saturday Live, Harry Enfield's Television Programme, Ben Elton: The Man From Auntie, Game On, Father Ted, and The Thin Blue Line.

He became BBC Television's Head of Comedy in 1995, and was an executive producer for Tiger Aspect.

He was married to Lisa Braun, who was a studio manager during the radio production of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy.

In 2005 he cameoed in the fourth radio series of Hitchhiker's (The Quandary Phase), as the producer of the radio show Arthur Dent worked on, essentially playing himself to Arthur's Douglas Adams.