Empathy was George's great strength, he radiated it

This video cannot be played

To play this video, you need JavaScript enabled in your browser.

George Alagiah, who died aged 67, was one of the BBC's oldest and most respected journalists. To be a friend and colleague of the award-winning foreign correspondent was a privilege - writes Allan Little.

George and I were together when we shared an office in Johannesburg in the Mandela years. So when I think of him, I don't see him in a television studio in London but on a road of red dust, bathed in the light of Africa.

Empathy was his great strength. He beamed it. He was rooted in the deepest respect for the people whose lives and - often - misfortunes he reported on. He could speak to anyone - from heads of state to children in a refugee camp on the edge of a war zone. And everyone wanted to talk to him. You've seen him earn their trust, respond to their warmth effortlessly. He meant well with all of them - to be true, honest and fair.

Once we took shelter in a stairwell, after three mortar shells landed near the hotel, we were in central Africa. A colleague reported that heavy shelling had, as they said, shook the city center. Later George told me quietly "Allan don't say that. The heavy shelling didn't shake anything tonight. Three bombs fell near where we were and scared us. Keep the proportions." And I thought, not for the first time, "My name is George Alagiah and I'm here to calm you down." George didn't want to be dramatic. He wanted to be real.

I got it...