Puppeteer behind 'Thingee' Alan Henderson has died

Alan Henderson was "a wonderful man who will be hugely missed". Photo / Sky Sport

The man who brought to life the much loved TV puppet Thingee has died.

In a post on Facebook, Sky Sport confirmed Alan Henderson, the man behind the children's show puppet, died earlier today.

The puppet graced New Zealand TV screens in the nineties, alongside Jason Gunn, in shows such as The Son of a Gunn and What Now.

Henderson was in his fifties, and worked for Sky as a sports producer and cameraman where colleagues knew him as "Hendo".

Sky's post described him as a kind and caring person, fanatical Crusaders supporter, cricket tragic, joker - and "a wonderful man who will be hugely missed".

Always loved an Adventure with the great Alan Henderson . Cameraman Director Producer Thingeee and occasional partner in crime . Life doesn’t always makes sense . He’ll be so missed by many .

— Ric Salizzo (@ricsalizzo) February 14, 2020

"Today we lost the heartbeat of our sport department. A person we all loved for his positive outlook on life, infectious laugh and big smile," the post read.

He is understood to have been battling prostate cancer.

Former children's television star Matt Gibb tweeted about Henderson's death.

Thingee was part of Kiwis' childhoods throughout the years. Photo / Facebook

"Grateful to have known Al, one of the loveliest men you could have the pleasure of meeting. Never got tired of having Thingee's voice in my ear when he was in the director's seat. Rest in Love mate." Gibb said.

Television producer Ric Salizzo also shared his sadness, saying the TV veteran would be missed by many.