Tributes are being paid to Lord Attenborough - one of Leicester's favourite sons - who has died at 90.
Leicester City ambassador Alan Birchenall was a player at Chelsea from 1967 to 1970 when Lord Attenborough was president of the London club.
The Birch said: "Any footballer will tell you that the hour before kick off is sacrosanct as you get ready for the match.
"On many occasions there would be a knock on the changing room door and Lord Attenborough would stick his head round.
"He'd say to Dave Sexton, who was the manager at the time, "Davie, lovey, do you mind if I come in?"
"Dave would have steam coming out of his ears but he couldn't say no to the club president.
"You never knew who he would bring in. It was all the Hollywood greats - Frank Sinatra, Clint Eastwood, Sammy Davis Jr.
"One day he bought Raquel Welch in and that certainly disrupted some of the lads' pre-match routines.
"When I left, he sent me a telegram saying thanking me. I still treasure it to this day.
"He was one hell of a lovely guy. He was just a lovely gentle man."
City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby was a friend of Lord Attenborough.
Sir Peter said: "The first time I met him was when he was made a freeman of the city.
"He was incredibly passionate about Leicester and gave a huge amount to the city.
"He was the patron of the City Challenge programme which transformed the West End of the city - giving us Bede Park, the area where the football ground now is.
"But he did much more than lend his name to it. He gave very generously of his own time and energy.
"He also loaned the New Walk Museum his incredible collection of Picasso ceramics and when we made our bid to become UK City of Culture he supported us.
"His health had not been good but he talked warmly of this city and its diversity.
"He was a Labour peer and he was passionate about social justice.
"That shone through in his films like Gandhi and Cry Freedom.
"He was also a very clever director. His anti-war polemic Oh What a Lovely War which had hugely powerful imagery.
"He was an amazing man on a personal level."
Lord Attenborough, had a lifelong association with the University of Leicester.
He and his brothers were raised on the campus of the university of Leicester.
His father, Fred Attenborough, was the principal of the University College –the forerunner to the university and their former home, College House, is still located on the campus.
In 1970 he became an honorary graduate and in 2006 he was made a Distinguished Honorary Fellow – the highest award the university can bestow.
Lord Attenborough helped found the inclusive arts centre at the University of Leicester to which he gave his name.
The centre was opened in 1997 by Diana, Princess of Wales.
Lord Attenborough's brother, Sir David, is also associated is both an honorary graduate and Distinguished Honorary Fellow of the university.
His son, Michael, is also an honorary graduate and supporter of the university
Its arboretum is named after Sir David while the university's Attenborough Building is named after their father.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Bob Burgess paid tribute to Lord Attenborough's 'sheer energy and dynamism'
Sir Bob said: "There was a huge amount of warmth and a huge amount of contact – within seconds you felt you had known him all of your life.
"I remember walking out of a lecture theatre with him and thinking it is terrifically exciting because one of my first recollections of him was going to see one of his movies, Oh What a Lovely War, in the sixties and being terribly impressed with the movie.
"I never thought I would meet the person behind it.
"Dickie Attenborough was always very positive about Leicester but then if you think about Leicester, and you think about the values expressed in his movies, diversity and equality –that I would always say we are good at in Leicester- those are values that he held very dear and they are very clear in his movies and in what he said.
"It was really good that someone of his distinction, who was so distinguished, devoted so much time to Leicester.
"He was a regular attendee at the Richard Attenborough Centre Advisory Board and he made a huge difference. He was always aspirational about what we should be doing - he was inspiring and creative."
Eleanor Hartley, founding director of the Richard Attenborough Centre said: "I was very upset when I heard the news. He was such an influence on my life for the last 25 years.
"He believed in using his influence and resources to help people. He worked tirelessly to make the Richard Attenborough Centre a reality and changed the lives of many of us who were involved in the Centre, either as staff or students.
"He was a good person."
