Veteran broadcaster Larry King has died at the age of 87, his family have confirmed.

The journalist had a career stretching back to the 1950s - most notably, he anchored Larry King Live on CNN for 25 years - and was still active in his final years, presenting a weekly political talk show.

Just before Christmas King was hospitalised with coronavirus but earlier this month was moved out of intensive care, suggesting that he was on the mend.

A statement on his official social media accounts confirmed that King died in the early hours of Saturday morning, however.

It read: "With profound sadness, Ora Media announces the death of our co-founder, host and friend Larry King, who passed away this morning at age 87 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

"For 63 years and across the platforms of radio, television and digital media, Larry's many thousands of interviews, awards, and global acclaim stand as a testament to his unique and lasting talent as a broadcaster."

King had been blighted with health problems for decades, undergoing a quintuple heart bypass in 1987, overcoming lung cancer in 2017 and suffering a stroke in 2019.

In 2014 King was interviewed by Jesse Ventura for his podcast series and was asked how he would like to be remembered. He replied: "His life led to more people having information that they didn't have before, and he taught us a lot and we learned a lot and enjoyed it at the same time."

King is survived by three children.