LONDON: British journalist David Frost, best known for interviewing former US President Richard Nixon, died of a heart attack on Saturday at the age of 74, the BBC said on Sunday.

Frost is most famous for a 1977 interview during which Nixon apologised for the Watergate scandal - when his Republican party staff bugged the opposition Democrats' offices.

“Sir David died of a heart attack last night aboard the Queen Elizabeth which is a Cunard (cruise) liner where he was giving a speech. His family are devastated and ask for privacy at this difficult time,” the BBC quoted from a family statement.

Immortalised in the 2008 film, Frost Nixon, he was a pioneer of broadcasting for more than half a century, including the satirical programme That Was The Week That Was, and appeared in several British television programmes in recent years.

Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute to him on Sunday.

“My heart goes out to David Frost's family. He could be - and certainly was with me - both a friend and a fearsome interviewer,” Cameron said on Twitter.