Lia Mikadze, an iconic Georgian TV host who had been working on the country’s first channel for decades, has died aged 86, his family confirmed on Thursday. 

The first channel of Georgia started broadcasting in 1956, while Mikadze worked in the channel from its first days until 2004.

On the 57th anniversary of the establishment of the television, in December 2013, the channel opened an honorary star to her in Mtatsminda Park, near Tbilisi Tower.