Star of Minder and St Trinian's

Veteran comedy actor George Cole has died at the age of 90.

Best known for playing loveable rogue Arthur Daley in Minder, he had a long career in both comedies and dramas.

He played Flash Harry in the St Trinians films while appearing alongside Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and Rex Harrison in Cleopatra; and Sir Laurence Olivier in Henry V.

Cole is said to have been fighting illness for a while, and last year he was reported to have become 'deeply depressed' over a saw mill being built next to his home in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.

Cole's agent, Derek Webster at Associated International Management confirmed his death.

In a statement he said: 'It is with deep regret that I have to announce the sad death of one of our most loved and respected actors.

'George Cole passed away yesterday at the Royal Berkshire Hospital after a short illness. His wife Penny and his son Toby were with him at his bedside.'

Cole also leaves a daughter, from whom he was estranged.

Among those paying tribute today were Benidorm creator Derren Litten who tweeted: 'I loved working with George Cole in Minder. One of my first jobs. A very generous and talented actor.'

One of Cole's earliest big-profile roles was playing the lead in the radio comedy A Life of Bliss, which ran from 1953 to 1969.

He started in several comedy movies, including playing the young Scrooge in the 1951 film of the same name, the St Trinian's films and the 1959 comedy Too Many Crooks.

Other than Minder his TV roles include the BBC sitcom Don't Forget To Write!, about a struggling writer, the BBC's 1985 adaptation of the Tom Sharpe comic novel Blott on the Landscape,and the 1984-1986 comedy Comrade Dad, set in 1999 'Londongrad', after Russia has invaded Britain and made it a communist state.Here is a scene from that show:

Published: 6 Aug 2015