Bill Tarmey, who played Coronation Street's lovable rogue Jack Duckworth for more than 30 years, has died.
A spokeswoman for the flagship ITV1 soap said the 71-year-old, who had a history of heart problems, died on Friday morning.
Tarmey first portrayed Duckworth, who formed a popular double act with his on-screen wife Vera, played by Liz Dawn, in 1979, and became a regular cast member from 1983.
He retired from the role in 2010, with his character dying in his armchair at home after celebrating his birthday in the Rover's Return during an episode that was part of Corrie's 50th anniversary celebrations.
Co-star Charlie Condou, who plays Marcus Dent in the soap, paid tribute on Twitter: "I am devastated to hear that the wonderful Bill Tarmey has died. He was a beautiful, funny and lovely man, and he will be missed by us all."
In a piece marking Tarmey's departure from the show in 2010, the Guardian's Mark Lawson wrote: "A pigeon-fancying, flat-cap-wearing, wise-cracking, philandering, Sinatra-loving Lancashire lad, Jack epitomised the vivid character comedy in which the serial specialises: in one memorable sequence, dressing in drag to infiltrate a women's bowling team. But his popularity and longevity were due to the acting skills and physical resilience of Tarmey.
"The actor is unusual among the Corrie cast in that his right arm appeared in the Rover's Return some months before the rest of him. A singer on the northern nightclub circuit, he did occasional work as an extra on the Street, making his debut on that occasion as a drinker who was just out of shot. Subsequently, he was given single lines to say before producers spotted the possibility of a Punch and Judy marriage with Vera."
Tarmey began his career in the construction industry, and married his childhood sweetheart Alma in 1962.
He became a nightclub singer and entertainer in the late 1960s and began appearing on Corrie as an extra in the late 1970s, before landing a regular role alongside Dawn's Vera Duckworth – with his character Jack's trademark look of battered glasses held together by elastoplast.
A life-long heavy smoker, Tarmey suffered a heart attack aged 35 followed by a stroke a year later. He underwent a quadruple heart bypass in 1986 and suffered a minor heart attack following another bypass operation in 2002. He is survived by his wife and two children.
