Yes Minister star Derek Fowlds has died at the age of 82, his family said.
The actor was best known for playing Private Secretary Bernard Woolley in the sitcom and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister, as well as for his role as Oscar Blaketon in the long-running police drama Heartbeat.
Before that, he found fame with children as Mr Derek on The Basil Brush Show, alongside the glove puppet fox with the catchphrase “boom boom!”, from 1969 to 1973, replacing Rodney Bewes as the presenter.
I don’t know what to say, I’m so desperately sad. ???such times we had, rest in peace Mr Derek, my best friend forever #DerekFowlds #BasilBrushshow pic.twitter.com/iQqI8v1Plm
— Basil Brush (@realbasilbrush) January 17, 2020
The actor died at Royal United Hospitals Bath in the early hours of Friday morning after suffering from pneumonia that led to heart failure caused by sepsis.
He was surrounded by his family when he died and is survived by sons Jamie and Jeremy.
Helen Bennett, his personal assistant and friend of many years, told the PA news agency: “He was the most beloved man to everybody who ever met him, he never had a bad word to say about anybody and he was so well respected, adored by everyone.
Fowlds’s first professional acting job was appearing in weekly rep at the Prince of Wales Theatre in Colwyn Bay in 1958, while on summer holiday from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
He made his West End debut in The Miracle Worker before roles in films such as Tamahine, East Of Sudan and Hotel Paradiso and TV series including Z Cars, The Liver Birds and ITV Sunday Night Theatre.
He also appeared in After That, This for a string of episodes in 1975.
He released his autobiography A Part Worth Playing in 2015 and his most recent credited TV appearance was in Doctors in 2017.
