主播大秀

For two decades he had a solid career on TV (playing Will Scarlett in Robin Hood) and cinema (a decent role in The Devil Rides Out).

As Margot's long suffering husband Jerry, he was the unsung hero of that splendid The Good Life ensemble, before being cast in the role that defined him: Jim Hacker in Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister.

His bemused and loveable performance garnered Eddington four BAFTA nominations and a CBE.

Latterly he was blighted with a rare form of cancer which caused disfigurement of the skin, readily apparent in his final TV appearance in Henry IV.

A Quaker and lifelong pacifist, when pressed he said he hoped his epitaph would be "he did very little harm".

He died in November 1995, shortly after the publication of his autobiography, So Far, So Good.