Summer Wine and Porridge actor Brian Wilde dies

Comedy actor Brian Wilde has died at the age of 80, his agent has confirmed.

Wilde will be best remembered by audiences as the easy-going prison warden Mr Barrowclough in Porridge, and as Foggy in Last of the Summer Wine.

The much-loved actor died in his sleep at his Hertfordshire home this Thursday morning.

His agent Nick Young said: "He will be sadly missed by colleagues and family alike. He brought a great deal of laughter into many people's lives."

Wilde appeared in more than 100 episodes of Last of the Summer Wine. The show's producer Alan JW Bell told the BBC: "He was perhaps the best of the Summer Wine 'third men' - he was the most loved of all the characters. He was a fine actor to work with, very professional. He was an old-school actor - you turned up, knew your lines and played them the very best you could. He had an enormous warmth to the public when he was off the set. He didn't like to hobnob with the actors - when there was a break, he preferred to go a pub around the corner to meet the real people."

Wilde, who was born in Lancashire, had minor roles in 1960s films like The Jokers and Carry On Doctor before taking on the career defining role of the ineffectual Mr Barraclough in Porridge in 1973.