Hi-De-Hi! star Barry Howard dies
- Barry Howard has died aged 78
- The actor is best known for playing dancing instructor Barry Stuart-Hargreaves in Hi-De-Hi!
Barry Howard, who is best known for playing ballroom dancing instructor Barry Stuart-Hargreaves in the BBC sitcom Hi-De-Hi!, has died aged 78.
The news was revealed by his agent, who told the BBC the actor had been suffering from blood cancer. Sharry Clark also tweeted: "My lovely friend and client Barry Howard has passed to Spirit today. I will miss him more than I can say. RIP lovely man."
Born in Nottingham in 1937, Howard had a handful of small parts in TV comedies, including the role of Cochrane in the first series of Terry & June, before landing the role that would make him a recognisable face.
He was cast in the role of professional dancer Barry Stuart-Hargreaves when Hi-De-Hi! co-writer David Croft saw him doing a comedy dance with John Inman in a tour of Salad Days.
He went on to play the role of Barry across the first six series of the hit holiday camp sitcom, appearing alongside Diane Holland as his wife and partner Yvonne. With their snooty manner and the belief they shouldn't really be working in such a low-class establishment, Barry and Yvonne often became the targets of the other Maplin entertainers' pranks. Although the couple were married, the scripts often hinted that Howard's character was gay, although this was never confirmed.
After leaving Hi-De-Hi!, Howard appeared in other comedy shows including The House Of Windsor and You Rang, M'Lord?. His most recent comedy role was in the Radio 4 sitcom Fags, Mags And Bags in 2012.
Howard was also a veteran of pantomime shows and appeared alongside his friend John Inman as the ugly sisters in a number of shows. In 2010 he reprised his Hi-De-Hi! role as part of the stage show version of the comedy.
However, speaking in a newspaper interview to promote the live show, he revealed he felt the role that made him famous had lead him to be subsequently typecast. He said: "I have found it, in all honesty, frustrating because I am, after all, an actor. Casting people always wanted a similar, limp-wristed rather fey 'is he or isn't he?' character and I got bored with it all."
However, he added of Hi-De-Hi!: "It's a nice thing to be associated with and I feel quite proud about it."