Bill Maynard

Though he eventually appeared in more than 30 films, he regarded none of them as particularly worthwhile and declared in a 2013 interview: "I enjoyed doing them. It was a laugh, but they weren't great. They damaged my reputation".

Between 2003 and 2008, he also hosted his own -- sometimes controversial -- radio chat show on BBC Leicester, Maynard's Bill of Fare.

Having suffered a stroke in 2000 and forced to leave Heartbeat after season ten, Maynard eventually resurfaced in occasional guest appearances for the 2003 spin-off, The Royal (2003). Subsequently confined to wheelchairs and mobility scooters he latterly gave lectures at universities on humour and acting.

Actor and comedian fondly remembered as the curmudgeonly reprobate Claude Jeremiah Greengrass in the long-running nostalgic police drama Heartbeat (1992). Greengrass had been written as a minor background character, but -- given a fair amount of latitude for interpreting his part -- Maynard was able to infuse the old rascal with outsize personality and humour which resulted into his becoming a popular mainstay. The son of a gardener and a laundry worker, Maynard (born Walter Frederick George Williams, he later adopted his nom de plume from Charles Gordon Maynard, creator of 'Maynard's Wine Gums') came from relatively humble beginnings. Displaying an early aptitude for music, he learned to sing and dance, play ukulele, mandolin and guitar. By the age of nine he began performing in local clubs and music halls. From there, he progressed to repertory theatre, touring army camps with Jon Pertwee, making a few recordings for Decca and EMI, even managing a gig as a stand-up comic -- in between a strip show -- at The Windmill in London.

Although a Labour Party supporter, in 1984 he stood as an independent Labour candidate against Tony Benn in the Chesterfield by-election because he thought the ballot had been fiddled to get Benn into a safe seat. Benn retained his seat with Maynard coming in fourth place.

In between, he also had diverse guest roles, including in, among others, Worzel Gummidge (1979), Minder (1979) and Dalziel and Pascoe (1996).

In the mid-70s, having very wisely returned to his forte with consecutive hits in TV sitcoms: as a roving-eyed widower in The Life of Riley (1975), as the hapless, klutzy protagonist of Oh No, It's Selwyn Froggitt (1974), and as grouchy, relentlessly misanthropic Fred Moffatt, forever evading and outwitting his creditors in The Gaffer (1981).

He was due to play the part of the Police Inspector in Carry on Girls (1973) but dropped out in favour of a better-paying TV job so the part went to David Lodge.

He filmed a supporting role as Mr. Fiddler, the boss of Wundatours travel agency in Carry on Abroad (1972), but his entire performance was cut as the film went over time.

His second wife was Tonia Bern-Campbell, widow of Donald Campbell who died trying to break the world water speed record in 1967.

He came second in the heats for the singer to represent Britain in the 1957 Eurovision Song Contest.

In the 50s Maynard emerged as a proper TV star (sharing top billing with Terry Scott) in Great Scott, It's Maynard (1955). Having suddenly become a household name, he was now earning £ 1000 a week. Ironically, his ambition of becoming 'a serious actor' backfired and a return to repertory led to much reduced circumstances and a hiatus in his career.

He had two children with Muriel Linnett: Martin (born 1951) (later known as Maynard Williams) and Jane (born 1954).