Minder star George Cole has died at the age of 90.
Cole, whose showbusiness career spanned 70 years, is best remembered for his portrayal of small-time wheeler dealer and crook Arthur Daley in the TV show Minder, alongside his likeable bodyguard Terry McCann, played by Dennis Waterman.
The show, which ran from 1979 to 1974, brought the criminal underworld of west London to millions of homes up and down the country.
Cole died yesterday in hospital with his family at his side, according to agent Derek Webster, who represents Waterman.
Mr Webster said: "It is with deep regret that I have to announce the sad death of one of our most loved and respected actors.
"George Cole passed away yesterday at the Royal Berkshire Hospital after a short illness. His wife Penny and his son Toby and daughter Tara were with him at his bedside."
Born in 1925 Cole, who was adopted as a baby and grew up in Morden, south London, began his career in musical theatre when he left school, before getting his break in films in the 1940s.
As a 14-year-old he was taken in by comedy star Alastair Sim and his wife Naomi, who became a second mother to him, and Cole went on to star in a series of films and theatre shows with the Scottish star.
Cole appeared in the 1943 film The Demi-Paradise opposite Laurence Olivier and in Olivier's film version of Henry V the following year, before serving with the Royal Air Force from 1944 to 1947.
His role as the spiv "Flash Harry" in four of the St Trinian's films in the 1950s proved an early prototype for his Arthur Daley character, and he played the character Flavius in the 1963 epic Cleopatra, opposite Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and Rex Harrison.
But Cole, who was awarded an OBE in 1992 - which at the time he said might have stood for an "Old British Entrepreneur" - will be best remembered for his portrayal of the camel-coated villain Arthur Daley.
As the forever scheming "Arfur" - always on the lookout for the next dodgy deal - he perfectly captured the ambitious, upwardly-mobile spirit of the 1980s.
With Daley spending each episode munching on cigars as he hatched another scheme to get rich quick, his long-suffering bodyguard McCann watching over his every step to shield him from the police, and fans always wondering who 'Er Indoors really was, Minder was one of the most popular programmes of the decade, garnering around 17.5 million viewers at its peak.
Dennis Waterman eventually left the show, with Gary Webster stepping into the role for the last two series.
Minder eventually came to an end after 15 years and 107 episodes because Cole wanted to spend more time with his own 'Er Indoors - his wife Penny.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel