LORD Burton, the Highland laird said to have inspired the Monarch of the Glen television series, has died aged 88 after a long illness.

He lived on the family's ancestral estate, Dochfour, near Loch Ness, but was admitted in recent weeks to Highview House Nursing Home in Inverness where he died on Thursday night.

Lady Burton said her husband – Michael Evan Victor Baillie, 3rd Baron Burton – had never fully recovered from a car accident he had two years ago.

The BBC comedy drama Monarch of the Glen was a Sunday night highlight for millions of viewers between 2000 and 2005. Writer Michael Chaplin visited Lord Burton at his Dochfour Estate to research the programme.

Regarded as a colourful character, Lord Burton once accused "townies" of destroying Britain's finest trout fishing by using illegal fishing techniques. He was an opponent of the headquarters of Scottish Natural Heritage at Craig Dunain. Another campaign close to his heart was the dualling of the A9 to help prevent fatal crashes.

His widow recalled him as being fully involved in local matters. "I remember the endless meetings he went to – I didn't realise how many there would be," she said.

Lord Burton served on the former Inverness-shire County Council from 1948 to 1975 and the former Inverness District Council from 1984 to 1992. He was Grand Master Mason of Scotland from 1994 to 2000 and started the Ine Pony Club.