Actor and star of Heartbeat

Born: October 8, 1928;

Died: 30 March 2018

BILL Maynard, who has died aged 89, was an actor best known for playing the eccentric Claude Jeremiah Greengrass in the nostalgic ITV police drama Heartbeat from 1992 to 2000. He was also the star of the 1970s sitcom Oh No, It's Selwyn Froggitt and appeared in a number of the Carry On films.

Maynard, whose real name was Walter Williams, starred in three Carry Ons films in all - Carry On At Your Convenience, Carry On Matron and Carry On Dick. In 1980 he played Sergeant Beetroot in the TV series Worzel Gummidge and more recently made appearances in The Royal and The Moorside. He had also recently filmed an episode of the quiz show Pointless.

Maynard will be best remembered, though, for the eight years in which he brought to life the curmudgeonly king spiv of Aidensfield Claude Jeremiah Greengrass in Heartbeat.

Maynard played the role late in a career which spanned seven decades. He was the dishevelled rogue operating on the fringes of the law opposite Nick Berry and others for 10 series of the drama.

At its peak the series was watched by up to 18 million and the comedy actor was loved for his scams in the heartwarming series set on the North Yorkshire moors in the 1960s.

He finally hung up Greengrass's tatty hat in 2000 aged 72, following a stroke in 1997 that led to scripts being rewritten to accommodate his recovery.

Post-Heartbeat he continued to work on other projects into his final years, including reprising the role in Heartbeat spin-off The Royal, and film work.

The actor, who lived in Leicestershire, also had a BBC Radio Leicester show that ran for five years from 2003 to 2008.

Born Walter Williams in 1928 (his stage name was inspired by the sweet company) he made his first appearance on TV in the BBC's Face The Music on September 12 1953, although he began performing even earlier.

In the mid-50s he made Great Scott It's Maynard for the BBC with fellow comic Terry Scott, who would go on to become a household name in Terry and June.

The pair had started out together with a revue company at Butlins in Skegness, where they topped up their salary by an extra 50 shillings a week doing the company's laundry.

In 1957, he attempted unsuccessfully to become the UK's Eurovision entry and as recently as 2013 he recorded a version of What A Wonderful World on iTunes to coincide with the 60th anniversary of his first TV appearance.

Speaking at the time he said that making people laugh and smile brought him a lot of personal satisfaction.

"I am delighted to be still in the entertainment industry doing what I love most - 76 years since I began my career," he said.

"I have had an amazing career and I consider myself to be very lucky to still have the energy and enthusiasm to take on new work."

Maynard died in hospital in Leicestershire shortly after breaking his hip in a fall off his mobility scooter.

He is survived by a son and daughter, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.