Rodney Bewes is fondly remembered in Alnwick

The actor – best known for his role as Bob Ferris in the North-East-based BBC sitcom – passed away yesterday (Tuesday) morning.

In a statement on Twitter, his agent Michelle Braidman described him as a ‘true one off’.

She added: ‘It is with great sadness that we confirm that our dear client, the much loved actor Rodney Bewes, passed away this morning.

‘We will miss his charm and ready wit.’

Bewes, born in Bingley, near Bradford, would have turned 80 next week.

He went on to star in the sequel to the sitcom, Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads, alongside Sunderland-born James Bolam, Brigit Forsyth and Sheila Fearn.

Rodney appeared several times at the Playhouse in Alnwick, including in his one-man show Three Men in a Boat.

Ahead of his solo adaptation of The Diary of a Nobody, in September 2006, Rodney told the Gazette: “I love Alnwick. The Playhouse is a great theatre with a great audience. I’m looking forward to returning to the North East. It’s like coming home for me, even though I’m not a Geordie!”

His first trip to Alnwick was for the filming of Walt Disney’s The Spaceman and King Arthur at Alnwick Castle in 1978. He said: “When we shot the film, it was just great.”

He last performed in Alnwick in September 2007 in another one-man show, On The Stage – And Off, The Brief Career of a Would-Be Actor.