Vicar of Dibley star and former Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre favourite Trevor Peacock has died at the age of 89 from dementia-related illness.
The actor and composer played Jim Trott in the Dawn French comedy series for 21 years, from 1994-2015
Peacock, who also had success as a songwriter, was born in London in 1931 and appeared in TV drama series Television Playhouse, Comedy Playhouse and The Wednesday Play in the Sixties.
He went on to appear in many stage plays, TV series such as EastEnders, Jonathan Creek and My Family and in films, but had a special relationship with Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre.
Over several years he appeared there in shows such as Waiting for Godot, Death of a Salesman, The Crucible and The Merry Wives of Windsor, and wrote musicals, among them Leaping Ginger and Cinderella in the late Seventies and Class K and Jack and the Giant in the Eighties.
His most notable success there was with Andy Capp, based on the famous Daily Mirror comic strip, which he wrote with pop star Alan Price, starred northern icon Sir Tom Courtenay and transferred to London’s Aldwych Theatre.
Of many tributes paid to the actor following the announcement, one of the first was from Dibley star Dawn French, whose social media message said simply, “Night, Trev; I love you”.