Comedian Roy Hudd has died at the age of 83.
Hudd hosted BBC Radio 2's The News Huddlines for 26 years and also starred in Coronation Street as funeral director Archie Shuttleworth.
A statement from his agent said: "We are sad to announce the passing of the much-loved and amazingly talented Roy Hudd OBE.
"After a short illness, Roy passed away peacefully on the afternoon of Sunday the 15th of March, with his wife Debbie at his side.
"The family would ask you to respect their privacy at this very sad time."
His death comes just months after the star was forced to deny he was ill after losing a massive seven stone.
Hudd's weigh plummeted after he had a gastric sleeve fitted last year.
He previously told the Mirror: "It’s not quite as violent as a band.
"It sort of reduces the size of your stomach. I had to have it done, I’d got diabetes.
"My doctor, who is terrific, said I’d never get the weight off by dieting and she was right.
"I’d got to nearly 20 stone. Now I’m 13. I don’t eat a lot. I was never a big eater, but I was a snacker. That is the killer.
"When I lost the weight, people said, 'Oh, are you ill?'"
Hudd, born in Croydon in south London, started his career as a stand-up comedian before working as a redcoat at Butlins in 1958 and later moving into radio.
He put his skills to use appearing on shows such as Workers' Playtime in 1959.
The funnyman made the transition to TV in the 1960s starring in The Illustrated Weekly Hudd and The Roy Hudd Show before landing his well-known radio series The News Huddlines.
The topical sketch show ran for 51 series from 1975 until 2001 on BBC Radio 2.
His other TV appearances included roles in Common As Muck and one Foot in The Grave before he landed a role in Corrie as Archie Shuttleworth in 2002.
He was in the show full-time for a year before leaving in 2004.
Hudd returned for a number of guest appearances until Archie was killed off in late 2018.
He went on to land other T roles in shows including New Tricks, The Quest, Casualty, Holby City, Law & Order: UK and Midsomer Murders.
In 2017, he landed a role in Broadchurch and his last TV appearance is said to have been a part in Casualty in July 2019.
Aside from his TV work, Hudd was made an OBE in the 2004, and released almost 20 books fro the 1970s until 2009.
He was the longstanding president of the British Music Hall Society, and chose the genre as his specialist subject when he appeared on Celebrity Mastermind in 2014.
