Love Thy Neighbour’s Jack Smethurst has died aged 89.
The actor, who was best known for playing Eddie Booth, in the sitcom, is reported to have been surrounded by loved ones when he died peacefully, the Daily Star claims.
The actor died peacefully, surrounded by his family, The Daily Star reports.
Tributes have been pouring in for the star, with former EastEnders villain John Altman writing: ‘Saddened to hear that my old friend Jack Smethurst has passed away. He was great fun to work with.
‘I will always have fond memories of the times we spent together. May he rest in peace.’
Actor’s agency Pemberton Associates added: ‘We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our former client, Jack Smethurst.
‘He had a very long career, appearing in many iconic films and series. See the thread below for fabulous images.
‘He had thousands of amazing stories and was a genuinely lovely man. RIP Jack.’
Smethurst made his film debut in 1958’s Carry On Sergeant, followed by roles in the films Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960), A Kind of Loving (1962), and the ITV sitcom For the Love of Ada.
He landed the role of Eddie, a bigoted socialist union leader in 1972, with Love Thy Neighbour running for eight series until 1976.
Besides his most famous role, Smethurst also played four different characters in Coronation Street, including a brewery drayman in 1961 and conman Percy Bridge in 1967.
Between 1980 and 1983, he occasionally appeared as Johnny Webb, one of the men on Eddie Yeats’ bin round.
In 2001, Smethurst returned for several months as Stan Wagstaff, a friend of Jimmy Kelly, who left his allotment to Jack Duckworth.
Together with his brother Ernie, Stan let Jack in on Jimmy’s big secret — he used his allotment shed to brew poteen.
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