R.I.P. Dennis Waterman

[Reza]

Dennis Waterman dies aged 74: Actor best known for roles in Minder, the Sweeney and New Tricks passes away at his home in Spain with his wife by his side.

By Stewart Carr and Jamie Phillips For Mailonline
16:23 08 May 2022, updated 19:22 08 May 2022

Legendary TV actor Dennis Waterman has died at the age of 74, his family has announced.

Waterman was one of the most popular television actors of the 1970s in 80s. He starred as bodyguard Terry McCann in Minder after first finding fame as tough nut cop George Carter in The Sweeney.

A statement said: "We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved Dennis passed away very peacefully in hospital in Spain."

He died on Sunday afternoon with wife Pam at his side, they said.

"The family kindly ask that our privacy is respected at this very difficult time," they added.

Born in London and educated at the Corona Theatre School, Waterman began his career in a role for the Children's Film Foundation, after which, at the age of 12, he was invited to join Stratford's Royal Shakespeare Company.

He went on to find fame in his teens in William, the BBC's adaptation of Just William.

He became one of the best-known faces on British television in the 1970s when he played Det Sgt George Carter opposite John Thaw in ITV's police drama The Sweeney.

He enjoyed more success in Minder from 1979 to 1989 as Terry McCann, the bodyguard and partner to George Cole's wheeler dealer Arthur Daley.

Waterman went on to star in the comedies On the Up and Stay Lucky, before another popular and long-running role as another Cockney detective in New Tricks, which ran from 2003 to 2015.

His character Gerry Standing in New Tricks marked his return to a long-running show for the first time in a decade and saw him star alongside acting stalwarts James Bolam and Alun Armstrong.

He became well-known for singing the theme songs to many of his shows, and was caricatured by David Walliams in Little Britain as a result.

Throughout his acting career Waterman continued to pursue his interest in music, and had number one hits in Australia and New Zealand, and got to number three in the UK charts with I Could Be So Good For You, the theme song from Minder.

Paying tribute, actor and comedian Matt Lucas tweeted: "I grew up watching Dennis Waterman's iconic performances in The Sweeney and Minder.

"His guest appearance in our Little Britain Live show at Hammersmith Apollo - in which he hilariously duetted with David's absurd impersonation of him - remains the absolute highlight of my career."

In 2009, he starred in the BBC's hard-hitting drama Moses Jones, a role he said at the time he relished because it cast him in a different light.

"I really enjoyed it, because it was a very different kind of character - and that's important," he explained.

"On television in Britain, I'm sort of the cheeky chappie, everybody's mate, but I've never played anything like that in the theatre.

"It's strange that you get cast as different things in different parts of the media."

His last film role was in Never Too Late in 2020, which was filmed in Australia.

Waterman had been married several times, including to actress Rula Lenska until 1998, and his daughter, Hannah, became a TV star in her own right, landing a role in EastEnders as Laura Beale.

Tributes have flooded in for the star, with broadcaster Kay Burley describing him as a "brilliant actor who was a staple on our screens throughout the 70s and 80s".

"Loved The Sweeney. Loved Minder more," she tweeted.

DIY SOS presenter Nick Knowles remembered a charity golf trip to Bermuda he took alongside Waterman: "I'm not much of a golfer - he was - but it was time spent with him between rounds that were well worth the trip. A genuinely lovely guy."