It Ain't Half Hot Mum star Windsor Davies dies aged 88

The BBC reports that the actor died on Thursday 17th January, six months after his wife of 62 years had passed. The couple's daughter, Jane Davies, said the two had left a family "who will all remember them with love, laughter and gratitude".

Davies' It Ain't Half Hot Mum co-star Melvyn Hayes paid tribute to the actor, calling him "a gentle human being" and "one of the good guys".

"I considered him my best friend, even though we hadn't been in contact for many years," Hayes said. "To work with him was a pleasure, a sheer delight because he was so generous in his work. You couldn't buy him a drink because you'd go into a public house and they'd say 'Windsor has put some money behind the counter for you'. He was nothing like the character he played - he was a charming, quietly-spoken, gentle human being."

It Ain't Half Hot Mum ran for 8 series on the BBC from 1974-1981. Davies also played Donald Sinden in ITV's Never The Twain, featured in one-off BBC drama Grand Slam and scored a number 1 hit in 1975 with a recorded version of Whispering Grass in character, alongside IAHHM co-star Don Estelle.

Many stars and fans paid tribute to the actor on social media.

"Very sad to hear of the death of Windsor Davies, an absolute legend," Charles Wynford Lodge tweeted. A stalwart of British comedy appearing in many series and films as well as cropping up in the likes of Doctor Who, Hammer's Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed and lending his lovely voice to Srgt Major Zero in Terrahawks."

Check out further tributes below.

https://twitter.com/2hrTV/status/1086591370104659968

https://twitter.com/Markgatiss/status/1086652082755637248

https://twitter.com/Aardbloke/status/1086591590334939136

https://twitter.com/vickimichelle/status/1086596159840419840

https://twitter.com/NeilClark66/status/1086694648754724864

https://twitter.com/Croft_comHQ/status/1086590293787508736

https://twitter.com/CaptainLimey/status/1086598146719924224