Actor Dennis Waterman who has died at the age of 74, lived in Buckinghamshire for many years and helped raise thousands for local charities.
Tributes have been paid to Waterman, who starred as bodyguard Terry McCann in Minder and tough nut cop George Carter in The Sweeney opposite John Thaw.
A statement from his family said: “We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved Dennis, passed away very peacefully in hospital in Spain, on Sunday afternoon, with Pam by his side.
“The family kindly ask that our privacy is respected at this very difficult time.”
Dennis lived in Bucks for many years, first in Wooburn Common, where he lived with then-wife Rula Lenska, and then after their marriage broke up, he relocated to Farnham Royal.
He lived in the south Bucks village with Pam Flint, who he married in 1987, and would regularly be spotted at charity events and outings in the area.
Over the years, he featured in the Bucks Free Press many times for helping different charities, as well as for filming his popular BBC drama New Tricks in the area.
In 2007, the paper reported how he helped to judge a karaoke competition to raise cash for an all-weather pitch at Beaconsfield SYCOB's youth football training academy – and even took to the microphone himself to perform Rod Stewart’s Maggie May.
In 2010, he joined his New Tricks colleague actress Amanda Redman at a charity fashion show at Harleyford Golf Club in Marlow to raise money for the Urostomy Association after his wife Pam suffered cancer of the bladder.
In 2014, he joined actor Warren Clarke, who lived in Beaconsfield, in organising a celebrity golf day to raise vital funds for Helen and Douglas House children’s hospice.
The pair were pictured outside a Helen & Douglas House shop in The Broadway in Beaconsfield to help raise awareness of the charity.
After Warren’s death, Dennis held the Warren Clarke Memorial Golf Day in his memory in 2015, which also raised cash for Helen and Douglas House.
He also loved his local pub, The Emperor in Blackpond Lane in Farnham Royal, so much, he bought it back in 2012 with businessman Martin Flood.
At the time, he told reporters he had been living in the area for around 30 years and had regularly visited the pub, but had decided to buy it when it went on the market.
They celebrated the official relaunch of their pub on August 29, 2012.
Dennis had a long and successful acting career, playing Gerry Standing in New Tricks, and other TV roles included ITV’s Where The Heart Is, The Canterbury Tales and Moses Jones, both for the BBC.
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.
His last film role was in Never Too Late in 2020, which was filmed in Australia.
Memories of Dennis Waterman in Buckinghamshire
The actor lived in Buckinghamshire for many years and helped raise thousands of pounds and vital awareness for local charities. He was also regularly spotted out and about in the area - share your memories of meeting him or seeing him in Bucks here.
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