Yes Minister and Heartbeat star Fowlds dies aged 82
YES Minister star Derek Fowlds has died at the age of 82, his family said.
The actor was best known for playing private secretary Bernard Woolley in the sitcom and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister, as well as for his role as Oscar Blaketon in the long-running police drama Heartbeat.
Before that he found fame with children as Mr Derek on The Basil Brush Show alongside the glove puppet fox with the catchphrase “Boom Boom!” from 1969 to 1973, replacing Rodney Bewes as the presenter.
The actor died at the Royal United Hospital in Bath yesterday after suffering from pneumonia that led to heart failure caused by sepsis.
He was surrounded by his family when he died and is survived by sons Jamie and Jeremy.
Helen Bennett, his personal assistant and friend of many years, said: “He was the most beloved man to everybody who ever met him. He never had a bad word to say about anybody and was adored by everyone.
“You couldn’t have met a nicer person ever, he was just a wonderful man and I will miss him terribly.”
Fowlds’ first professional acting job was appearing in weekly rep at the Prince of Wales Theatre in Colwyn Bay in 1958 while on summer holiday from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
He made his West End debut in The Miracle Worker before roles in films such as Tamahine, East Of Sudan and Hotel Paradiso and TV series including Z Cars, The Liver Birds and ITV Sunday Night Theatre.
He also appeared in After That, This for a string of episodes in 1975.
He starred in Yes Minister opposite Sir Nigel Hawthorne and Paul Eddington from 1980 to 1984 before the sequel Yes, Prime Minister ran from 1986 to 1988.
He released his autobiography A Part Worth Playing in 2015 and his most recent credited television appearance was in Doctors in 2017.