Tributes paid to Freddie, star of TV and films
Emmerdale pal: He was truly adored
FREDDIE JONES, the actor who became a beloved star of Emmerdale after a glittering film career, has died. He was 91.
Before racking up 13 years in the cast of the ITV soap, Freddie appeared in movies including Dune, The Elephant Man, Firefox, Wild at Heart, Young Sherlock Holmes and horror classic Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed.
He played Sandy Thomas in Emmerdale from 2006 until last year. Co-star Mark Charnock (Marlon Dingle) said: “I can’t begin to describe the affection the entire cast and crew held for him. He was truly adored.
“He’d worked everywhere, with everyone. His anecdotes were gold dust. Like many others, I’ll treasure my friendship with him forever.
“People like Freddie don’t come along very often and everyone at Emmerdale knew what it meant to have him in our cast. So lucky. A brilliant actor. An absolute gent.”
Freddie worked as a laboratory assistant for more than a decade before becoming a professional actor. His first credit was on the TV mini-series Androcles and the Lion in 1960 and he worked steadily on the small screen, including as Claudius in miniseries The Caesars.
His film debut was in Marat/Sade in 1967. He appeared in literary dramas such as Far From The Madding Crowd and Nicholas Nickleby and the 1987 version of Vanity Fair.
Arguably his most famous film role was in The Elephant Man, as the cruel circus ringmaster Bytes. He also appeared in sci-fi dramas Krull and Dune, thriller Firefox, and Hammer horror movies including Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed and The Satanic Rites of Dracula.
More recently, Freddie had a number of roles in Heartbeat and Casualty before becoming a regular on Emmerdale. His son Toby Jones is one of Britain’s best-known actors.
Charlotte Bellamy, who plays Laurel Thomas on Emmerdale, said: “I was lucky enough to work with Freddie for over 13 years. I was in awe of his professionalism, humour and his zest for life.
“He was loved and respected by us all. The world is a poorer place without him.”