Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Lab assistant became a star after his change of career
FREDDIE Jones was an old-fashioned actor who appeared in literary dramas such as Far From the Madding Crowd and Nicholas Nickleby, as well as the 1987 version of Vanity Fair.
But he achieved recognition in later life in the television soap Emmerdale, in which he played Sandy Thomas for 12 years.
The show’s cast remembered him as one of their “favourite human beings” after his death at 91.
Jones starred in Hollywood films such as Dune, The Elephant Man and Firefox, but played Emmerdale’s Sandy until last year.
A statement from the ITV show said: “Everyone at Emmerdale is deeply sad to hear about the death of one of the show’s most brilliant actors and favourite human beings, Freddie Jones. Freddie was part of Emmerdale for many years and he brought his unique, energetic, infectious, twinkle to every scene he was in.”
He became a regular on Emmerdale in 2006 and announced his departure last year, saying he could not justify staying, even though he had been offered another year on the show.
Mark Charnock, who plays Marlon Dingle, said: “I was one of the fortunate few to share a dressing room with Freddie for more than a decade.
“He was an amazing man. I can’t begin to describe the affection the entire cast and crew held for him. He was truly adored.
“He would light up the set with his wit and charm and privately was the most hilarious, fascinating company.
“He’d worked everywhere, with everyone, and his anecdotes were gold dust, and 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.”
Charlotte Bellamy, who played his daughter-in-law Laurel Thomas, added: “I was in awe of his professionalism, humour and his zest for life.
“He spent his last working years here at Emmerdale where he was loved and respected by us all. The world is a poorer place without him.”
His agent, Lesley Duff, said Jones died on Tuesday evening after a short illness.
The father of fellow actor Toby Jones, he became an actor after a mid-life career change, having previously worked as a laboratory assistant, performing in amateur theatre on the side.
His first acting 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 the TV mini-series The Caesars. His big-screen debut was in Marat/Sade in 1967.