Tributes to Dennis Waterman who has died at the age of 74

ACTOR DENNIS Waterman, who starred in TV shows Minder, The Sweeney and New Tricks, has died at the age of 74 after a 60-year career.

Waterman first found fame as tough nut cop George Carter in The Sweeney He went on to star as bodyguard Terry McCann in Minder in which he also sang the theme tune, I Could Be Good For You, which went to Number 3 in the charts in 1980.

He played Gerry Standing in the BBC’s New Tricks and appeared in Where The Heart Is, The Canterbury Tales . He also starred in Stay Lucky, set in Yorkshire with Jan Francis.

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.”

Waterman’s last film role was in Never Too Late in 2020, which was filmed in Australia.

Born in London, he was educated at the Corona Theatre School. His first film role was in 1960 and he then joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 1967, he appeared in the groundbreaking film Up The Junction.

In 2009, he starred in the BBC’s hard-hitting drama Moses Jones. He said: “I really enjoyed it, because it was a very different kind of character and that’s important. On television in Britain, I’m sort of the cheeky chappie, everybody’s mate.”

His daughter Hannah became a TV star in her own right as Laura Beale in EastEnders.

Robin Askwith, Reece Shearsmith and Matt Lucas were among those who paid tribute to Waterman. Lucas said: “His guest appearance in our Little Britain Live show at Hammersmith Apollo – in which he hilariously duetted with David’s absurd impersonation of him – remains the absolute highlight of my career.”