Comedy writer Dick Sharples has died at the age of 88, it has been confirmed.

A prolific scriptwriter, his most successful work was perhaps In Loving Memory, an ITV sitcom set amidst a struggling undertakers' business in 1930s Yorkshire, starring Christopher Beeny and Thora Hird.

Born in 1927, Sharples began his career as a cartoonist and copy writer for an advertising agency based in Manchester.

He would go on to be a founder member of writers' union The Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) after submitting his first television script. He was told he could not be paid for his work as there would be no money left after actors had been paid, as "the bastards have a union".

As well as writing six series of In Loving Memory, Sharples penned another sitcom for Thora Hird. In Hallelujah! she played Captain Emily Ridley of the Salvation Army, battling the forces of darkness in contemporary Yorkshire.

He also penned Farrington Of The F.O., starring Angela Thorne, John Quayle and Joan Sims; a mid-1980s sitcom in which Thorne played the first female Consul-General appointed by the Foreign Office to head the British Consul in a south American banana republic.

Dick Sharples was also a prolific writer of television drama, accumulating around 800 script credits to his name. Shows for which he wrote include Adam Adamant Lives, Dixon Of Dock Green, The Bill, Doctor Finlay's Casebook and General Hospital.

His other comedy credits include A Little Bit Of Wisom, starring Norman Wisdom; Thicker Than Water; Free And Easy; The Nesbitts Are Coming; and Joan And Leslie, all of which he created.

Sharples also contributed to famed Norman Wisdom film Up In The World, sitcom Never Mind The Quality, Feel The Width, and penned the film adaptation of George And Mildred.

WGGB chair Gail Renard says: "Dick Sharples's career was the history of British television. He contributed to series such as The Saint, Dixon Of Dock Green, Z-Cars, and dozens of others. Dick went on to create his classic situation comedies Hallelujah! and In Loving Memory, both for his favourite actress and muse, Thora Hird.

"Earlier in his career, Dick wrote on A Little Bit Of Wisdom. Norman Wisdom was renowned for demanding to be in every scene. Dick told me he once wrote a third of a page in which Wisdom didn't feature. Dick went to the loo and upon his return saw a note from his star scribbled in the margin of his script: 'Where's Norman?'

"Dick was on the WGGB Television Committee and a negotiator for many years. His company guaranteed good companionship and laughter. It was a privilege to know him."

Dick Sharples was born on 7th June 1927 and died on 19th October 2015 after a short illness. He is survived by his partner, Marcia, and a son and daughter.

His funeral will be held this Thursday, 5th November at Golders Green Crematorium, NW11.