Dennis Waterman: Minder star dies aged 74

Actor Dennis Waterman, known for his roles in TV shows including comedy Minder, dramas The Sweeney and New Tricks, and for being parodied in Little Britain, has died, his family have said. He was 74.

This is the fourth time Richmal Compton's larger-than-life schoolboy has been cut down to size for the small screen (previous William Browns famously include a scabby-kneed Dennis Waterman - he could be so bad for you), and some might argue these stories actually work best on the radio, c/o the peerless readings of Martin Jarvis - who, in a best-of-both-worlds scenario, also intermittently narrates this new 1950s-set adaptation from Simon Nye, which does lack a certain fizz. Outnumbered's Daniel Roche plays the scowling scamp, tonight encountering Violet Elizabeth Bott.