Australian actor Bill Kerr, famed and much-loved for his role alongside Tony Hancock and Sid James in Hancock's Half Hour, has died aged 92.

The last surviving male star of the genre-defining radio sitcom, Kerr was born to an Australian showbusiness family on tour in South Africa in 1922 and settled in Britain after the Second World War to further his career.

Bill Kerr became a prolific star, with work encompassing stage, radio, television and film. However, when the hit radio sitcom for which he was best known transferred to television, his character did not follow.

Writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson later penned a co-starring role for Bill Kerr in Citizen James, the BBC sitcom that followed Sid James's departure from the Hancock's Half Hour TV series at Hancock's insistence.

Kerr also worked alongside Spike Milligan on a number of occasions, including in the controversial sitcom The Melting Pot. Focusing on the topic of illegal immigration, the BBC cancelled the series after just one episode had been broadcast.

Other roles included appearances in Sykes And A..., Comedy Playhouse, and Benny Hill's self-titled 1962 BBC sitcom.

Away from the comedy genre, Kerr also enjoyed appearances in productions as diverse as Doctor Who, hit war film The Dam Busters, and Dixon of Dock Green.

Bill Kerr returned to Australia in the late 1970s, where he settled in the western city of Perth and forged a career as a respected character actor on stage, film and television, working well into the 2000s.

He died at his home in Perth this week.

Here is the classic Hancock's Half Hour radio episode The Last Bus Home, featuring Tony, Sid and Bill alone.