Sir Nigel Hawthorne, the distinguished actor who is still probably best loved for his role as Sir Humphrey Appleby in the classic comedy Yes Minister, has died at the age of 72.

He suffered a heart attack at 9.30am today at his home in Hertfordshire.

He had been battling cancer for 18 months.

He was born in Coventry in 1929, and started his stage career at the age of 22.

Among his early roles was appearing in the first overseas production of Beyond the Fringe, in South Africa.

But it was not until 1977 that he found TV fame, as the obsequious civil servant in Anthony Jay and Jonathan Lynn's Yes Minister.

His agent, Ken McReddie, said Hawthorn had impeccable comic timing.

He then found renewed success on stage, most notably in Shadowlands, and in films including The Madness Of King George, for which he was nominated for an Oscar.