Credits include Ted Lasso and Little Britain

Actor Anthony Head – whose credits include Ted Lasso, Merlin and Little Britain, has died at the age of 72.

He found international fame as Rupert Giles in hit teen sci-fi show Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the late 1990s.

He went on to play Prime Minister Michael Stevens, fawned over by Sebastian Love, an obsequious, closeted character played by David Walliams in Little Britain.

Walliams once said that Head got the role because ‘next to Steve Martin, he's the only man I'll ever turn gay for.’

From 2020 to 2023, Head played the villainous former Richmond F.C owner Rupert Mannion, in Ted Lasso alongside Jason Sudeikis and Hannah Waddingham, who played his ex-wife.

He also played Will’s dad in the Inbetweeners movie while other credits included  Merlin, The Iron Lady and Persuasion.

Head’s death comes just six months after his wife, animal welfare campaigner Sarah Fisher, died aged 61.

A statement from his daughters, actresses Emily and Daisy Head, said: 'It is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of our extraordinary father, Anthony Head.

'He passed away peacefully of complications due to pneumonia, surrounded by his family. It has been, and forever will be, an honour and a privilege to be his daughters, and to have witnessed firsthand the impact both he and his work have had on so many.

'We know how dearly he will be missed by friends, colleagues, and fans of the shows he was in – he loved his job very much, and he always considered himself incredibly lucky, to have been able to work alongside such exceptionally talented people, in such wonderful productions, across a career that spanned several decades.

'Our grief is far greater than the hole he has left behind, but we know his legacy will live on, in the shows he was a part of, and in the audiences that love them. How lucky we are to know we are able to watch him doing what he loved, even when he is no longer with us.

'We kindly ask that our privacy is respected at this difficult time.'

Published: 5 Jun 2026