British actor Timothy West has died at the age of 90.

On Wednesday morning, Timothy’s children shared a joint statement announcing that their father had died the previous night.

“After a long and extraordinary life on and off the stage, our darling father Timothy West died peacefully in his sleep yesterday evening. He was 90 years old,” they said.

“Tim was with friends and family at the end. He leaves his wife Prunella Scales, to whom he was married for 61 years, a sister, a daughter, two sons, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. All of us will miss him terribly.”

“We would like to thank the incredible NHS staff at St George’s Hospital, Tooting and at Avery Wandsworth for their loving care during his last days,” they added.

In his lifetime, Timothy enjoyed a decades-spanning acting career that included credits as varied as the TV comedy Brass, the sitcom Not Going Out and adaptations of Charles Dickens’ Bleak House, Hard Times and Oliver Twist.

In his later years, he appeared in the soaps Coronation Street and EastEnders as Eric Babbage and Stan Carter, respectively.

Last year, he appeared in the “cosy mystery” series Sister Boniface Mysteries, which marked his final on-screen performance.

As well as his career on screen, Timothy was also an established name on the theatre scene as both a performer and director.

Timothy was also introduced to a whole new audience when he and his wife Prunella Scales began fronting the Channel 4 travel series Great Canal Journeys in 2014.

The couple won a wave of praise for the show, which they presented for 10 seasons, not least because of their frank discussions about Prunella’s diagnosis with Alzheimer’s disease.