Actor Andrew Sachs dies aged 86

Andrew Sachs, best known for his role as the hapless Spanish waiter Manuel in television’s Fawlty Towers, has died at the age of 86.

Sachs’ death on November 23 was confirmed by his family, who also said he had been suffering with dementia since 2012.

He began his career in repertory theatre before making his West End debut in John Chapman’s farce Simple Spymen at the Whitehall Theatre in 1958. Other stage appearances included Alan Bennett’s Habeas Corpus in 1973, a 1985 revival of Tom Stoppard’s Jumpers and a national tour of Willy Russell’s Educating Rita in 1987.

A familiar voice on BBC Radio 4 and television documentaries, Sachs was also seen in Coronation Street and EastEnders, and wrote more than a dozen plays.

Among early tributes paid, John Cleese, who wrote and starred in Fawlty Towers opposite Sachs, described him as “a very sweet, gentle and kind man and a truly great farceur”.

Samuel West, whose mother Prunella Scales appeared alongside Sachs in Fawlty Towers, added of the German-born actor: “Creator of one of our most beloved EU migrants. Such warmth and wit; impossible to think of him without smiling.”

Director of BBC content Charlotte Moore said: “He will be fondly remembered for his many appearances across television and radio. He entertained millions across a brilliant career and will be greatly missed.”

Sachs’s autobiography, I Know Nothing, was nominated for the Sheridan Morley Prize in 2015.