LONDON — British actor Timothy West, who played war leader Winston Churchill three times and the classic Shakespeare roles of Hamlet, King Lear and Macbeth, has died at the age of 90.

In a statement, his children said West died “peacefully” in his sleep “with his friends and family at the end.”

“After a long and extraordinary life on and off the stage, our beloved father Timothy West died peacefully in his sleep last night,” said his children Juliet, Samuel and Joseph.

During his long career, West has been a regular presence on stage and screen, his versatility allowing him to play a wide range of characters. He excelled as a leading actor in numerous Shakespeare productions, while his recurring roles in British television’s two most popular soap operas, “Coronation Street” and “Eastenders,” kept him in the public eye. public later in his life.

West, born in Bradford, northern England, made his stage debut in London in 1959, before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 1960s, where he honed his acting skills.

On television, he has starred in numerous adaptations of Charles Dickens novels, including “Hard Times,” “Oliver Twist” and “Bleak House.” “Hard Times” was parodied on ITV’s “Brass” from 1982 to 1984, in which he played a ruthless, self-made businessman. He returned for a third series in 1990,

West played Churchill three times, in “From Churchill and the Generals” in 1979, “The Last Bastion” five years later and in “Hiroshima” in 1995.

He was married for 61 years to actress Prunella Scales, who was best famous for her role as Sybil Fawlty in the classic 1970s BBC comedy “Fawlty Towers.”

The couple’s long romance was featured in 10 series of Channel 4’s ‘Great Canal Journeys’ between 2014 and 2021. The programme, which was ostensibly a love letter to barges and the British countryside, was widely praised for the how he honestly portrayed Scales’ story. slow deterioration with dementia.

West was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1984 for his services to theatre.