Gorden Kaye – the star of long-running World War II sitcom Allo Allo! – has died, aged 75.
Kaye starred as Rene Artois in all 84 episodes of the BBC series, which ran between 1982 and 1992, and returned for a one-off special in 2007.
He also appeared in more than 1,000 performances of the stage version of the comedy, which was set in a cafe in Nazi-occupied France.
Kaye’s cafe owner and reluctant resistance figure became a much-loved comedy character.
In the show, he risked his life to aid the French resistance and stay clear of occupying Germans, while fending off suspicion from his wife Edith, played by Carmen Silvera.
A long-running joke had Rene hiding a painting called The Fallen Madonna With The Big Boobies, inside a sausage.
