Ray Brooks — a prolific British actor who appeared in both film and TV across a five-decade-spanning career, and best known for narrating BBC’s beloved animated series Mr Benn and starring in the six-time BAFTA-nominated sex comedy The Knack… and How to Get It — has died at the age of 86, his family told BBC .

The listed cause of death was a short illness. His family told the publication that he had spent the last few years living with dementia but died peacefully on Saturday with his family at his bedside.

Brooks began his career in the ’60s, appearing in miniseries The Secret Kingdom and Julius Caesar . His first breakthrough series role was in BBC’s dramedy Taxi!, which ran from 1963-64, in which he appeared opposite Sidney James, who plays a cabbie and mentor to Brooks

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