Rest in peace.
Last of the Summer Wine star Tom Owen has died aged 73.
In a statement, the actor’s family announced: “He passed away peacefully and is survived by his two children, James and William, and ex-wife, Mary.”
Owen played the nomadic Tom Simmonite in the popular and long-running BBC sitcom for 10 years from 2000.
His appearance on the show continued a family tradition after his father, Bill Owen, portrayed his on-screen dad, Compo Simmonite.
The actor’s other television credits included The Bill, The Onedin Line and Upstairs Downstairs.
Tom was cast to play the character of Compo’s long-lost son just days after the death of Bill Owen in July 1999.
“It was two or three days after Dad had died,” he told Telegraph & Argus back in 2000.
“Obviously my mind was on other things, like organising the funeral, and it hadn’t occurred to me at all that I would be approached to play Compo’s long-lost son.
“I thought about it for two seconds before saying yes.”
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