The Royle Family and Emmerdale star Peter Martin dies aged 81
Actor Peter Martin has died at the age of 81.
The news was confirmed by a friend on Facebook
“My friend, drinking partner, fishing buddy past away on Wednesday morning, very sad, many of you will know him from TV, RIP Peter Martin, we had some great laughs.”
Born in 1941 in Gainsborough, Peter rose to fame in the 1980s in a string of ads for Jewsons Hardware before going on to appear in shows such as First of the Summer Wine and The Beiderbecke Tapes.
However, he will be best remembered for his roles as Joe Carroll in the BBC sitcom The Royle Family and as Len Reynolds in the ITV soap Emmerdale.
The actor played Barbara and Jim Royle’s taciturn neighbour in the hit comedy between 1998-2012, while he appeared as Len for six years between 2001-2007.
Shortly after his arrival in Emmerdale, widower Len fell for Edna Birch (Shirley Stelfox), but the feelings were not reciprocated.
He later found love with Pearl Ladderbanks (Meg Johnson).
The character was killed off in May 2007, quietly passing away during a pageant to mark the village’s 500th birthday.
Peter’s other TV credits included ChuckleVision, Last Of The Summer Wine and Coronation Street.
