In pictures: Michael Elphick

Michael Elphick, who has died aged 55, is perhaps best known for his role in Boon, and more recently EastEnders, but he took on a string of television roles in his three-decade career.

Playthings: Elphick enjoyed roles in television plays and dramas throughout the 1970s

He starred in Dennis Potter's nostalgic 1979 play Blue Remembered Hills - but his break came in Private Schultz (right)

He played the eponymous anti-hero in Private Schultz who smuggled forged money into England

Private Schultz (left) prompted a number of lead roles in the 1980s, like Bird Fancier (right)

Late Starter: Elphick tended to take on grittier roles

A move to the BBC in 1993 saw him play Harry, a ruthless freelance journalist

He was also a part of the BBC's lavish 1999 adaptation of Dickens' David Copperfield

He returned in EastEnders as Harry Slater