Dam Busters star Richard Todd dies aged 90

Todd played Wing Commander Guy Gibson in The Dam Busters

Richard Todd, best known for his role in classic war film The Dam Busters, has died at the age of 90, after a battle with cancer.

Todd, a war hero in his own right, was also known for playing dashing heroes like Robin Hood and Rob Roy.

Born in Dublin in 1919, Todd was one of the first British soldiers to parachute into France on D-Day.

A spokesman for his family said he died peacefully in his sleep on Thursday at his home near Grantham in Lincolnshire.

Earlier this year, he celebrated his 90th birthday with a quiet gathering near his home.

A spokesman said he "had been suffering from cancer, an illness that he bore with his habitual courage and dignity.

Actor and war veteran Richard Todd returned to Normandyin 2004 for the 60th anniversary of D-Day

"His family were with him throughout."

Director Michael Winner, who worked with Todd in 1978 thriller The Big Sleep described him as "a splendid person and a very, very good actor."

"Richard Todd was the most wonderful type of British stiff upper lip acting," he said.

"He was a good friend and wonderful to work with, utterly professional, very quiet, just got on with it."

Tragedy

Made in 1955, The Dam Busters told of the development of the bouncing bomb used during World War II to destroy the Ruhr dams in Germany.

Todd played Wing Commander Guy Gibson, leader of the 1943 mission codenamed Operation Chastise.

Todd was seen with Nerys Hughes (l) in his four Doctor Who episodes

The actor, who was made an OBE in 1993, was last seen on screen in a 2007 episode of ITV drama Heartbeat.

In later life, he experienced personal tragedy when two of his sons committed suicide.

Todd's other movies include the Alfred Hitchcock thriller Stage Fright and the 1962 war film The Longest Day.

He also appeared in four episodes of Doctor Who in the 1980s, opposite Peter Davison's Doctor.

In 1950, he was nominated for the best actor Oscar for his work opposite future US president Ronald Reagan in The Hasty Heart.

'Daring deeds'

It was around this time that he first worked for the Disney studio, an association that led him to be named a "Disney Legend" in 2002.

Todd would later make light of his roles in The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men, The Sword and the Rose and Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue - selected as the Royal Film in 1953.

FROM THE PM PROGRAMME More from PM

"My image was all daring deeds, until my swash began to buckle a bit," he remembered.

The actor, whose full name was Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd, began acting on stage in 1937.

With the outbreak of World War II, however, he volunteered for duty, serving with distinction in the Army, the Infantry and the Parachute Regiment.

Todd's youngest son Seamus shot himself in 1997 at the age of 20.

Eight years later, Todd's eldest son Peter also took his own life after suffering depression.