Tributes paid to actor John Hewitt

Tributes have been paid following the death of the Northern Irish actor, John Hewitt.

He died overnight in the Causeway hospital in Coleraine, after a short illness.

The actor, John Hewitt (far left, front row) with acting colleagues

Hewitt, well known for his work in theatre and television, played opposite Kenneth Branagh in the BBC adaptation of Graham Reid's Billy plays.

The actor, Dan Gordon, said Hewitt was an actor of "the first and highest order".

"John Hewitt did so much work over the years. He was probably best known for his work in the Billy plays and he played the boyfriend who never was to Kenneth Branagh's oldest sister," he said.

"John would be known for his theatre work as well, John was an actor of the first and highest order.

"He studied at the Guildhall in London and he was just prolific in the Arts and the Lyric Theatres.

"He played alongside Liam Neeson in Philadelphia Here I Come and any time Neeson was back he was always trying to get in touch with John and John was off working and couldn't be got.

"He played Seamus Shields in Shadow of a Gunman, he was in Oliver, Pygmalion, Shadow of the Glen. You name it, he was in it.

Mark Mulholland, Brid Brennan, and John Hewitt (right) in the Billy plays

"He was amazing, he was chameleon like, and he was really good at playing people much older than himself."

Mr Gordon described Hewitt as "a wonderful guy" and a "great human being"

"John was just so kind to people he would ring you up at Christmas time and wish you all the best," he said.

"A card wasn't good enough he wanted to talk to you.

"He was so loved by people. An amazing amount of people have rallied around him and visited him while he was ill over this short time. He is just such a loss."