Comedian and writer John Junkin has died at the age of 76.
Junkin, who was in the Beatles film A Hard Day's Night and appeared in TV shows such as The Goodies, had been suffering from lung cancer.
He died at 0130 GMT at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire, said his friend and former BBC Radio 1 DJ Dave Lee Travis.
Five years ago, Junkin made a TV comeback in EastEnders, playing Ernie, a stranger who came into the Queen Vic.
The Ealing-born comedian had also had emphysema and asthma.
Junkin's film roles included Shake, who was one of the road managers in the Beatles' 1964 comedy adventure, A Hard Day's Night.
He also appeared in classic British comedy The Plank, with Tommy Cooper and Eric Sykes.
Talented
He was also a prolific writer. His credits include the Morcambe and Wise show and ITV's Hark at Barker, which starred Ronnie Barker as Lord Rustless alongside Josephine Tewson as Mildred Bates.
Junkin also wrote and appeared in Marty, which starred Marty Feldman.
More recently, Junkin was on the writing team of The Crazy World of Joe Pasquale and The Impressionable John Culshaw.
He also appeared in sitcoms Terry and June and Till Death Us Do Part.
His radio credits include Hello Cheeky! alongside Tim Brooke-Taylor and Barry Cryer, which was later turned into a TV series.
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