Vale: Stephen Lewis

British actor Stephen Lewis, best known for On the Buses and Last of the Summer Wine, has died, aged 88.

He died peacefully in a nursing home in London, on Wednesday, family said.

Lewis played Inspector Cyril “Blakey” Blake in On the Buses from 1969 to 1973, regularly clashing with Reg Varney’s wily bus driver, Stan Butler.

“I’ll get you for this, Butler!” became his TV catchphrase.

He also appeared in its three big-screen features, On the Buses, Mutiny on the Buses and Holiday on the Buses.

Lewis also played “Smiler” in the BBC’s Last of the Summer Wine for 130 episodes from 1988 and continuing until 2007.

His other sitcoms included Don’t Drink the Water, On the Buses‘ short-lived, Spain-based sequel, and the BBC’s railway-themed Oh, Mr Beeching!

“He still had his sense of humour, very much so,” said Rashid Ebrahimkhan, manager of the Cambridge Nursing Home. “He was very resilient until the last.”

Source: BBC