Noted for his deep, booming voice, slicked-back hair, moustache and horn-rimmed glasses, the star died in Brisbane, Australia, where he emigrated seven years ago.

His agent Felix De Wolfe said: "He had a good life and he kept himself busy. I understand there was no illness, it was really just old age."

Actor John Alderton, the star of Please Sir!, said: "He was the most modest, self-effacing man and somebody who everybody loved to be with.

"He was already a legend when I first worked with him because he had done so much stuff on the radio and I'd grown up hearing him.

Corky: Deryck Guyler's most famous role

"Deryck was one of the business's gentlemen. He was the gentlest, sweetest men you could ever have hoped to work with.

"When not working at rehearsals we would find him in the corner reading the Bible. When he gets through the Pearly Gates, which he will do very shortly, he will already know his way around.

The funeral of the Liverpool-born star is expected to take place in Australia where he lived with his wife Paddy, who survives him.

Guyler appeared in several films, plus another British TV classic from the 70s - Here Come the Double Deckers.

His big screen credits included the 1964 Beatles film A Hard Day's Night, 1968's Carry On Doctor, and One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing from 1976 opposite Peter Ustinov and Helen Hayes.

Guyler was usually cast as a figure of authority, playing policemen for a large part of his career, notably as "Corky" in Sykes, in which he starred alongside Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques.

Even though he was best known for his TV work, radio was his first love. He made more than 6,000 radio broadcasts over five decades.

He was also familar for his celebrity turn of playing the washboard.