Emmerdale actor Andy Devine dies, aged 79

Public records confirm he died on 27th January. His cause of death has not been confirmed, reports The Sun.

Devine served in the Royal Navy in the 1960s, before turning his hand to acting.

He first appeared on Emmerdale in 2000 as Shadrach – Chas and Cain Dingle's terrible father – and appeared on and off on the show for a decade until 2010.

Devine also played a Draconian Guard in the Doctor Who story Frontier in Space, as well as Bernard in Channel 4's Queer as Folk.

He also appeared in an episode of Linda Green, portraying the eponymous lead character’s lecherous boss Syd Jenkins.

He departed from Emmerdale for good in July 2010 after his character was killed off in an alcohol abuse storyline.

His character met a watery end as he died of liver failure and ended up in a cold river in Leeds.

“I did like my ending, because it was underplayed. Usually they just blow you up or something," he told Manchester Evening News at the time.

"I’m glad I was killed off, because otherwise I might have one of those days where I’d call my agent saying ‘get me back on it’. Now, it’s very much curtain down on that."

But Devine had no plans to retire following his exit from the soap and went on to treads the boards, starring in 2010’s Manchester Opera House panto of Snow White, as the Queen’s Henchman, alongside ex-Coronation Street star Tina O’Brien.

Tributes began flooding in on social media following the sad news of Devine’s passing.

One Twitter user said: "Sad news, RIP Andy Devine. Brilliant actor."

Another tweeted: "RIP Andy Devine. Shadrach Dingle was a great character."