Boon star Elphick dies at 55

EastEnders stars led tributes to actor Michael Elphick, who died in hospital after a long battle against alcoholism.

The 55-year-old star of comedy dramas like ITV's Boon most recently appeared in the BBC soap as Harry Slater. He died after complaining of pains on Saturday.

His mother Joan, 84, who still lives in his home town of Chichester said: "He wanted to be an actor from the age of 10 and was very quiet and very kind, just like his father - a very nice person."

EastEnders actress Barbara Windsor said: "Michael has left such a legacy. I really enjoyed working with him. He fought through his illness - he really was a good guy."

June Brown, who plays Dot Cotton in the soap, added: "Michael was a lovely character - even though a lot of people said he had a death wish. He was a very humble man in many ways - he would never side with people in a row."

Jessie Wallace, who appears as his niece Kat Slater, said: "It's a terrible shame that he has gone. He was great at his job."

Martin Kemp worked with Elphick both on EastEnders and in the film The Krays. He said: "He was lovely to work with and he was a great actor."

To many, Michael Elphick, who worked with Laurence Olivier in the theatre, will be remembered as the private investigator Ken Boon in the successful Eighties series. With his craggy face, gravel voice and true man-in-the-street demeanour, he became an instant hit.

Former Boon co-star Neil Morrissey, said: "Michael has been a great friend and mentor for many years. He is one of the best actors this country has produced."

He was also a hit in comedy-drama Private Schultz, in which he played a lowly German soldier. Elphick took on a far more controversial role in East-Enders last year as Harry Slater - the man who raped his niece and made her pregnant.

In real life he had an on-off battle with drink and in the early Nineties sought help from Alcoholics Anonymous. However in 1998, two years after the death from cancer of his long-term partner, schoolteacher Julia Alexander, it was reported that he had checked in to the Priory Clinic. The couple had a daughter, Kate, now 25, with whom Elphick was living in Willesden Green.