TV actor Bill Owen dies

Tributes were paid last night to Bill Owen, Compo in television's Last of the Summer Wine

Tributes were paid last night to Bill Owen, Compo in television's Last of the Summer Wine. The 85-year-old star died at King Edward VII Hospital in central London, of stomach and bowel cancer.

His co-star Peter Sallis, who played Clegg in the show, called his creation "the greatest comedy character of his time."

Owen, who was in the series for 26 years, was taken ill in France last month where he and the rest of the cast were filming a Millennium special.