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Actor Anthony Bate, best known for his role in the BBC's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and a familiar face of TV drama during his five decade career, has died at the age of 84.
Bate - who played Oliver Lacon in the John Le Carre cold war thriller, and in the dramatisation of Smiley's People - died on Tuesday morning.
His agent Roger Charteris said the actor had been taken ill on Thursday and would be "greatly missed".
The actor - known to his friends as Tony - had roles in countless TV programmes including 60s TV hits such as The Avengers, The Saint and The Champions.
Bate's roles also included a memorable performance as Kim Philby in the BBC's 1977 drama about the Cambridge spy ring, Philby, Burgess and Maclean - alongside names such as Derek Jacobi and Arthur Lowe.
Other programmes in which he appeared included A Touch Of Frost, Prime Suspect, Midsomer Murders and Poirot, and he often specialised in "bad guy" roles.
