John 'I'm free' Inman dies aged 71

John Inman, star of TV sitcom Are You Being Served?, died in hospital early this morning, his manager said today.

The actor, 71, died in St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, west London, at 4am after being ill for some time, Phil Dale said.

Mr Dale said: "John, through his character Mr Humphries of Are You Being Served? was known and loved throughout the world.

"He was one of the best and finest pantomime dames working to capacity audiences throughout Britain.

"John was known for his comedy plays and farces which were enjoyed from London's West End throughout the country and as far as Australia, Canada and the USA."

Inman's long-term partner, Ron Lynch, is said to be "devastated" at his death.

The actor suffered from hepatitis A and had been taken into hospital for tests after problems with his liver.

It was revealed that he had the disease after it forced him to cancel the opening of a pantomime in London on December 9, 2004.

Hepatitis A is an inflammation of the liver caused through eating contaminated food, which the star believed was how he came to have the virus.

It was initially hoped he would be able to return to the pantomime, in which he was due to play Wanda the Cook in Dick Whittington, before Christmas 2004, but he never worked again.

The virus is highly infectious and symptoms include fever, loss of energy and jaundice.

There is no treatment except bed rest and the debilitating symptoms can often take several months to clear, but it is deemed less serious than the hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses.

Mr Dale said at the time that it was "not a serious illness" and that Inman was expected to be "fine".

The television actor's health problems in 2004 were the second scare in three years, after he spent three days in intensive care in 2001.

Then 65, he was admitted with breathing difficulties to St Mary's, the same hospital where he was later to die.

After three days in intensive care, he was given the all-clear and moved to a general ward.

Inman played camp salesman Mr Humphries in the comedy series Are You Being Served? for a decade from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s.

He starred alongside Wendy Richard, who went on to play Pauline Fowler in EastEnders, as well as Molly Sugden, Frank Thornton and Trevor Bannister.

The actor had been with Mr Lynch for 35 years. The couple "married" in a civil partnership ceremony at London's Westminster Register Office on December 23, 2005.

Are You Being Served? ran on the BBC from 1972 to 1985 and depicted the antics of the staff of Grace Brothers, an old-fashioned department store.

Inman's character, Mr Humphries, the senior sales assistant in the menswear department, was known for his catchphrase "I'm free" and for his overt campness.

The actor's portrayal of the pouting character brought him praise and in 1976 he was voted Funniest Man On Television by TV Times readers and declared BBC TV's Personality Of The Year.

But he was also attacked by gay groups offended by his stereotypical portrayal of a theatrical homosexual, although he argued that his sexual orientation was never stated.

Mr Dale later said: "Ron Lynch, his partner of many, many years, is absolutely devastated and, at the moment, inconsolable."

The agent added that he hoped Inman would be remembered as a "genuine British comedian".

He said: "It's a talent for that slightly camp comedy that can't come from any other country in the world."

The actor's death had not been unexpected as he had been ill for some time and had already been sent home from hospital twice, the manager went on.

He said: "He caught a cold or something which knocked him for six and he was brought back in for tests and then we lost him this morning."

Wendy Richard, who played shopgirl Miss Brahms in Are You Being Served?, wept as she spoke about Inman.

"John was one of the wittiest and most inventive actors I have ever worked with. He was a brilliant pantomime dame and an all-round brilliant actor," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Richard said she and her partner John Burns had visited Inman regularly during his illness, adding: "He had been poorly for some time."

Of their time working on Are You Being Served?, she said: "There was never any unpleasantness. We were a really good team."

And she said of Inman's sexuality: "Of course he never said he was gay, he just said he was a young man who was very good to his mother."

Actress Rula Lenska was a friend of Inman for more than 25 years.

She told BBC Breakfast: "I'm really terribly sad. I know that he had been very ill.

"My abiding memory of John is of joy and warmth.

"He was just a delight. I'm very proud to have known him, extremely proud to have worked with him, and very sad to lose him."

The pair worked together in panto and Lenska said: "I think theatre was his great love.

"He had that wonderful, innocent campery which nowadays doesn't exist. He was just a delicious person to work with and his sense of comedy timing was unbeatable."

Inman adored being a pantomime dame, she added.

"He was dainty and small and rather elegant, he just made the most wonderful dame," she said.

Recalling the campery of Inman's Are You Being Served? character Mr Humphries, Lenska said: "It was innocent. It wasn't in-your-face and it wasn't vulgar. It was camp. It was completely inoffensive.

"That's what was so special about him, he could be as suggestive as you like but never vulgar."

Everywhere Inman went, fans called out his catchphrase: "I'm free!"

But Lenska said he never tired of hearing it.

She said: "He was always sweetness and light. It's one of the things I learned from him - your public is your life.

"He would stand for hours at the stage door chatting to fans and signing photos."