Jack May, The Archers' Nelson Gabriel, dies, aged 75

Jack May, who for 46 years played the suave antiques dealer and wine bar owner Nelson Gabriel in Radio 4's long-running serial The Archers, died yesterday in Hove General Hospital, in West Sussex following a long illness. He was 75

The cast of the series, who were told of his death while recording in Birmingham, were said to be "devastated".

One of the veterans of the programme, which began in 1950, May found fame with his portrayal of Gabriel, a wine bar manager and rather unscrupulous antique dealer, who was written into the series in 1951. Whispers in the fictional village of Ambridge often suggested that not all Gabriel's business dealings were above suspicion, May often said that he felt that he had a lot in common with his character, who he once described as "a whizzkid who has settled down a bit".

Obituary, page 24