The Great Escape actor Tom Adams dies aged 76

Adams died following a battle with cancer

The Great Escape actor Tom Adams, who died at the age of 76 (PA)

The Great Escape actor Tom Adams has died at the age of 76, his agent has confirmed.

Adams, who lived in Windsor, passed away at Slough's Wexham Park Hospital on Thursday after battling cancer.

He rose to fame after landing the role of Dai Nimmo, the RAF officer in charge of diversions in The Great Escape, where he starred alongside Steve McQueen and the late Richard Attenborough.

Adams then went on to star in dramas such as General Hospital and The Onedin Line in the 1970s.

As an actor with a "rich and chocolatey" voice", he also worked as a voice-over artist and was the long-running voice of E4, his agent Emma Harvey said.

She described him as a “true gentleman” with a personality “as big and warm as his wonderful voice”.

"We'll miss him very much."

His friend, director Kate Wilson, paid tribute to Adams, who she said had continued working up until a few weeks before he died.

She said: "For anyone who knew him, his face, voice and presence will be sorely missed. Handsome to the end."

Additional reporting by PA