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ARCHIVED - La Manga-based Minder star Dennis Waterman spent his retirement years playing golf in the Region of Murcia
The iconic actor, who has died aged 74, moved to Spain in 2015 with wife Pam and set up home in the Region of Murcia
Much-loved British actor Dennis Waterman spent the last seven years enjoying his retirement at a villa in La Manga before sadly passing away at a Spanish hospital on Sunday May 8 with his wife Pam by his side.
The iconic actor moved to the Region of Murcia in 2015, having decided to take an early retirement from acting.
In an interview with The Express a few years ago, Waterman said he relocated to Spain from the UK in order to downsize and spend his days relaxing and became a regular at La Manga golf resort.
He admitted to “not rushing about looking for work” and revealed he had become “really, really good at doing f*** all”.
He added: “I’ve always sneered at people who have gone into early retirement and thought, ‘What are you going to do?’, but I’ve taken to it like a duck to water.”
The exact cause of Waterman’s death has not been made public as yet, though his family have confirmed he passed away “very peacefully” in a Spanish hospital.
The statement reads: “We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved Dennis, passed away very peacefully in hospital in Spain, on Sunday afternoon, with [wife] Pam by his side. The family kindly ask that our privacy is respected at this very difficult time.”
The youngest of nine children, Clapham-born Waterman’s first acting role was in Night Train for Inverness in 1960, but he later established himself as a household name playing Detective Sergeant George Carter alongside John Thaw in police drama The Sweeney. And he enjoyed even bigger success as bodyguard Terry McCann in Minder from 1979 to 1989 with George Cole's wheeler-dealer character Arthur Daley.
The ITV hit show, which drew audiences of around 25 million, also bagged Waterman a top three hit in the 1980s when he sang the theme tune I Could Be So Good For You.
More recently, the actor was back in the spotlight alongside Amanda Redman, Alun Armstrong and James Bolam playing Gerry Standing in the BBC drama New Tricks until 2015.
His final film role was in comedy Never Too Late in 2020, which was filmed in Australia.
Image: Wikimedia
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