LONDON — British actor Timothy West, who three times portrayed wartime leader Winston Churchill and the classic Shakespearean roles of Hamlet, King Lear and Macbeth, has died. He was 90 years old.

His children said in a statement that West died “peacefully” in his sleep “at last surrounded by his friends and family.”

“After a long and extraordinary life on and off stage, our beloved father Timothy West died peacefully in his sleep last evening,” said his children, Juliet, Samuel and Joseph.

Throughout his long career, West has appeared regularly on stage and screen, and his versatility has allowed him to play a wide range of characters. While he found success as a leading actor in numerous Shakespearean productions, recurring roles on “Coronation Street” and “Eastenders,” two of British television’s most popular soap operas, kept him in the public eye later in life.

Born in Bradford, northern England, West made his stage debut in London in 1959, then honed his acting skills by joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 1960s.

On television, he appeared in numerous adaptations of Charles Dickens’ novels, including “Hard Times,” “Oliver Twist” and “Bleak House.” “Hard Times” was parodied in ITV’s “Brass” from 1982 to 1984, where he played a ruthless self-made businessman. He returned for the third series in 1990.

West played Churchill three times; “Churchill and the Generals” in 1979, “The Last Bastion” five years later, and “Hiroshima” in 1995.

He was married for 61 years to actress Prunella Scales, who became famous for her role as Sybil Fawlty in the classic 1970s BBC comedy “Fawlty Towers”.

The couple’s long-lasting romance was showcased in 10 series of Channel 4’s ‘Grand Canal Cruises’ between 2014 and 2021. Ostensibly a love letter to the parochial and the British countryside, the program was widely praised for the honest way Scales was portrayed. slow deterioration with dementia.

West was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1984 for his services to drama.