The actor and comedian Stanley Baxter has died at the age of 99

Born in Glasgow in 1926, Baxter was best known for helming TV sketch series including The Stanley Baxter Show and The Stanley Baxter Picture Show.

Baxter began his career as a child actor in the BBC series Children’s Hour, and was a part of the Combined Services Entertainment unit, providing live entertainment for troops during the second world war.

Success in radio in the postwar period led to theatre and pantomime work, and in 1959 Baxter relocated to London where his career would span stage work, radio sitcoms and TV roles, notably featuring his impressions of famous figures including the pope and Queen Elizabeth II.

Film roles included Crooks Anonymous, with Leslie Phillips, and The Thief and the Cobbler, notable for having remained unfinished for 29 years.

In 2020, Baxter came out as gay, following publication of an authorised biography, The Real Stanley Baxter by Brian Beacom. In it, Baxter – who was married to his wife Moira for 46 years – described being gay as a “very difficult life. There are many gay people these days who are fairly comfortable with their sexuality, fairly happy with who they are. I’m not. I never wanted to be gay. I still don’t.”