Alas, we continue to lose actors and since my last article three more whom I had the pleasure to know have passed away.

The first to mention is that smooth upper class actor who was actually born above a pub in Birmingham in 1924. I refer to Tony Britton, who was famous on television in the 1970s and 1980s in such series as Don't Wait Up and Robin's Nest. At one time in the late 1950s they tried to launch him as a film star but it did not really happen.

When he was in his 80s, Tony kindly agreed to attend one of my events, even spending four hours driving from his home and putting himself up in a local hotel at his own expense. He was a true gentleman and of course his daughter Fern has enjoyed a successful television career.

Then we lost Nicky Henson, who was on our big and small screens from the 1960s, usually playing a cocky young man. I once chatted to him about a 1970s film he starred in supported by the unlikely combination of Beryl Reid and George Sanders. It was called Psychomania and Nicky recalled: "I played the leader of a gang of youngsters on motorcycles but the twist was we had all committed suicide and come back from the dead. It was low budget but has become a cult movie.

"Sanders flew in to shoot all his scenes in a few days and played a warlock dressed as a butler. It was very obvious he was unwell and sadly not long after he committed suicide in a Spanish hotel as he was tired of life."

Nicky fought cancer for many years but sadly lost the battle.

Lastly I must mention the actress Sue Lyon, who has died aged 73. Sue shot to fame as a 14-year-old playing the title role of Lolita, which Stanley Kubrick shot at Elstree Studios in the early 1960s. She went on marry several times, including a chap serving a prison sentence for murder, which would not have helped her career.

This year I am going to mention character actors from yesteryear who rarely get a mention but were always able to add something special to every film they appeared in. I will start with Anton Diffring, who portrayed the perfect Nazi officer many times on screen from Albert RN and Colditz Story to Where Eagles Dare. His blue eyes and chiselled features seem to fit the real Nazi ideal but in reality nothing could have been further from the truth. In real life he fled Germany just before the war as he was both gay and Jewish, which was the kiss of death. Anton enjoyed a long and successful career until his death, reportedly from AIDs, in 1989.

Another favourite of mine was Bernard Lee, who I once had a pint with at the Red Lion, now McDonald's, in Borehamwood. It was about 1978 and he was guest starring in a long forgotten television series called The Foundation at the nearby ATV Studios. You probably best remember him as M in many James Bond movies. Sadly, Bernard was an alcoholic and died from stomach cancer in 1981.

Both Diffring and Lee were so natural as actors and so watchable.

Until our next walk down Memory Lane, bless you for your company in this new decade.