Don Estelle

Actor and singer Don Estelle was best known to television audiences for his role as gunner 'Lofty' Sugden in the long running BBC sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum. The 4ft 9in actor became a household name almost overnight, and as a result of his collaboration with co-star Windsor Davies, he unexpectedly topped the charts for three weeks in 1975 with the song Whispering Grass.

Don Estelle was born in Crumpsall a suburb of Manchester on 22 May 1933. During the Second World War, at the age of eight, he was evacuated to Darwen, near Blackburn in Lancashire to escape the Manchester Blitz and it was here that he joined a local church choir. After the war he returned to Manchester and had vocal training to improve his voice before joining the Manchester Kentucky Minstrels.

With this local singing group he toured clubs and theatres throughout the North eventually arriving in London where, in 1962, Estelle met Windsor Davies at the Garrick Theatre. They decided to form a double act and spent the next four years touring the country performing wherever they could get a gig. Encouraged by Davies, Estelle started acting although it was obvious to him from the start that because of his short stature he was more likely to be cast as a comedy character than a romantic lead.

His first big break came when Arthur Lowe introduced him to the producer David Croft, who gave him a small role in Dad's Army. When Croft co-wrote It Ain't Half Hot Mum with Jimmy Perry, he wrote the part of Lofty Sugden with Estelle in mind.

The series ran from 1974 to 1981, reunited Estelle with Windsor Davies and quickly became one of the BBC's most successful sitcoms. However, after it concluded the BBC withdrew the option of repeating it as its humour was deemed politically incorrect and, in some case, offensive. Repeats in Australia and New Zealand continued to prove hugely successful. During the run of It Ain't Half Hot Mum, Estelle also appeared regularly on The Benny Hill Show, which later suffered the same fate.

Following the end of It Ain't Half Hot Mum Estelle, who had a powerful tenor voice, regularly toured Australia and New Zealand where he was rapturously received. In the UK, he continued to tour clubs and theatres well into his sixties although he rarely appeared on television apart from some cameo roles such as two episodes of The League of Gentlemen in 1999. That same year he published his autobiography, 'Sing Lofty - Thoughts of a Gemini'. He had become extremely bitter about modern-day entertainment producers describing them as being "tight-crutched, white-trousered morons".

Estelle briefly moved to Christchurch, New Zealand, where he spent countless hours working with jazz/blues pianist, Malcolm Bishop. He returned to England in 2003, weeks before his death, to take part in a BBC documentary on the history of British comedy. He also needed a liver transplant but became too weak for doctors to operate. He died in Rochdale Infirmary on 2 August 2003 and was buried in Rochdale with the oversized pith helmet he wore as Lofty Sugden. His widow, Elizabeth, who he had married in 1974 said: "He lived absolutely for his showbiz career."