The British screen and stage actor Simon Ward has died after a long illness, his agent has confirmed.
Ward, who was 70, appeared in several films from the 1960′s until the 1980s, including The Three Musketeers and Hammer’s Frankenstein Must be Destroyed.
He also starred as Bishop Gardiner in The Tudors and as Sir Monty in the popular BBC television series Judge John Deed .
A statement released by his agent said he passed away peacefully with his wife Alexandra and daughters at his bedside.