He played the part of the shy and gentle Mancunian Percy, a timid but imaginative north-country football fan who, for a bet, spent the night with a London prostitute (Sheila Hancock). Edward Albert Arthur Woodward was born in Croydon on June 1 1930, the only child of a factory worker, and educated at Kingston College.

Later, at the National Theatre, he played Flamineo in The White Devil (1969) and the title role in Cyrano de Bergerac (1970). The late 1950s saw him distinguishing himself at Stratford, as Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, and Laertes in Hamlet, then enjoying a popular success in Rattle of a Simple Man, opposite Sheila Hancock, at the Garrick in London in 1962. Other non-musical stage work would include the comedy "The Best Laid Plans," an acclaimed title role in "Cyrano de Bergerac," as well as noble appearances in "The White Devil," "Babes in the Wood" (as Robin Hood), "The Wolf," "The Male of the Species," "The Beggar's Opera" (as Macheath), "Private Lives" and "The Dead Secret. Regardless of country of origin all tracks are sung in English, unless otherwise stated in our description. He is survived by his wife, Michele Dotrice and their daughter, and the three children of his first marriage.

Following a leading stage performance in "Cyrano de Bergerac" (1971), Woodward landed his most notorious feature role, playing a God-fearing detective sent to a remote Scottish island populated by a pagan society in "The Wicker Man" (1973). Keen on acting since winning a talent competition at the age of five, he joined the repertory company at the Castle Theatre, Farnham, as assistant stage manager and made his professional début in A Kiss for Cinderella (1946).

Edward Woodward, left, as the uptight police officer Howie with Christopher Lee as Lord Summerisle in The Wicker Man, 1973.Noël Coward once said of him, "He was one of the nicest and most co-operative actors I've ever met or worked with. The Wicker Man also starred Christopher Lee, branching out from his performances in Dracula films to play Lord Summerisle, and Britt Ekland as the island's goddess of love deflowering young men. John, 1972 SITTING TARGET, from left: Oliver Reed, Edward Woodward, 1972 KING DAVID, Edward Woodward, 1985. He had a brief role in The Bill in 2008, and earlier this year he appeared in EastEnders, playing Tommy Clifford, a character harbouring a guilty secret.