Vicar of Dibley actor Gary Waldhorn dies aged 78

Waldhorn, who also featured in the comedy sketch show French and Saunders, played the bullish councillor Horton in every episode of the much-loved sitcom from 1994 to 2007. He most recently appeared in a Christmas special, The Vicar of Dibley in Lockdown.

Born in Paddington, central London, in 1943, Waldhorn studied at the Yale School of Drama where he met his wife, Christie Dickason, who became a theatre director and later a playwright and novelist. The couple have one son.

Dawn French, who played the central character, Geraldine Granger, in The Vicar of Dibley, tweeted a picture of Waldhorn along with a broken heart emoji.

His theatre roles included Good for the RSC in 1981, which went to Broadway, and Black Comedy alongside David Tennant in the West End in 1998. He also provided voiceovers for adverts including for Green Flag, Kwik Fit, Branston and Marmite.