Stephen Lewis has died at the age of 88.
The ‘On the Buses’ actor – who played Inspector Cyril ‘Blakey’ Blake – passed away peacefully in the early hours of yesterday (12.08.15) morning at the Cambridge Nursing Home in east London, and was "in high spirits" until the end, his great-niece Rebecca Lewis has confirmed.
She added: "He was always singing and joking. We just want people to remember him.""
Rebecca initially broke the news about her uncle – who was also known for playing Clem ‘Smiler’ Hemmingway in ‘Last of the Summer Wine’ and Harry Lambert in ‘Oh, Doctor Beeching!’ – on Twitter.
Alongside a picture of her uncle. she wrote: "Sadly my uncle ‘Blakey’ Stephen Lewis passed away yesterday. Very sad time for family."
Rashid Ebrahimkhan, manager of the Cambridge Nursing Home, where Stephen’s sister Connie also resides, remembered the actor as still "quite funny".
He said: "He was still quite funny.
"He still had his sense of humour, very much so, like he was on ‘On The Buses’. He had the sense of humour until the last.
"He was very resilient until the last."
And the manager said Stephen still uttered his famous catchphrases from the well-loved show, including "I’ll get you for this Butler" and "Get these buses out Butler".
Stephen Lewis has died
