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Father Ted star dies suddenly aged 70 as poignant tributes paid

Father Ted, Emmerdale and Casualty actor Ben Keaton has died aged 70, with tributes paid to the much loved star remembered for his iconic role as Father Austin Purcell.

[Ben Keaton]

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Father Ted star Ben Keaton has died at the age of 70

Irish actor Ben Keaton who starred in Father Ted, Emmerdale and Casualty has died at the age of 70. He died in Lincoln County Hospital in England on Friday.

His death notice said: "Ben will be forever greatly missed, loved and fondly remembered by his ex-wife Polly, son Waldo and daughter Daisy, brothers Des and Thom, sister Jeanette."

Following the news, Polly wrote on Facebook: "So incredibly sorry to say Ben Keaton died last night. It was very sudden and we are all in shock. We had separated several years ago but we had half a lifetime together and infuriated and made each other cry with laughter in equal measure. He was a great dad to Waldo and Daisy and the finest Groucho and Cyrano I have ever seen."

The actor was best known for having starred in the classic comedy series Father Ted, in which he played Father Austin Purcell and also had an illustrious career in theatre, Mirror UK reports.

A fan account dedicated to the much loved Father Ted series, wrote on X: "Saddened to hear of the passing of actor Ben Keaton. We knew him as Father Austin Purcell (one of my favourite one-off characters). He was a regular at ComicCon events, so I imagine many got to meet him over the years. My thoughts are with his family, friends, and many fans."

Father Austin Purcell was famously described as the "most boring priest" in the world by the show's titular character when he made his sole appearance in the second episode of the second series of the Irish based sitcom, which starred Dermot Morgan, Ardal O'Hanlon and Pauline McLynn.

[Ben Keaton as Fr Austin Purcell in Fr Ted with Dermot Morgan]

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Ben Keaton as Fr Austin Purcell in Fr Ted with Dermot Morgan

As well as his role in the iconic sitcom, Ben also enjoyed stints on ITV soap Emmerdale and long-running BBC drama Casualty.

In Emmerdale, Ben played Jeff Brannigan, who was involved in a hit-and-run storyline with Paddy Kirk. In Casualty, he had a long stint as Spencer and starred in more than 50 episodes of the medical drama series before going on to appear in The Bill, Double Time and comedy-horror Love Bite.

In 2015, he reprised his Father Ted role in the web series Cook Like A Priest, which he also wrote.

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