LUDLOW has lost one of its great champions.

Whilst the nation is mourning the loss of one of its best loved character actors, John Challis, Ludlow has lost a man who was a great supporter of the town.

Mr Challis, who lived in Wigmore, has died aged 79, from cancer.

He had been to embark on a tour, including the Regal in Tenbury but this was cancelled a few weeks ago because of his ill health.

John Challis was a highly versatile actor who performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company and at the National Theatre.

He also had numerous other roles and was seen on stage in London and New York.

But he will first and foremost be remembered as the cigar smoking used car salesman with the searing laugh in the BBC comedy ‘Only Fools and Horses.’

Mr Challis was only intended to appear in one episode but became one of the leading characters in the programme clocking up more than 30 appearances.

He is reported to have got the part after appearing as a policeman in another BBC comedy ‘Citizen Smith’ written by John Sullivan, who also wrote ‘Only Fools and Horses.’

Mr Challis also took the lead, alongside his screen wife Marleen, played by Sue Holderness, ‘The Green Green Grass,’ a follow-up to ‘Only Fools and Horses’ in which the outside shots were done at his home near Ludlow.

His small screen credits read like a catalogue of British television classics including: Coronation Street Z cars, Softly Softly, Heartbeat, Dr Who, The Sweeney, Ever Decreasing Circles, One Foot in the Grave and Last of the Summer Wine.

Mr Challis was also the author of two highly successful books: ‘Boyice’ and ‘Boycie and Beyond.’ His book Wigmore Abbey: The Treasure of Mortimer is about the renovation of his house's gardens.[

He was a supporter of the annual Ludlow Arts Festival and performed at Ludlow Castle in one of the festival’s Shakespeare plays.

Mr Challis was also a patron of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.

His other Shakespeare performances included Richard III and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, performed outside in Regent’s Park. He also appeared in pantomime in cities throughout the UK and also in New York.

Mr Challis was a frequent visitor to Ludlow and he supported the town’s campaign to get people to shop locally.

He was born in Bath but his father’s work resulted in a move to London when he was just one year old. This prompted Mr Challis to later remark that he must have been the only child ‘evacuated to London’ during the war.

He was made an honorary citizen of Serbia following a television programme ‘Boyie in Belgrade’ that explored why ‘Only Fools and Horses’ was so popular in the Balkan country.

His long and distinguished acting career has been celebrated and there have been many tributes. He will remain for most people Terrance Aubrey ‘Boycie’ Boyce.