ANTHONY BOOTH

(9 October 1931 - 25 September 2017)

Liverpool-born actor Tony Booth, who has died aged 85 from heart failure (following Alzheimer’s and a stroke), will be remembered on two counts, first as Mike, the layabout son-in-law of Alf Garnett in TV’s Till Death Us Do Part, and for fathering his daughter Cherie who became the wife of Prime Minister Tony Blair. Booth’s acting began while he was in the army, after which he did repertory theatre work before entering television in 1959. His TV appearances included Z Cars, The Avengers, Dixon of Dock Green, The Saint, Coronation Street, EastEnders, The Bill, Emmerdale and Holby City. Till Death Us Do Part grew out of a Comedy Playhouse pilot in 1965 and went on to comprise over fifty episodes (and two feature films). For the cinema Booth appeared in Mix Me a Person (1962), with Anne Baxter and Adam Faith, The Valiant with John Mills, The L-Shaped Room, Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall, several of the Confessions of… series, Brannigan with John Wayne, Priest, written by Jimmy McGovern, and Treasure Island with Jack Palance. His last appearance was in Moving On (2010), the Jimmy McGovern TV series. Anthony Booth was married four times, including to Patricia Phoenix shortly before she died. He fathered eight children by his wives and other partners.

MICHAEL DARVELL