Richard Briers has died at the age of 79.

The Good Life actor had recently revealed that he was battling with emphysema as a result of his smoking addiction and his agent confirmed that he died "peacefully" at his London home yesterday (February 17).

Geoffrey Swaine

> Richard Briers 1934-2013: Career highlights in video

"I've got emphysema, you see, so I'm buggered," Briers told the Daily Mail only last month.

"I haven't even got the strength to garden anymore. Five hundred thousand cigarettes, darling - that's the trouble."

He added: "It's totally my fault. So, I get very breathless, which is a pain in the backside. Trying to get upstairs - oh God, it's ridiculous. Of course, when you're bloody nearly 80 it's depressing because you've had it anyway.

"The ciggies got me. I stopped ten years ago but too late. If you do it in your 30s then you're okay, but after 30 it gets you.

"I was diagnosed five years ago and didn't think it would go quite as badly as it has. It's a bugger, but there it is. I used to love smoking."

Briers was born in Raynes Park in 1934 and starred in BBC sitcom Marriage Lines opposite future Fawlty Towers star Prunella Scales.

Moviestore Collection

He was best known for his role in BBC sitcom The Good Life, which ran for four series from 1975 to 1978.

Briers starred as Tom Good, who sought a life of self-sufficiency with his wife Barbara (Felicity Kendal), to the horror of neighbours Margo (Penelope Keith) and Jerry (Paul Eddington).

He continued to work in theatre, while also appearing in several TV shows, including 1987 Doctor Who episode 'Paradise Towers'.

More recently, he appeared in episodes of Midsomer Murders and Extras and filmed a cameo for 2008 Torchwood episode 'A Day in the Death'.

Among his last roles were movie appearances in comedies Cockneys vs Zombies and Run For Your Wife.

Briers was appointed OBE in 1989 and CBE in 2003.

Richard Briers - career in pictures:

Showbiz: Richard Briers: Career in pictures

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