Want the latest news from Swansea sent straight to your inbox? Don't miss anything from your city! Sign up for regular updates Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Welsh actor William Simons, who was well known to Heartbeat fans as PC Alf Ventress, has died aged 78.

Mr Simons, who was born in Mumbles, Swansea , had been in the popular show from 1992 to 2010, its entire 18 year run spanning over two decades.

He also played the same role in six episodes of The Royal.

His long stint on the show saw him buy a house in the village of Goathland, where most of the filming took place, before he sold up in 2008 after living there for 14 years due to the attention he was getting from fans, telling The Scarborough News he was a very private person, and that the "public are sweet but the constant attention seriously upsets me."

Earlier in his career, he had played parts in The Bill, The Darling Buds of May, Lovejoy, Haggard and the Alleyn Mysteries.

His last credited acting performance, according to IMDB was in Casualty, where he played Jacob Hinter in an episode back in 2014.

But he had been a child actor from the age of eight, and had shown an aptitude for acting, singing and dancing early on.

He was brought up in south Wales as his father was stationed there during the war.

He later moved to north London, and he joined Granada Stables Theatre Company in the early sixties, and many of the plays they performed transferred onto televison.

The familiar Heartbeat opening sequence...

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

Mr Simons was upset Heartbeat was ending, and told Whitby Gazette in 2009 his time on the show had been "amazing", and he was "very sad" it was ending.

After the show ended, Mr Simons spent most of his time at the house he had bought in France.

He was widowed in 2002 after his late wife Janie passed away.

He leaves behind his second wife, Jackie.