BBC legend and BAFTA winner Lee Montague has died at the age of 97

BBC legend and BAFTA winner Lee Montague who appeared in Bergerac has died at the age of 97. Michael Palin shared a statement where he said: "Very sad to hear that I shall not see Lee again. He was such good company, wise, experienced, empathetic, funny. It was always a pleasure to share a stage with him."

Another actor who worked alongside Lee Montague was Robert Lindsay, Lee played the manager to Robert’s character who was a boxer in the 1981 TV series Seconds Out. Robert Lindsay said: "I’m devastated as I regarded Lee as my theatrical Dad, and I have kept in touch with him over many years."

As well as appearing in Jekyll and Hyde, Casualty, Waking the Dead, Bird of Prey and Espionage, Lee Montague played the character of Henri Dupont in several episodes of the show Bergerac. Lee Montague was born in Bow in London in 1927, his name at birth was Leonard Goldberg.

When it came to his work on stage, Lee Montague played John Rawlings in the production of Who Saw Him Die in 1971, he also was Gergory Hawke in The Climate of Eden on Broadway and Ed In Entertaining Mr. Sloane.

Lee Montague will also be remembered for being the first storyteller on the BBC children’s programme Jackanory. When it came to his private life, he shared two children with actress Ruth Goring. The couple were married for 67 years and she predeceased him in 2023.

The Keats Community Library in Hampstead, London, paid tribute to Lee Montague on their website and wrote: “We are deeply sad to announce the death of our beloved President for Life, Lee Montague at the age of 97. Lee was a highly respected actor. He trained at the Old Vic School and worked in the early part of his career in the Royal Exchange Manchester, the Old Vic, Bristol Old Vic and Oxford Playhouse.”