The actor Hywel Bennett, who has died aged 73

Actor who became a household name as the thinking man’s layabout in the title role of the TV sitcom Shelley

The actor Hywel Bennett, who has died aged 73, achieved his greatest fame as the thinking man’s layabout in the title role of the hugely popular ITV sitcom Shelley. The character was a geography graduate with an analytical brain but no desire to work – a philosopher on a sofa. A handful of jobs failed to last and Shelley was in constant conflict with the tax office, his building society and his father-in-law, aided only by his sardonic wit and anti-establishment attitude.

As a programme, Shelley was a slow-burner, but it caught on and initially ran for six series, from 1979 until 1984. Bennett’s private life made headlines, and heavy drinking led him to book into a clinic in 1986. Repeats of the sitcom then led ITV to revive the series as The Return of Shelley (1988), before reverting to its original title for a final three runs between 1989 and 1992.

Shelley was the brainchild of Peter Tilbury, who wrote most of the original episodes, with Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin scripting many of the later ones. “The writers had done something pretty amazing,” said Bennett. “They had created what was almost a monologue and turned it into a popular sitcom.”

Source: Hywel Bennett obituary | Television & radio | The Guardian