Wubi News

English actor Jack Shepherd, star of Wycliffe, dies at 85

2025-11-26 17:00:13

Jack Shepherd, the English actor perhaps best remembered for playing the title role in the 1990s ITV detective drama Wycliffe, has died at the age of 85.

The Leeds-born TV star passed away in hospital following a "short illness", with his wife and children present, PA news agency reports.

"His passing is a sad loss to us all," said his agents Markham, Froggatt and Irwin.

Awards he received include an Olivier for the original production of the stage play Glengarry Glen Ross in 1983.

He had an earlier television incarnation as Bill Brand in the 1970s ITV series of the same name about a fictional firebrand Labour MP.

Shepherd directed The Two Gentlemen Of Verona in 1996 at Shakespeare's Globe and the production also went to Broadway.

He worked with director Bill Bryden on numerous theatre productions and was also a saxophonist and jazz pianist.

Jack Shepherd is survived by his wife Ann Scott and five children Jan, Jake, Victoria, Catherine and Ben.