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Bafta-winning actor Lee Montague dies aged 97

Paul Glynn
Culture reporter
BBC Lee Montague as Johnny May in a scene from The Profile Of A GentlemanBBC
Lee Montague as Johnny May in a scene from The Profile Of A Gentleman

Bafta-winning actor Lee Montague, a star of both stage and screen, has died aged 97.

Montague was perhaps best known for appearing in Bergerac as Henri Dupont in several episodes and also featured in shows including The Sweeney and Seconds Out.

Montague's death was announced earlier this week by the Keats Community Library, where he served as president for life.

Fellow actor, Monty Python star Michael Palin led the tributes to the Jackanory storyteller saying it was "always a pleasure to share a stage with him".

Keats Community Library said they were "deeply sad" to announce Montague's death, describing him as a "highly respected actor" who was also "vital to our success".

Lee Montague as Inspector Henri Dupont and John Nettles as Det. Sgt. Jim Bergerac in series three of the drama 'Bergerac' which sees John Nettles play a Detective Sergeant in the Jersey States Police
Lee Montague (left) as Inspector Henri Dupont and John Nettles as Detective Sergeant Jim Bergerac

Montague toured with Laurence Olivier and Peter Brook, starred on Broadway and had a long career in film and TV, carving out a niche by often playing tough characters.

He made his big screen debut in 1952's Moulin Rouge and later starred in films such as Brass Target, Brother Sun, Sister Moon and How I Won The War, opposite John Lennon.

A student of the Old Vic, Montague played Gregory Hawke in The Climate of Eden on Broadway in 1952, then later Ed in Entertaining Mr Sloane, and John Rawlings in the 1971 production of Who Saw Him Die by Tudor Gates at London's Theatre Royal Haymarket.

And he was the first storyteller on the BBC children's programme Jackanory in 1965, for which he won the Bafta, narrating 15 episodes.

In 2011, he formed a committee to establish the Keats Community Library charity, writing and performing there with the likes of Palin, Robert Powell, Simon Callow and Janet Suzman.

The charity noted how he was "a highly respected actor" who would be "greatly missed".

Palin told the local Ham and High newspaper he was "very sad to hear that I shall not see Lee again".

"He was such good company, wise, experienced, empathetic, funny," he added. "It was always a pleasure to share a stage with him."

Actor Robert Lindsay added: 'I'm devastated as I regarded Lee as my theatrical Dad and I have kept in touch with him over many years!"

Playwright Sir David Hare described Lee as "a consummate gentleman".

Montague was married to fellow actor Ruth Goring for 67 years until her death in 2023, and they shared two children.