HERCULE Poirot star and old boy of Wellington School Sir David Suchet has paid tribute to Sir Patrick Stewart, whose death was announced on Thursday (October 29).

Sir Patrick, who starred as Professor Charles Xavier in the ‘X-Men’ movies and Captain Jean-Luc Picard in ‘Star Trek’, died at the age of 86 years at his home in Los Angeles after ‘a brief and poignant journey’ with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy Body Dementia.

Sir David worked with Sir Patrick at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and praised him for his talents and ‘fun’ nature.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It is a great loss, but he leaves the most fantastic legacy in all his work in radio, film, television, and theatre.

“He covered all bases and has done great performances in each of the media.

“He will be so much missed.

Actor Sir David Suchet is pictured at the Yeovil Literary Festival on October 23
Actor Sir David Suchet attending a literary festival in Somerset. PHOTO: Steve Sowden.

“I was on stage yesterday all afternoon and evening and I heard of his death in the interval and it came as a huge shock.”

Born in Yorkshire, Sir Patrick became a member of the RSC in 1966 and found international fame in ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’.

Sir Patrick was also known for appearing in the X-Men franchise and films including ‘Excalibur’ (1981), ‘Dune’ (1984) and ‘Jeffrey’ (1995).

He was knighted in 2010 for services to drama.

Former RSC artistic director Sir Gregory Doran, who also worked with Sir Patrick, including on a production of ‘Antony And Cleopatra’ in 2006 and ‘Hamlet in 2013’, joined Sir David’s tribute.

Sir Gregory said: “I think it is something about the very firm classical foundations that he had that gave him the ability to, whether it was X-Men or Shakespeare on stage, that just gave him that grounding.

“He was really democratic, no airs and graces, real fun.

“It was always fun in rehearsals with Patrick.”