Eastenders actor John Bardon dies aged 75

"Loved by us all, John was an exceptionally talented actor whose humour, mischievousness and brilliant performances made Jim Branning one of Walford's most loveable, memorable characters and we will miss John forever.

"Our love and deepest sympathies are extended to Enda, his truly wonderful wife, at this very sad time. May he now rest in peace."

- EastEnders spokesperson

Other EastEnders stars paying tribute to the actor include Perry Fenwick (Billy Mitchell) and Natalie Cassidy, who plays Sonia Fowler.

Fenwick said: "John was a lovely, lovely man to work with. I'll miss him" while Cassidy said: "I never had a real granddad so John was like an actual granddad to me. He was a lovely man and I learnt a lot from him."

Some notable storylines from EastEnders featuring John Bardon, aka Jim Branning, included his proposal to Dot Cotton, played by June Brown, in 2001 on the London Eye.

And the reunion with his estranged son Max, played by Jake Wood.

Former EastEnders actor Dean Gaffney has taken to Twitter to pay tribute to John Bardon.

The onscreen wife of actor John Bardon has paid tribute to him. He is understood to have died in the early hours of this morning, seven years after a debilitating stroke which has left him needing round-the-clock care in recent years.

June Brown said she hoped he was now "at peace".

John Bardon, who starred as Jim Branning in Eastenders, has died aged 75.

He played the character from 1996 to 2011, and married character Dot Cotton in 2002.

He suffered a stroke in 2007 and was subsequently written out of the soap.