Film actor, writer and director Bryan Forbes has died following a long illness, a family spokesman said.

Forbes, whose directing work includes Whistle Down the Wind (1961) and the horror classic The Stepford Wives (1975), was 86.

The ‘giant of cinema’, who was married to actress Nanette Newman, died surrounded by his family at his home in Virginia Water, Surrey, family friend Matthew D’Ancona said.

D’Ancona said: “Bryan Forbes was a titan of cinema, known and loved by people around the world in the film and theatre industries and known in other fields.

“He is simply irreplaceable and it is wholly apt that he died surrounded by his family.”

Forbes received a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 2004 for services to the arts and the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain and was awarded the Dilys Powell Award for outstanding contribution to cinema at the London Film Critics’ Circle Awards in 2006.

After starting off his career as an actor, Forbes made his directorial debut with Whistle Down the Wind in 1961, which led to him becoming one of the leading figures of British post-war cinema.

He also wrote the screenplays of a number of films and TV series, including International Velvet (1978) and Chaplin (1992).

Forbes also found success as an author, writing a number of novels, the latest of which, The Soldier’s Story, was published last year.