Actor Stephen Lewis, known for his role in sitcom On the Buses, has died aged 88, his family said.

The “funny man” died peacefully at the Cambridge Nursing Home, in Wanstead, east London.

Lewis, born in Poplar, also in east London, played Inspector Cyril ‘Blakey’ Blake in On the Buses, and also starred in Last of the Summer Wine.

His nephew, Peter Lewis, said: “He had terrible arthritis in one knee which really badly affected him, and many years ago he had prostate cancer – and whether that had come back we don’t know.”

He said his uncle’s health had gradually declined over the past few years, but said he died “quite peacefully”.

Lewis’s daughter Rebecca said her great uncle was “in high spirits” right until the end, adding that he had been in the care home for around three years.

“He was always singing and joking,” she said, adding: “We just want people to remember him.”