Tributes have been paid to actor Anthony Head who has died, aged 72. Head was best known for his appearances as Rupert Giles in Buffy The Vampire Slayer and more recently as Rupert Mannion in Ted Lasso. He was also in the Comic Strip's Bad News film and played the Prime Minister in Little Britain sketches.

He appeared in The Inbetweeners Movie, Motherland and on radio in Cabin Pressure and Bleak Expectations. He was well known to many as the star of the long-running series of Gold Blend coffee adverts. Reports say he died of complications caused by pneumonia. 

Natalie Haynes wrote on Facebook: "Sending all our love to Tony Head's daughters, Emily and Daisy, tonight - their father was an absolute superstar, as we all know. I only met him a handful of times, and he was just lovely - funny and silly and had the absolute best and most generous laugh.

Comedian Ben Van Der Velse added: "Not unreasonable to say Giles was THE father figure for millennials and Anthony Head was the dictionary definition of the kindest of gentlemen. 72 is no age. None at all."

Dan Renton Skinner commented: "R.I.P Anthony Head. A lovely, funny man and a brilliant actor. very very sad."

Buffy star James Marsters wrote: "There’s a hole in the World. Anthony Head has passed on from us. He was an unflaggingly kind and steady presence on the set of Buffy, and the best actor in the cast. He was the best of us. I was lucky to have known, and learned from him. He left the world a better place for his presence. Thank you Tony for all you gave."

This image of Anthony Head is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.