Bill Maynard, English actor

Walter Frederick George Williams (8 October 1928 – 30 March 2018) was an English comedian and actor who operated under the stage name Bill Maynard. He began working in television in the 1950s, notably starring alongside Terry Scott in Great Scott - It's Maynard! (1955–56). In the 1970s and 1980s, he starred in the successful British sitcoms Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt and The Gaffer and appeared in five films in the Carry On series. After a hiatus from television work in the late 1980s, Maynard starred as Claude Jeremiah Greengrass in the long-running television series Heartbeat from 1992 to 2000, reprising his role for the spin-off The Royal from 2002 to 2003.

Williams was born in Surrey, but mainly lived within Leicestershire throughout his personal life. After suffering strokes that impaired his mobility, he made only infrequent acting appearances. He died in hospital at the age of 89 in March 2018.