YORK actor Graham Roberts, who played gamekeeper George Barford in the Archers, has died, aged 75.

Mr Roberts, of Copmanthorpe, died in hospital in York on Thursday leaving a wife, Yvonne.

According to a statement from the BBC, Mr Roberts joined the Radio 4 soap in 1973 after being told that the programme needed a northern gamekeeper for two or three weeks.

After many years of portraying George as an alcoholic and someone who attempted suicide, Graham tried to introduce, as a contrast, a degree of dry humour to the character.

Mr Roberts said there were few, if any, elements of George's character in his own.

But he did see parallels between life in the village in which he lived and the fictional village of Ambridge.

The number of people commuting to the city was increasing, he said, urbanisation was a problem, and the issues which exercised the cast of The Archers were similar to those faced by Mr Roberts and his neighbours.

According to his BBC biography, Mr Roberts studied at Bristol and Manchester universities as well as the Bristol Old Vic.

His work includes a long list of plays for BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4 and introducing Radio 3's Your Concert Choice.

For many years Mr Roberts was a continuity announcer on Yorkshire Television in Leeds and Grampian Television.

He also has credits in Z Cars, Lizzie Dripping and Adam Smith, and film work which included This Sporting Life, A Taste Of Honey and A Touch Of Brass.

He recorded more than 100 unabridged audio books which are sold worldwide. including Rumpole of the Bailey, the Heartbeat novels and The Morecambe And Wise Biography.

Updated: 09:43 Saturday, October 30, 2004