Ant and Dec are among those leading tributes to Emmerdale, Byker Grove and The Hunt for Raoul Moat star Dale Meeks following his tragic death aged 47.
The actor's death was announced by a family member on Facebook. He previously played a gang leader of a rival youth club on the CBBC show and later appeared as Simon Meredith in ITV's Emmerdale.
More recently, he starred in The Hunt for Raoul Moat, as Moat's friend Rory Sutcliffe. The ITV Drama hit the screens recently, with Meeks appearing in an episode of the hit series just last week. READ MORE: Join the FREE Manchester Evening News WhatsApp community He tweeted about his role in the new series, which tells the story of one Britain's largest manhunts, in which murderer Raoul Moat killed his ex-girlfriend's new lover before shooting her and a police officer.
Following his death, Ant and Dec wrote in a tweet on their joint account: "We are so incredibly sorry to hear the very sad news of Dale's passing. "He was the loveliest of guys, even though he was a Denton 'Burner', the the arch nemesis of the Byker 'Grovers'!
Read more on manchestereveningnews.co.uk