Bobby Knutt

Bobby Knutt was a British actor who was best known for his role as Albert Dingle on the long-running U.K. soap opera "Emmerdale" (ITV, 1972-). Born and raised in Sheffield, Knutt began his career as a professional entertainer in 1961. He performed as a singer in number of groups throughout England in the early 1960s, but eventually gravitated towards comedy. After a failed stint with a comedy double act, Knutt went out on his own in 1965 and began performing standup alone as one of England's youngest comedians (he was 20). Knutt quickly made a name for himself and throughout the remainder of the 60s, and well into the 70s, he was one of the most popular comedians in the U.K. By the late 70s, however, Knutt began drifting to more film and TV acting roles. He nabbed recurring parts on British shows like "Coronation Street" (ITV/STV, 1960-) and "How We Used to Live" (Yorkshire Television, 1960-2002), and continued working mostly as an actor throughout the 1980s and 90s. Then in 1995 Knutt landed his first substantial TV acting part when he began appearing as Albert Dingle on the long-running British soap opera "Emmerdale." Knutt appeared on 11 episodes of the series from 1995 to 2004. Knutt's acting output slowed by the mid-2000s, so he returned to his first love, standup comedy. Knutt made a living performing standup on cruise ships, while taking little acting parts here and there. In 2016 he returned to TV by landing a part on the British sitcom "Benidorm" (ITV, 2007-), which introduced him to a younger generation of TV viewers. With his acting career appearing to be on the upswing, tragedy struck on September 25, 2017 when Knutt suffered a major heart attack while vacationing in the South of France. He died later that day at the age of 71.