Last of the Summer Wine actor Peter Sallis has been described as a naturally funny man with a “unique gift”.

The tributes to the 96-year-old were led by animator Nick Park, creator of Wallace & Gromit, who had worked with Peter – the voice of Wallace – for many years.

Nick described Peter as “always my first and only choice for Wallace”.

The 58-year-old animator said he felt grateful and privileged to have known and worked with the actor over so many years.

Peter Sallis with Nick Park, animator of Wallace & Gromit
Peter Sallis with Nick Park, animator of Wallace & Gromit

He said: “I knew him, of course, from the very popular, long-running BBC series Last Of The Summer Wine.

“He brought his unique gift and humour to all that he did and encapsulated the very British art of the droll and understated.

“Working with Peter was always a delight and I will miss his wry, unpredictable humour and silliness – that started the moment he greeted you at the door and didn’t stop when the mic was switched off.

“He had naturally funny bones and was a great storyteller and raconteur off stage too and would keep us amused for hours. He could make the simplest incident sound hilarious just by the way he said it.

“When I look back I’m so blessed and fortunate that he had the generosity of spirit to help out a poor film school student back in the early 1980s when we first recorded together, when neither of us had any idea what Wallace & Gromit might become.”

Nick said Peter’s unique charm, together with oversized vowels and endearing performance, helped him fashion Wallace “from the beginning.”

“The way he first said, ‘We’ve forgotten the crackers Gromit’ and ‘Cracking toast Gromit’ or just ‘Cheeeese’ soon led to Wallace’s enormous ‘coat-hanger’ mouth.

“They don’t come along very often like Peter Sallis – he was a unique character, on and off screen, and an absolute honour to have known him.”

Peter Sallis - who died today, aged 96 - on set of Last Of The Summer Wine
Peter Sallis - who died today, aged 96 - on set of Last Of The Summer Wine

Shane Allen, controller of comedy commissioning for the BBC, said: “His career highs were in comedy as Norman ‘Cleggy’ Clegg in Last Of The Summer Wine, which remains the longest running UK sitcom of all time.”

Peter played Norman ‘Cleggy’ Clegg – filmed in and around Holmfirth – from its first episode in 1973 until the series concluded in 2010. He was the only actor to appear in all 295 episodes of the Yorkshire-based sitcom.

In a statement, Jonathan Altaras Associates said: “It is with sadness that we announce that our client Peter Sallis died peacefully, with his family by his side, at Denville Hall on Friday, June 2.”

Denville Hall is a retirement home for actors and is where Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs died last year.