Katie Williams
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Legendary actor Patrick Stewart has died aged 86 after a "brief and poignant journey" with Alzheimer's and Lewy Body Dementia.

His close friend and contemporary Ian McKellen has led tributes, describing him as as a "man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love".

Star Trek co-star William Shatner has described him as "the best of us", and the Royal Shakespeare Company has called him a "colossus".

His seven-decade career saw him star as Captain Picard in Star Trek, Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men, and take on numerous roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Moving effortlessly between genres, he earned multiple awards, including an Olivier Award for his performance in Antony and Cleopatra. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II.

But early on in his career, he was told he would "never be a leading man" - here's why.

Born in Mirfield in the West Riding of Yorkshire, his mother was a textile worker and his father a former sergeant major whose experience in Dunkirk shredded his mental health.

His love of drama came at school when a teacher introduced him to Shakespeare and encouraged him to perform.

We're ending our live coverage, but you can read more about the late actor's life in our news story and in our piece from BBC West Yorkshire. Or, head over here to see Stewart's life in pictures.

Image source, Getty Images

Stars of the stage and screen have been sharing their memories of Sir Patrick Stewart.

Amongst them is his long-time friend and fellow actor Sir Ian McKellen, who described Stewart as the "most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic".

William Shatner, who portrayed Captain James T. Kirk in the original Star Trek, said Stewart brought "intelligence, grace and a deep sense of humanity" to everything he did.

His X-Men co-star Hugh Jackman called him “one of the greats” and Rebecca Romjin, who also featured in the franchise as Mystique, said "I'll miss my friend dearly".

The Royal Shakespeare Company, where he spent his early days on stage, said he was a "colossus of stage and screen".

Away from acting, he has been remembered for campaigning against domestic violence and for animal welfare.

Patrick Stewart had a long and varied career spanning more than six decades, winning acclaim both on stage and screen.

Below are some pictures of the actor through the ages.

Image source, BBC/Wall to Wall Media Ltd/Andrew Montgomery

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Press Association

Image source, Press Association

You can see more photos from the actor's life here.

Image source, Matt Winkelmeyer/VF24/WireImage for Vanity Fair

The American actor and animator Seth MacFarlane said he grew up as a fan of Patrick Stewart and was later "gifted the privilege of becoming a colleague and friend" as they worked together on American Dad!, Family Guy, and Ted.

He described Stewart as being "that rare actor who could take any bit of dialogue and elevate it, making a good writer sound great, and a great writer sound masterful".

"He was also as humble as they come”, MacFarlane added in his statement which he posted on Instagram.

"I feel so grateful to have known him for the last 25 years, and to have been in his orbit," actress Rebecca Romijn said in a tribute she posted to Instagram.

Romijn, who played Mystique in X-Men, worked alongside Stewart on several of the films in the Marvel franchise.

"He was positively delicious, hilarious, naughty, incredible sense of humour," Romijn said, "and that booming vice of his that always spoke to the back of the room..."

"I'll miss my friend dearly," she added.

Image source, Getty Images

Patrick Stewart spoke candidly about losing his hair as a teenager in multiple interviews over the years.

In 2023 he told the Graham Norton Show that he ended up having his wig "flown" in for his Star Trek audition.

Stewart had tried wearing the hair piece in early screen tests, but it looked ratty and - in the end - Star Trek's founder Gene Roddenberry told him to ditch it.

"In the 24th Century, they wouldn't care if Picard was bald," he said.

Patrick Stewart died following "a brief and poignant journey" with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia (LBD), according to the statement announcing his death.

Alzheimer's, a brain disorder, is the most common type of dementia, and there is no cure.

The Alzheimers Society estimates almost a million people in the UK have dementia, while around one in 10 has LBD.

Dementia mainly affects people over the age of 65 and is characterised by a loss of cognitive functioning, and could interfere with a person's daily life.

LBD is also a brain disorder and damages nerve cells in areas of the brain responsible for thinking, memory, and movement, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Another notable actor who had LBD was Robin Williams who died in 2014 aged 63.

Patrick Stewart became an ambassador for the domestic abuse charity Refuge in 2007 after witnessing repeated violence during his childhood.

Hetti Barkworth-Nanton, chairwoman of trustees of Refuge, said she was "privileged to watch his endless devotion and passion to the cause”.

“He told me he did the work in honour of his mother and in lending his voice he raised much-needed awareness of the cause and broke down barriers and taboos on the subject”.

In 2012, Stewart spoke to the BBC about his memories of the violence she suffered at the hands of his father Alfred when he returned home after serving in World War Two.

"There was something extraordinary about the way Patrick Stewart could make even the most powerful characters feel profoundly human," the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences wrote in a tribute post on social media.

The statement from the Academy, which presents The Oscars, said "Sir Patrick Stewart brought a tenderness to his characters that made us feel we knew them".

"Behind that unmistakable voice was an actor who understood that even the greatest heroes could be uncertain, that strength could exist alongside vulnerability, and that compassion was never a weakness," the post read.

While Stewart never won an Oscar he took home numerous awards, including a Grammy and two Laurence Olivier Awards.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Sir Ian McKellen, one of Britain's greatest actors, has shared a tribute to Patrick Stewart on social media.

He recalls his "first strong memory" of Stewart as the moment he told him he was considering taking a role in the Star Trek series. McKellen advised against it, warning him to "think of his stage career".

"Well, he took the risk, and thank goodness for us all that he did..." McKellen later starred alongside Stewart in the X-Men series. The pair also appeared together in a 2009 theatre production of Waiting for Godot.

The two actors were close friends. Stewart played Professor X, while McKellen portrayed Magneto in the X-Men films, but the pair had known each other since before Stewart's television breakthrough in Star Trek.

McKellen said Stewart “never forsook his origins: and the proudest achievement of the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic, was his appointment as Chancellor of Huddersfield University in Yorkshire”.

Stewart "told you what he thought and felt," McKellen wrote. "He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and, in my case, love."

The two frequently expressed their affection for each other during red carpet interviews. McKellen also officiated Stewart's wedding in 2013.

Patrick Stewart said in a recent interview that he had no intention of ever "retiring" from acting, and that he has always loved to be challenged by new work.

"As any actor my age will tell you, there are fewer and fewer available roles as we get older," he told TV Insider in a July interview, external to mark the 60th anniversary of the Star Trek series.

"That being said, I still continue to receive interesting offers and I love being challenged by new work, like voicing a pig’s head in Riz Ahmed‘s brilliant new series Bait," he said.

"I can’t imagine ever officially 'retiring.' I’ll always and forever be an actor."

Regan Morris
Reporting from Los Angeles

As we reported earlier, flowers will be placed on Patrick Stewart’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today to pay tribute to the late actor.

Stewart fans have been stopping by his star to pay their respects.

Walter Lutz brought a bouquet of flowers and said he saw all Stewart’s movies, TV shows and any time he had a stage role in LA.

“I’m just a huge fan, since he was in Dune and Star Trek,” he says. “It's such a huge loss.”

British father and son tourists John and Xavier Marshall are in LA celebrating Xavier’s 18th birthday. They heard the news and decided to come see his star.

John says Britain has lost “a great”.

Doomsday - coming out soon - will be Stewart’s last role on screen and “will hit a little different”, he says. Xavier says Stewart meant a lot to him "but more for my dad".

Image source, Getty Images

Tributes have poured in following the death of British actor Patrick Stewart, celebrated for his decades-long Shakespearean stage career and iconic roles in the Star Trek and X-Men franchises.

Stewart, 86, died at his Los Angeles home on Wednesday, after what his family described as a “brief and poignant journey” with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. His death was announced Thursday in a statement posted on his Instagram account.

In a social media post, comedian Ricky Gervais, who guest starred in the television series Extras, describes him as a "legend".

Sharing a video of the pair giggling in a set of bloopers for the series, the star comedian writes "What an actor."

"I still can’t believe he agreed to do this scene. And he didn’t even mind when I ruined every take," he adds.

Huddersfield Town, Patrick Stewart's football team, has said it is "deeply saddened" by his passing and has praised the late actor as a "lifelong supporter".

The club said its thoughts were with his family and loved ones adding: "A titan of his craft and a legend and hero to millions worldwide, his legacy will live on.

"Fiercely proud of his Yorkshire roots, Sir Patrick was a Terrier in every sense, and we’re proud to have counted him as one of our own."

Image source, Getty Images

Speaking to BBC News, entertainment journalist Sandro Monetti says the tribute from the club is the one that would "touch him most", saying Stewart loved the club and "to receive that love back is beautiful".

"He always wanted to talk about Huddersfield Town Football Club more than he ever wanted to talk about Star Trek," he says.

Regan Morris

Sir Patrick Stewart was a big fan of English football.

In 2024, he sent a video message wishing the England men’s team good luck ahead of their Euro 2024 final against Spain.

Sadly, England lost that match.

Newsnight

Image source, Press Association

The actress Dame Harriet Walter - who knew Sir Patrick Stewart for more than 40 years - has told BBC Newsnight "the world's going to be very poor without him".

"It's like huge giant tree has fallen in the forest. I can't really imagine a world without him," she said.

Dame Harriet first met Sir Patrick at Stratford-upon-Avon in the early 1980s, and later played Cleopatra alongside his Antony in 2006.

Recalling his acting, she told Newsnight: "The man was alive in the moment. And that's my favourite kind of acting. He never got set into habits. He was always just alive."

"He had fire in his eyes and you were absolutely in the room with him," added Dame Harriet, who more recently has appeared in series Ted Lasso and Succession.

"I've never heard a bad word against him. And I think the world's going to be very poor without him."

Noor Nanji
Culture correspondent

As we've been reporting, Patrick Stewart died at his home in Los Angeles on Wednesday after suffering with Alzheimer's Disease and Lewy Body Dementia.

Now, we've had a tribute from Alzheimer's Society.

Writing on X, their CEO Michelle Dyson called Stewart "an extraordinarily talented and much-loved actor, admired by millions around the world".

“His death is a heartbreaking reminder of the devastating impact dementia has on people and families across the globe," she said.

She reminded readers that Alzheimer’s Society is "here for everyone affected by dementia".

Image source, CBS via Getty Images

The official Star Trek social media account has thanked Patrick Stewart, who played Captain Jean-Luc Picard, following his death.

"A voice. A presence. A captain unlike any other," the account says.

It adds: "Sir Patrick Stewart gave generations of fans an icon who inspired us to look toward the stars. Today, we celebrate an extraordinary life and an enduring legacy."

Stewart played Picard in over 170 episodes of the sci-fi television series between 1987 and 1994, and in four feature films before returning in Star Trek: Picard from 2020 to 2023.

Regan Morris
Reporting from Los Angeles

Image source, Regan Morris

Media are gathered at Patrick Stewart’s star on the Walk of Fame awaiting the official laying of flowers.

Stewart’s star on Hollywood Boulevard has been there since 16 December 1996. The Walk of Fame plans to place flowers on his star at 4 pm local time (2300g).

But a local florist has already left some flowers and someone else left a rose and a card.

A clip from 30 years ago shows Patrick Stewart on the day he received his Hollywood Walk of Fame star, saying he was "delighted".