Harry Potter star Robbie Coltrane dies aged 72

Robbie Coltrane, famous for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter films and a criminal psychologist in the crime series Cracker in 1993, has died aged 72.

Coltrane who began his career in comedy and theatre, also appeared in James Bond films Golden Eye and The World is Not Enough.

Coltrane was awarded an OBE in the 2006 New Year’s honours list for his services to drama and he was also awarded the Bafta Scotland Award for outstanding contribution to film in 2011.

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe paid tribute to Coltrane and said: “ Robbie was one of the funniest people I’ve met and used to keep us laughing constantly as kids on that set. I have especially fond memories of him keeping our spirits up on Prisoner of Azkaban when we were all hiding from the torrential rain for hours in Hagrid’s hut and he was telling stories and cracking jokes to keep our morale up. I feel incredibly lucky that I got to meet and work with him and very sad that he’s passed. He was an incredible actor and a lovely man”.

Harry Potter author JK Rowling posted on Twitter “ Coltrane as an incredible talent and a complete one-off”.

Anthony Robert Mc Millan, was the Scottish star’s real name, born in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire in 1950.

Coltrane’s parents were a teacher and pianist Jean Ross and GP Ian Baxter McMillan and were educated at the independent school Glenalmond College in Perth and Kinross.

The actor started his career in 1979 in the TV series Play for Today, but he came to prominence in A Kick Up the Eighties, a BBC TV comedy series that also started Steven Fry, Emma Thompson, Siobhan Redmond, and Hugh Laurie.

In 1987 he had a lead role in Tutti Frutti, about Scottish rock and roll band The Majestics, which also starred Emma Thompson and Richard Wilson. In 1986 he was in the British crime film Mona Lisa, starring Bob Hoskins.

Coltrane was starring as criminal psychologist Dr. Eddie “Fitz” Fitzgerald in the ITV series Cracker from 1993 to 1995, a role which secured him the Bafta award for best actor for three consecutive years from 1994 to 1996.