Emmerdale's Andy Devine died after accidental fall, coroner concludes

Actor Andy Devine died as a result of "hospital-acquired pneumonia" after a fall, a coroner has concluded.

The 79-year-old, who played Shadrach Dingle in Emmerdale for 10 years, died in Southport Hospital in January.

The soap star had fallen and lain on the floor for about a hour as he was "unable to get up until his carers arrived", Sefton Senior Coroner Julie Goulding said.

She said his condition went on to deteriorate "culminating in his death".

Devine made his Emmerdale debut as Shadrach Dingle, the father of Chas and husband of Faith, in 2000.

He made a dramatic exit from the ITV show ten years later when his character was killed off as part of an alcohol abuse storyline.

Emmerdale was not his first soap, as he had previously played a photographer in Coronation Street, while he also appeared in Queer As Folk, Where The Heart Is, Cracker and Prime Suspect.

One of his earliest roles was as a Draconian Guard in Doctor Who in the 1970s.

Ms Goulding said the actor, whose real first name was Peter, appeared to have "lost his balance resulting in a fall".

"Peter had a significant number of serious underlying clinical co-morbidities and, not withstanding all appropriate care and treatment, [his] condition deteriorated culminating in his death," she said.

She concluded that the medical cause of his death was "hospital-acquired pneumonia" and his death was an "accident".

Emmerdale actor Liam O'Brien, who played Ethan Blake for three years, tweeted that he was "heartbroken to hear of the passing of an old friend".

"Even sadder that he passed in January and [I] never knew," he said.

Fellow soap actor Daniel Jillings, who appeared in Coronation Street and Hollyoaks, tweeted that Devine had been his "first drama teacher and a great one", adding that he had been a "character both on and off screen".

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