Dennis Waterman: Day late Minder star pulled on Sheffield United shirt for Tony Currie tribute

The death of the tough guy actor, famed for a string of leading TV roles for more than six decades, was announced earlier at his home in Spain.

And more than 30 years ago, the actor pulled on a Sheffield United shirt when he led an all-star team in a testimonial game for Blades legend Tony Currie.

The date was October 5, 1986 when Waterman brought a star-studded cast to Bramall Lane for a game against the Blades’ 1971-72 promotion winning squad.

More than 27,000 fans packed into Bramall Lane to see a Showbiz XI led by Waterman, with special guests including George Best, Frank Worthington and The Housemartins and Beautiful South star Paul Heaton, a lifelong United supporter, turning out on the day.

Speaking about the game in an interview several years ago, Currie said: “Such a lot had happened to me since leaving the city 10 years earlier and I couldn’t have dared hope for such support after being away for so long.”

“But the fans did me proud at a time when I was most in need of a break, an uplift in my spirits. Sheffield United has been my life.”

Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott also took part in the match, with the all-star team sporting the Blades’ yellow away kit worn during the mid 1980s.

Remembering the game, where he played alongside George Best he said: “I played in the same team in September 1986 and he passed to me and I passed back so I like to tell everyone that.

“It was a Dennis Waterman XI and that’s why I knew I could get in. I rang a guy I knew and said if it is a celebrity team and I’m from Sheffield I want to play.

It is not Waterman's only link with the city.

He also dined at legendary Sheffield Italian restaurant Mama and Leonie’s a number of times over the years.

Popular with stars including Steve Coogan, Dame Maggie Smith and Kenneth Branagh, the Norfolk Street eatery, has also welcomed a string of snooker players over the years.