DEVIZES people were surprised when actor George Baker and his wife came to live in their midst in 1990.

But what surprised them even more was his openness, friendliness and lack of any self-importance or snobbery.

And Mr Baker, who died last Friday aged 80, was entitled to feel superior when you look at his astonishing career, which spanned half a century.

As a matinee idol of the 1950s, he was hailed as the new Cary Grant and among his conquests was the iconic sex kitten Brigitte Bardot, with whom he had an affair while she was making a film in England in 1959.

He always played it down but included the affair in his autobiography, The Way to Wexford, published in 2002.

He told the Gazette at the time: “It was one of the silliest episodes in my life, but I included it because I had to put my marriage straight afterwards.”

At the time of the affair he was married to film designer Julia Squire, whom he loved deeply, but the couple quarrelled about money and had to part.

Mr Baker, in his youth, was tall, dark and handsome and was spoken of by James Bond creator Ian Fleming as perfect casting for his spy if and when the books were ever filmed.

Of course, Sean Connery got the part in the first films but, when he retired, Mr Baker was a strong contender for 007.

However, it was not to be as he lost out again, to Australian model George Lazenby, who was not an actor and incapable of putting over the nuances of the role.

Mr Baker was brought in to coach him and played a small, but telling, part in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. He also dubbed in Lazenby’s voice in some scenes.

With his film career on hold, Mr Baker moved back to theatre, his first love. The loss of income led to serious financial problems which were only alleviated when TV parts started to come his way.

He played the part of the Roman Emperor Tiberius in the 1970s TV adaptation of Robert Graves’s I, Claudius, in which Derek Jacobi played Claudius. Although an admirer of Mr Jacobi, he was scathing about his success in the role. He once said: “It’s a gift of a part. You’ve got a stammer, a limp and a twitch. You can’t lose.”

As Tiberius, Mr Baker had to age from 20 to 80, sticking corn flakes to his face to suggest the decadent ruler’s pockmarked complexion.

He was later cast in an adaptation of Agatha Chris-tie thriller, At Bertram’s Hotel, in which he played a West Country detective.

It was on the basis of this performance that he was offered the part of Chief Inspector Reg Wexford in the series of Ruth Rendell mysteries. It was while filming this series that his second wife, Sally Home, became ill with cancer and died.

He had renewed his acquaintance with actress Louie Ramsay, who was cast as Wexford’s wife, Dora, and, on the urging of his daughters, he proposed marriage and the couple were married in Devizes.

Wexford proved to be Mr Baker’s swansong as a star, and, despite a number of cameo appearances, such as Bet Lynch’s new “boyfriend” on Coronation Street, he retired from acting five years ago.

But he continued to write for stage and screen and had been involved in a writing project when he suffered his first stroke earlier this year.