A BLACKBURN-born actor who stars in Hugh Grant's latest film Love Actually has died, aged 67.

A funeral service for Frank Moorey, who played many character roles throughout his career, was held in Brighton yesterday.

His friend Tony Robinson said: "He was a charming and warm, very dignified man who was quite self-contained and reserved.

"He had quite a lot of personal sadness in his life but he kept going and had no bitterness.

"He was a very loyal friend over the years."

Frank was the eldest son of Alan and Annie Moorey who lived in Mellor and owned herbalist shops in Blackburn.

The Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School pupil left the area when he was 19 to go to Keele University but often returned to visit family and friends throughout the North West.

One of his earliest acting roles involved being kicked in the shins by pint-sized comic Jimmy Clitheroe at Blackpool's Grand Theatre and much of his career after that was in live theatre.

He also appeared in a number of television roles including the 1978 hit A Horseman Riding By, with Nigel Havers, and Dalziel and Pascoe as the chief constable.

Perhaps one of his oddest roles was as Laurence Olivier - as King Lear - in the film version of the Shakespeare play. Due to ill health, Olivier missed a lot of filming so Frank stood in for him as Lear and in many scenes where the actor's face cannot be seen it is Frank rather than Olivier.

Frank died from cancer last week at a Brighton Hospice but it is unclear how long he had been ill as he had kept it quiet from friends.

His latest major appearance was as Terence in Love Actually, which features many big names including Hugh Grant, Martine McCutcheon and Rowan Atkinson and is being shown at cinemas now.