The actor Sir Michael Gambon has died aged 82, according to a statement from his family issued by his publicist Clair Dobbs.

“We are devastated to announce the loss of Sir Michael Gambon. Beloved husband and father, Michael died peacefully in hospital with his wife Anne and son Fergus at his bedside, following a bout of pneumonia. Michael was 82.”

He played many of the great Shakespearean parts on the stage and appeared in many film and television roles but was best known for playing Professor Albus Dumbledore in six of the eight Harry Potter films.

He is also fondly remembered by Doctor Who fans as portraying miserly tyrant Kazran Sardick, who has a change of heart in the Dickensian Series 6 episode A Christmas Carol.

Michael John Gambon was born in Dublin on 19 October 1940, the son of an engineer and a seamstress.

He was nominated for Emmy awards and won four BAFTAs over his six-decade career and was knighted for services to the entertainment industry in 1998.

Gambon is survived by his wife, Lady Gambon and son Fergus, as well as two children, Will and Tom, with Philippa Hart.