Richard O'Sullivan, star of 1970s sitcom Man About the House, dies aged 82

Richard O'Sullivan, the actor best known for starring in the 1970s sitcom Man About the House, has died at the age of 82, according to a report from The Guardian.

O'Sullivan began his acting career as a child, first appearing on screen at the age of seven. He went on to build a major television career playing relatively youthful characters that, according to the report, were seen as representative of the social and sexual freedoms that emerged from the liberations of the 1960s.

Between 1972 and 1981, O'Sullivan appeared in more than 100 episodes of peak-time ITV comedies, portraying funny, frisky men in their 20s and 30s, the report said.

His first major role in this run was as Dr Lawrence Bingham in the hospital sitcom Doctor in Charge, where he brought a cheeky charm that the report says led to his career-defining casting as Robin Tripp in Man About the House in the mid-1970s.

O'Sullivan later reprised a version of that character in the spin-off series Robin's Nest a few years later, according to the report.

The Guardian's obituary noted that O'Sullivan's on-screen persona and youthful vitality made him popular with audiences and drew significant attention from tabloid media during the peak of his career.