Sir Patrick Stewart, Star Trek's Captain Picard, dies aged 86

Sir Patrick Stewart has died at the age of 86. He died on 28 October at his home in Los Angeles, after living with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia, his spokesperson said. He is survived by his wife, Sunny Ozell, and his children, Daniel and Sophie.

Stewart became Captain Jean-Luc Picard in 1987, when Star Trek: The Next Generation launched, and led the USS Enterprise-D for seven seasons and 176 episodes. He returned as Picard in four feature films, from Star Trek Generations to Star Trek: Nemesis, and again two decades later in Star Trek: Picard, which ran for three seasons on Paramount+ from 2020 to 2023.

A classically trained actor and long-standing member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he brought a stage actor's gravity to the captain's chair and made Picard one of the most admired characters in the franchise. Beyond Star Trek he was known around the world as Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men films.