Minder theme plays at farewell to George Cole

Cole, who died on August 5 aged 90, is best remembered for his portrayal of small-time wheeler dealer and crook Arthur Daley in the TV series, alongside his likeable bodyguard Terry McCann, played by Waterman.

His coffin entered Reading Crematorium to the theme tune to the popular series, which ran from 1979 to 1994 and brought the criminal underworld of west London to millions of homes up and down the country.

The upbeat song I Could Be So Good for You was a hit for Waterman in 1980.

Delivering the eulogy at the service, Waterman, 67, said: “People are always asking me for anecdotes.

“Working with George was an anecdote. It was non-stop. We laughed all day long, every day.

“I can’t understand or bear to think how the family feel because I know how we feel.

“It’s a wonderful day I suppose but a horrible one. Personally I would rather be doing Hamlet with no rehearsals than this.”

Cole’s widow Penny, whom he married in 1967, read David Harkins’s poem He Is Gone during the service.

She said: “You can open your eyes and see all that he has left”, before jokingly adding in the line, “all those television repeats”.

Born in 1925, Cole, who was adopted as a baby and grew up in Morden, south London, began his career in musical theatre when he left school before getting his break in films in the 1940s.

He appeared in the 1943 film The Demi-Paradise opposite Laurence Olivier and in Olivier’s film version of Henry V the following year, before serving with the Royal Air Force from 1944 to 1947.

His role as the spiv Flash Harry in four of the St Trinian’s films in the 1950s proved an early prototype for his Arthur Daley character, and he played the character Flavius in the 1963 epic Cleopatra, opposite Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and Rex Harrison. In later life he enjoyed guest roles in shows such as Midsomer Murders and New Tricks.

Video and gallery: George Cole, Minder’s Arthur Daley, dies at 90