BBC– British actor Anthony Head, best known for his roles in TV shows including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Ted Lasso, Merlin and Little Britain, has died at the age of 72.
Head found international fame as Rupert Giles in hit supernatural teen show Buffy in the late 1990s.
“He passed away peacefully of complications due to pneumonia, surrounded by his family,” his daughters Emily and Daisy said.
Sarah Michelle Gellar, who played the eponymous Buffy, led tributes to Head, writing: “Thank you to Daisy and Emily who not only shared their dad with me, but with the world.”
His daughters’ statement said “it is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of our extraordinary father”.
“It has been, and forever will be, an honour and a privilege to be his daughters, and to have witnessed firsthand the impact both he and his work have had on so many.”
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They also said they knew “how dearly he will be missed by friends, colleagues and fans of the show he was in”, adding that he “loved his job very much” and “always considered himself incredibly lucky”.
His family acknowledged that “his legacy will live on” and said they considered themselves “lucky” to have watched him doing what he loved throughout his career.
Gellar posted a selection of pictures of her with Head on Instagram, including a scene from Buffy where her character asks Giles whether life gets any easier.
“‘Tell Giles I figured it out and I’m ok’. Well, I don’t have it figured out and I’m not ok. But I know I’m the lucky one because I knew you,” she wrote.
“Thank you to Daisy and Emily who not only shared their dad with me, but with the world.”
David Boreanaz, who also starred alongside Head in Buffy, said: “RIP. He was so kind and generous of a soul.”
Fellow Buffy co-star James Marsters said: “He was an unflaggingly kind and steady presence on the set of Buffy, and the best actor in the cast… I was lucky to have known, and learned from him.”
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Following Buffy, Head went on to have a recurring role in sketch show Little Britain as the prime minister and king Uther Pendragon in the BBC’s Merlin.
Little Britain creator and star Matt Lucas – in which Head played the prime minister – described Head as “unfailingly brilliant, and always so kind and warm”.
“When we were casting Little Britain, we were looking for a ‘Tony Head-type ‘, because we never imagined for a moment that the man himself would be interested, but he was. Lucky us,” Lucas said.
Head’s other credits included playing Geoffrey Howe in The Iron Lady and appearing in Doctor Who, Persuasion, The Inbetweeners and Manchild.
He also starred in Ted Lasso from 2020 as former Richmond FC owner Rupert Mannion, the ex-husband of Hannah Waddingham’s character Rebecca Welton.
Brett Goldstein, their co-star and a writer on the show, said: “Anthony Head was a brilliant actor who played the worst person in the world, which was an incredible skill because he was the best person.”
Head first found fame in the UK in the 1980s as the face of Nescafe coffee adverts on TV.
He was part of the Gold Blend couple alongside Sharon Maughan, with their coffee-themed romance ads becoming popular between 1987 and 1993.
Maughan told BBC News she was “broken-hearted” at the loss of Head.
“I guess they were iconic, I don’t think that was the intention at the beginning,” she said. “Tony and I were just two actors who got this job, and we had a really lovely friendship…
“I loved working with him. I thought he was a lovely man.”
Head starred in numerous popular British shows during his career, also including Motherland, Silent Witness and Doctor Who.
The official Doctor Who account on X said it was “very sad to report the passing of Anthony Head, who appeared as Mr Finch in ‘School Reunion’ in 2006”.
“He was also known by fans for his commentary in #DoctorWho Confidential and the voice of Baltazar in ‘The Infinite Quest’.”
And author Harlan Coben wrote on Instagram: “You’ll be reading a lot of wonderful things about him in the coming days. Believe them.
“He was charming and erudite and funny and open and friendly and so damn talented. He brought joy and warmth and sparkle and wonder to every room he entered.
“Everyone in the cast and crew of The Stranger adored Tony. It was an honor to call you a friend. We are all heartbroken.”
His last acting credits included Bridgerton in 2022, in which he starred in one episode in series two.
He joined the cast of BBC Radio 4’s long-running drama The Archers in 2018, playing Robin Fairbrother.
The actor also enjoyed a long stage career, performing in several iterations of The Rocky Horror Show and musicals such as Godspell and Chess.
Born in Camden, London, in 1954, Head’s mother was actress Helen Shingler, best known for BBC TV series Maigret, and his father Seafield Head, a documentary maker.
He trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).
Head lost his long-term partner Sarah Fisher, who was an animal welfare campaigner, in December 2025 at the age of 61.
His daughters Emily, 37 and Daisy, 35, both work as actors – with Emily best known for playing Carli D’Amato in The Inbetweeners.
Daisy has appeared in TV shows including Harlots and Shadow and Bone.
His brother Murray is also an actor, who appeared in the Oscar-nominated 1971 film Sunday Bloody Sunday and the musical Chess.
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