British film director Ken Russell has died

The British film director Ken Russell has died at the age of 84, it has been announced.

The director’s son, Alex, revealed he died peacefully in his sleep on Sunday in hospital. The prolific director worked extensively on film and television and was also a writer. He received an Oscar nomination for his 1969 film Women in Love. Glenda Jackson, who starred in Women in Love, told the BBC ‘He created the kind of climate in which actors could do their job and I loved him dearly.”

Russell’s other notable film credits include The Devils, The Boyfriend, Crimes of Passion and Whore. His television credits include Lady Chatterley, A British Picture and several entries in the Omnibus and Monitor documentary strands. Russell was also an occasional actor appearing in several of his own productions as well as dramas such as Waking the Dead.

In 2007 he appeared in the Channel Four series Celebrity Big Brother – one of the most controversial series’ of Big Brother during its entire run. His fellow housemates included American actor Dirk Benedict, Jermaine Jackson and the late Jade Goody. Russell quit Celebrity Big Brother just days into the competition after a disagreement with Goody who later became embroiled in an international race row over accusations she was bullying fellow housemate Shilpa Shetty.