Murray Melvin, gifted actor on stage and film praised for A Taste of Honey and The Devils – obituary

• Murray Melvin, the actor who has died aged 90, was a leading member of one of the most significant post-war companies in the British theatre, playing key roles under the direction of the pioneering Joan Littlewood in two of her Theatre Workshop’s biggest international hits, A Taste of Honey and The Hostage. More recently he became known to younger audiences for his role in Russell T Davies’s Doctor Who spinoff, Torchwood.