72-year-old actor Robbie Coltrane, who played Hagrid in the Harry Potter franchise, passed away yesterday (14 October), according to his agent Belinda Wright .

Wright announced the tragic news via a statement, saying that her client and friend Robbie Coltrane had passed away on Friday (October 14).

She described Coltrane as being a unique talent who shares the Guinness Book of Records award for winning three consecutive Best Actor Baftas for playing Fitz in the Granada TV series Cracker in 1994, 1995 and 1996, with Sir Michael Gambon.

She added that he will be best remembered for decades to come, for his portrayal of Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies, a role which “brought joy to children and adults alike all over the world, prompting a stream of fan letters every week for over 20 years.”

Paying a personal tribute to the late actor, Wright said that she “shall remember him as an abidingly loyal client and wonderful actor, who was forensically intelligent, brilliantly witty.”

She said that “after 40 years of being proud to be called his agent, I shall miss him.”

Coltrane is survived by his sister Annie Rae, his children Spencer and Alicea and his wife Rhona Gemmell, with Wright asking for the public to respect the family’s privacy during this distressing time.

His cause of death has not been made public, although he was spotted at a Scottish hospital being treated before his passing.

He had always been open about his battle with osteoarthritis, which causes joints to become stiff and painful, and is the most common type of arthritis in the UK.

He was pictured in a wheelchair in 2019, and the late actor said in September 2020 that he had been fighting pain 24 hours a day.

He said that he “wouldn’t wish the condition on his worst enemies”, and said that he had no cartilage in his knee, it was just bone on bone.