British actor Kenny Baker, who starred as R2-D2 in six Star Wars films, has died aged 81 after a long illness, his niece has confirmed.

Baker became a household name in 1977 when he took on the role of the robot in the first Star Wars film alongside Anthony Daniels's C-3PO character.

Mark Hamill, who starred as Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars films, paid tribute to"a lifelong friend".

Born in Birmingham, Baker's other films include Time Bandits and Flash Gordon.

After starring in the original Star Wars film he went on to appear in the sequels, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and the three prequels between 1999 and 2005.

He later appeared at Star Wars fan conventions across the world.

Baker's agent Johnny Mans said the actor had been ill for a couple of years.

He said: "Kenny was truly a great friend, one of the nicest guys you could ever wish to meet, and a fabulous and talented performer."

Mans described him as "a one-off" saying he would "never forget the laughs we shared over the years".

"He will be sadly missed," he added.

Read more here: http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-37072736

Really sad :(

Grateful for his work and for what he meant to the Star Wars legacy.

Rest in peace.

Yeah, I just found out. My girlfriend and I were talking when she's like, "Hey, Kenny Baker died!" and I for whatever reason couldn't put his name with his roles until I was like, "Kenny Baker... that's definitely a British actor. What'd he do?" and she went, "He's R2-D2." and then I was like o.o

It was weird hearing the news first from a non Star Wars fan x.x XD

Saw him interviewed somewhere a long time ago and seemed such a nice person. Down to earth.

Star Wars is obviously not the film to show him at his best. Time Bandits was great fun and he was good in that.

Very sad but a great long lifespan for a dwarf.

What a shame.. RIP.

No love for Kenny ;-;