Emmerdale Amos leaves £1/2m to man who nursed him through final years

Ronald Magill, who played the gruff landlord of the Woolpack pub in the television soap opera, died aged 87 in September following a long illness.

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His will revealed that he set aside his house in London, worth about £550,000, to John Toole, 64, who had lived with the star in his final years. Mr Magill left the remainder - about £830,000 before inheritance tax – to his two brothers.

Amos, famous for his bushy sideburns, ruled the roost in the Woolpack from 1972 until 1991, acting as a fount of village gossip.

The character eventually married Annie Sugden (played by Sheila Mercier), in 1995 when he returned for a cameo appearance, 23 years after his initial onscreen proposal had been turned down.

Before his death, Mr Magill lamented that the show, which was renamed simply Emmerdale in 1989, had lost the innocence of its early years.

This week, Mr Toole was unavailable for comment but neighbours in Wimbledon, South-West London, described him as Mr Magill's 'rock' during the last ten years of his life.

The pair had lived together in the smart, two-storey terrace house following the death of Mr Magill's partner of 32 years, David Soar, in 1997.

Mr Magill, who died on September 6, had suffered from Bell's palsy, or facial paralysis, in the years leading up to his death.

The actor, a former director at the Nottingham Playhouse, left a net estate of £1.38million in his will, which was drawn up in February 1998.

As well as the house, he left its land and all its furniture and effects to Mr Toole. He instructed that the remainder of his estate be given to his Birmingham-based brothers Frederick and Alan and their families.

The will states that the house and its contents should go to Mr Toole before the payment of inheritance tax – so any tax due on his estate will be deducted from the portion left to his family.

A family member said last night: "It's a private matter. It is not something I wish to discuss."