Veteran British entertainer Max Bygraves has died in Australia aged 89.

The singer and comedian died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Hope Island in Queensland, his agent Johnny Mans said.

"His death is a great loss to the entertainment profession and a great loss to all of his friends in the industry," he said.

Mr Mans said Bygraves had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's two years ago.

Bygraves was one of nine children and grew up in a council flat in south-east London.

He started his career as a pub singer in his teens and went on to become a popular variety performer.

He appeared in films and stage shows and hostel the TV game show Family Fortunes during a long-running career.

Comedian Jimmy Tarbuck, a close friend of Bygraves, described him as "one of the greats of British entertainment".

"He had the audience in the palm of his hand quicker than any other comedian I have seen," Tarbuck told BBC television.

"They loved him, and you don't get that love very often."

He was awarded an OBE in 1983 but descrbed himself as "just an ordinary Cockney bloke who made it".

ABC/AFP

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Calm, quiet, smooth, devastating