Simon Shelton Barnes, from Ampthill in Bedfordshire, had trained as a ballet dancer and choreographer before taking on the role (top; and right, on set) from 1998 to
2001 as the purple character who carried a 'magic bag' in the children's show. After the father-of-three's death, his make-up artist daughter Lydia Barnes (left) said: 'I love you so much dad. Always have, always will. The most beautiful man in the world. Forever in my heart.' Mr Barnes was found last Wednesday at 7.30am having died of hypothermia after collapsing on the streets of Liverpool in the Mann Island area of the city (bottom). Tributes were also paid yesterday by his former flatmate Judith Tynan, the cousin of his ex-wife Emma Robbins, who lived with him on the Wirral in Merseyside for the final year of his life. She told MailOnline: 'I'm very floored at losing him, he was just the best company. We got on terribly well.
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