Acclaimed British stage and screen actor also known for X-Men among many roles has died aged 86 at home on Wednesday

• Patrick Stewart, titan of stage and screen, dies aged 86

Actor Bryan Batt, who starred with Stewart in the 90s romantic comedy Jeffrey, said he was heartbroken at the news of his passing.

Batt wrote in a tribute on Instagram:

He was one of the most talented, kindest, and generous actors I’ve ever had the honor of working with. I was lucky to play his lover in the film of Paul Rudnick’s Jeffrey.

I learned it when I was 14. I memorized all the soliloquies just because I thought they were great. And they stuck, so I didn’t have to learn those bits of the play, which is a blessing, because learning lines has now become the one curse of this job.

Pete Hegseth and other officials appear before House to face grilling on Iran war expenditure and military operations

Iran has expanded its definition of the strait of Hormuz into a “vast operational area” far wider than before the war, according to a senior officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy in comments likely to anger the US.

The strait is no longer viewed as a narrow stretch around a handful of islands but instead has been greatly enlarged in scope and military significance, according to Mohammad Akbarzadeh, deputy political director of the IRGC Navy, the state-affiliated Fars news agency reported this morning.