Arnold Yarrow 1920-2024
The actor and writer Arnold Yarrow has died at the age of 104.
Arnold Yarrow was the oldest surviving cast member of Doctor Who, appearing in the series in 1974 at the spritely age of 54. He is believed to be the longest-lived actor to have ever had a credited role in the series and one of only six actors to have reached the age of 100.
Arnold Yarrow was born in the east end of London in April 1920, just two years after the end of the First World War.
In the 1940's he became an actor working in weekly rep where he met the future Doctor Who producer Barry Letts. It was under Letts's stewardship of Doctor Who that Yarrow was cast as Bellal in the Third Doctor story Death to the Daleks. The role required Yarrow to be stitched into an all-enveloping costume made of several strips of material glued together. He told Toby Hadoke
He also talked about the movement he put into the character
Doctor Who was a tiny part of the actor's long career, first appearing on television in the early 1950's. Appearances included roles in London's Burning, One by One, The Chinese Detective, Wainwright's Law, The Onedin Line, Dr. Finlay's Casebook, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Coronation Street, Boyd Q.C., The Andromeda Breakthrough, Dial 999, Macbeth. He returned to his Jewish roots in London when he played Benny Bloom in EastEnders.
As a writer, he contributed scripts to EastEnders, Softly Softly Task Force, Warship and Crown Court.
Arnold Yarrow died in Herne Bay, Kent, England, UK, at the age of 104 years, 236 days.
He is survived by his brother who is aged 100.
The oldest surviving Doctor Who actor is now believed to be Laurie Webb who is 100