The actor William Lucas has died at the age of 91.

William Lucas played Range in the 1984 Doctor Who story Frontios. It was a role he took over shortly before the story was recorded following the murder of the original actor Peter Arne.

Lucas's best known role was playing Dr James Gordon in the TV series The Adventures of Black Beauty, which ran on ITV from 1972-1974. The series, continuing the adventures of the horse from the famous novel by Anna Sewell, regularly topped the TV charts with its iconic theme tune seared into the memories of children from the era.

Lucas began his career in 1948 as an assistant stage manager at Chesterfield civic theatre. Several years in repertory followed before his television breakthrough in 1955 playing the blackmailing car dealer Reg Dorking in the crime thriller Portrait of Alison. He reprised the role in the film version later the same year.

For the next forty years he was a regular on British television, appearing in over 100 different drama productions. He played John Friend in The infamous John Friend, Detective Inspector Mitchell in Flower of Evil and Days of Vengeance and Eddie Prior in The Prior Commitment. He had regular roles in Coronation Street as well as the ill fated El Dorado.

In 1990 he returned to his most famous role playing Dr Gordon in The New Adventures of Black Beauty.

He was still working into the new century with parts in episodes of Last of the Summer Wine, Doctors and The Bill.

William Lucas died on Friday 8th July. He is survived by his second wife Camilla and by Daniel and Thomas, the sons of his first marriage.

The actor Burt Kwouk has died, aged 85.

Born in Manchester, raised in Hong Kong, and eventually graduating from Bowdoin College in the United States, the internationally travelled Burt Kwouk returned to the United Kingdom in 1954 and was soon an actor in great demand owing to his oriental appearance.

On television he worked on a range of ITC productions including The Avengers, The Saint, The Champions and Danger Man; he was a co-star in The Sentimental Agent, playing Chin Sung in 12 of its 13 episodes. He also provided English narration for both The Water Margin and Monkey. On film his first big break was in Inn Of The Sixth Happiness. He later appeared in two of the Sean Connery run of James Bond, Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice, plus the independent film starring David Niven and Peter Sellers, Casino Royale. However, it was alongside Sellers that Kwouk was to achieve 'immortality', playing the kung-fu servant Cato whose ambushes against Inspector Clouseau became key scenes to look forward to!

In 1982 he took on the role of the Mandarin leader Lin Futo in Four to Doomsday, acting alongside a fresh-faced Time Lord Peter Davison in his first filmed story. He was to later return to Doctor Who as Doctor Hayashi, again alongside Davison, in the Big Finish adventure Loups-Garoux

Other television roles included Major Yamauchi in the prisoner-of-war drama series Tenko, Mr Lee in Howard's Way, Philip Chen in Noble House, and Peter Lo-Ching in The House of Elliot; in film he played Mr Chen in Empire of the Sun, General Lu Soong in Air America and Fu King in I Bought A Vampire Motorcycle. He became a regular on the Harry Hill show between 1997 and 2000, provided voiceovers for Japanese spoof betting show Banzai between 2001 and 2004, and then settled into the role of Entwistle in the BBC's long-running Last of the Summer Wine between 2002 and 2010.

In 2011 he received an OBE for services to drama.


A statement issued by his agent said: "Beloved actor Burt Kwouk has sadly passed peacefully away. The family will be having a private funeral but there will be a memorial at a later date."


Herbert Kwouk, OBE. 18th July 1930 - 24th May 2016

The BBC have announced the death former Senior Camera Operator, Alec Wheal, at the age of 81

Alec Wheal worked on at least 159 episodes of Doctor Who, mainly as Senior Camerman, or as it was later known, Camera Supervisor.

The Camera Supervisor led the team of five or six camera operators, during the studio recordings of classic era Doctor Who. The role was important as Studio Camera Operators had only the studio day to absorb the director's camera script and instructions, before recording each Doctor Who episode in the evening.

They would work closely with the Director to make sure the required shots and effects could be recorded during each studio recording session. Each recording had a strict 10pm cut off and any mistakes would lead to shots being missed or expensive overruns.

Alec Wheal led the Camera teams on most Doctor Who stories from Destiny of the Daleks in 1979 right through to The Greatest Show in the Galaxy in 1988.

Fifth Doctor, Peter Davison paid tribute. As well as Doctor Who, Wheal worked on programmes such as EastEnders, Last of the Summer Wine, Just Good Friends, The Tripods, Black Adder, Grange Hill and Fanny by Gaslight.

The actor Barry Howard has died at the age of 78.

Barry Howard played Oliver Barnes, a member of the Sliver Cloak gang, in the 2010 story The End of Time.

The actor was best known for playing the professional dancer Barry Stuart-Hargreaves in the BBC Comedy Hi-Di-Hi, a role he played in seven series from 1980-1986.

Other roles included parts in Terry and June, You Rang, M'Lord?, Dad and he played Danny Jackson in the ITV comedy The House of Windsor.

Howard, who lived in Poole in the south of England, was also a veteran of pantomime shows, and regularly appeared alongside Are You Being Served? star John Inman as the ugly sisters.

The actor Gareth Thomas has died at the age of 71.

Gareth Thomas played Ed Morgan in the 2006 Torchwood story Ghost Machine. He also appeared in a 2001 Big Finish production, Storm Warning.

However Thomas was best known for playing the eponymous hero of the 1970's science fiction series Blake's 7.

Thomas played Roj Blake, leader of a disparate band of rebels, pitted against a corrupt federation, in the series conceived by Doctor Who writer, and Dalek creator, Terry Nation. The series ran on BBC One from 1978-1981, with Thomas taking the lead role for the first two series. When Thomas decided not to renew his contract for series 3, the character of Blake was killed off. The ghost of Blake was present throughout the remaining series and Thomas returned twice, once at the end of series 3 and once for the climatic final episode, Blake.

Gareth Thomas was born in Wales in 1945. He trained at RADA and made his TV debut in a 1965 production of Romeo and Juliet.

A steady succession of TV roles followed, including parts in Coronation Street, Z-Cars, Harriet's Back in Town, Sutherland's Law, Edward VII, Jackanory and How Green Was My Valley where he played Rev. Gruffydd. In 1972 he was nominated for a BAFTA for his performance in the BBC Play for Today, Stocker's Copper. He played Adam Brake in the 1977 children's series Children of the Stones, and Shem in the ITV series Star Maidens.

Following his role as Blake, Thomas played Philip Denny in the 1983 version of A.J. Cronin's The Citadel and took the lead in the BBC One drama Morgan's Boy, about a Welsh hill farmer who finds himself looking after a teenage boy, a performance which won him his second BAFTA nomination.

He appeared in By the Sword Divided and Knights of God and had a regular role in the ITV series London's Burning. In 1998 he took on the role of Nathaniel Clegghorn in Heartbeat.

In 2012, Thomas returned to the role for which he was best known, playing Roj Blake in the Big Finish Production, Blake's 7: The Liberator Chronicles.

Gareth Thomas died Wednesday 13th April. He is survived by his wife Linda.

The actor Reg Whitehead has died, aged 83.

He was best known in Doctor Who for having played the first Cyberman to be seen on screen, during their invasion of the Antarctic base in The Tenth Planet; he went on to inhabit the insides of Cybermen for their successive stories The Moonbase and The Tomb of The Cybermen, and then as a Yeti in their debut story The Abominable Snowmen.

Outside of Doctor Who, he appeared in a number of television shows during the 1960s and early 1970s, including Z Cars, The Power Game, The Avengers, The Saint, and Counterstrike. In later life he was an enthusiastic racehorse owner, and often involved in projects at his local stables in Newbury.

Reg Whitehead, 11th Dec 1932 - 11 Mar 2016

The actor/comedian Ronnie Corbett has died, aged 85.

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, he started his acting career after National Service, initially playing a number of schoolchild roles owing to his height, before migrating into comedy on television with the likes of Dickie Henderson and Jimmy Tarbuck However, it was in during The Frost Report in 1966 where he was to first meet and work alongside Ronnie Barker, leading to their successful partnership in The Two Ronnies, running between 1971 and 1987 plus specials, and the show that made him a household name.

His other major television role was as Timothy Lumsden in Sorry!, which ran from 1981-1988. In later years he appeared in films including Fierce Creatures and Burke and Hare, and on television in shows like The Ronnie Corbett Show, game show Small Talk and Ronnie's Animal Crackers, and also made appearance as 'himself' in both Extras and Little Britain.

Though not directly related to Doctor Who, he "inherits" the TARDIS from a 'Doctor' of sorts played by Ronnie Barker in their 1983 Christmas Special sketch, The Adventures of Archie. He was later to appear in The Sarah Jane Adventures universe, playing an ambassador that later turned out to be a Slitheen in the 2009 Comic Relief segment From Raxacoricofallapatorius with Love.

Outside of his career, Corbett was a keen golfer, and was also president of the Lord's Taverners cricketing charity in 1982 and 1987. He received an OBE in 1978 and then a CBE in 2012 for services to entertainment and charity.

He was married to actress and dancer Anne Hart, with two daughters who also act, Emma and Sophie.


Ronald Balfour Corbett, 4th Dec 1930 - 31 Mar 2016

The actress Adrienne Corri has died at the age of 85

Adrienne Corri played Mena in 1980 story The Leisure Hive, the first story of Tom Baker's last Doctor Who season.

Cori appeared in a number of film roles, and is probably best known for playing Mrs. Alexander in the 1971 Stanley Kubrick film A Clockwork Orange. She played Lara's mother in David Lean's 1965 film Dr. Zhivago and appeared in the Otto Preminger thriller Bunny Lake is missing .

Other films include Devil Girl from Mars, The Tell-Tale Heart, A Study in Terror and Vampire Circus. She played Therese Duval in Revenge of the Pink Panther.

Her television credits include playing Angelica in Sword of Freedom, Grace Gould in A Family at War, and Lady Rebecca in Lovejoy.

The actress Adrienne Corri has died at the age of 85

Adrienne Corri played Mena in 1980 story The Leisure Hive, the first story of Tom Baker's last Doctor Who season.

Cori appeared in a number so film roles, and is probably best known for playing Mrs. Alexander in the 1971 Stanley Kubrick film A Clockwork Orange. She played Lara's mother in David Lean's 1965 film Dr. Zhivago and appeared in the Otto Preminger thriller Bunny Lake is missing .

Other films include Devil Girl from Mars, The Tell-Tale Heart, A Study in Terror and Vampire Circus. She played Therese Duval in Revenge of the Pink Panther.

Her television credits include playing Angelica in Sword of Freedom, Grace Gould in A Family at War, and Lady Rebecca in Lovejoy.

The actor Jon Rollason has died at the age of 84.

Jon Rollason is best known in Doctor Who, for playing Harold Chorley, the television journalist who covered the attacks on the London Underground in the 1968 story The Web of Fear. The recovery of the story in 2013 gave a new generation of fans the chance for to appreciate his contribution to the story.

Jon Rollason was born in Birmingham, where he began his acting career working in the Birmingham Rep.

In 1955 he got his first role on television, appearing in The Children of the New Forest. In 1962 he played Dr. Martin King in three episodes of The Avengers. He had recuring roles in Swizzlewick, Z Cars and Softly Softly before joining Coronation Street in 1966 as Dave Robbins, a teaching colleague of Ken Barlow.

He wrote two episodes of Crossroads and in 1969 created a two-part series Special Project Air for the BBC, starring Peter Barkworth, produced by Doctor Who's Peter Bryant and with music by Dudley Simpson.

Jon Rollason died in hospital on the morning of February 20th and is survived by his second wife, Janet, and three children.