Actor Nicholas Smith has died at the age of 81

 Nicholas Smith's first television appearance was as the camp leader Wells in 3 episodes of the 1964 story The Dalek Invasion of Earth.

 He had roles in many other UK drama series including The Saint, The Avengers, The Champions and Ace of Wands. He worked on radio, including an 18 month stint playing music and reading poems in a show called Poetry Corner. He played PC Yates in the police drama Z Cars. In 1979, he appeared in Worzel Gummidge alongside Jon Pertwee, playing Mr Foster, the headmaster of the school. In 2005 He played the Reverend Clement Hedges in the animated film The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

 However he will be best remembered as playing the hapless manager, and holder of the key to the executive washroom, Cuthbert Rumbold, in the classic British comedy series Are You Being Served. Smith was in the entire run of the original series as well as appearing in the sequel Grace and Favour. 

Smith died in hospital on Sunday following a fall at home. His daughter is the actress Catherine Russell, who plays Serena Campbell in Holby City.

The writer Anthony Read has died, aged 80.

Born in 1935, Read attended the Central School of Speech and Drama and, following National Service, worked in Fleet Street in advertising, journalism and publishing before deciding to become a full time writer. He joined the BBC on 2nd November 1963 - just some three weeks before the show we remember him for launched on television! Early work included being a writer for The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling and script editor for the Peter Cushing incarnation of Sherlock Holmes, but it was in the latter half of the decade when he became known for The Troubleshooters, a series he script edited, wrote and later produced for.

During the 1970s he returned to being freelance, working on shows such as Marked Personnel, The Black Arrow, Crown Court and Z-Cars (a return to one of the first shows he had written for in 1962). However it was in 1977 when he came to be associated with Doctor Who, invited by producer Graham Williams to take over from Robert Holmes, working alongside the outgoing script editor on Image of the Fendahl and The Sun Makers before formally taking charge of scripts with Underworld. Having co-written The Invasion of Time with Williams, the pair went on to devise the umbrella-themed Key to Time Season Sixteen, with Read also taking on producer duties when his colleague became ill. Having 'discovered' a talented writer during that run, he then recommended the reins of script editing be passed to 'newcomer' Douglas Adams, and returned to write a story for the following season, The Horns of Nimon. After leaving Doctor Who he contributed scripts to The Omega Factor (which starred his first 'companion' Louise Jameson).

Other programmes during this prolific time included The Professionals and the science fantasy cults Into the Labyrinth and Sapphire and Steel; he also dramatised/wrote all three series of Chocky, devised from the book by John Wyndham. A return to the world of Sherlock Holmes with The Baker Street Boys earned him an award from the Writers' Guild of Great Britain. During the 1980s he moved away from writing for television, though he did contribute to the medium occasionally, notable writing several episodes for The Adventures of Swiss Family Robinson in 1998.

A long-time friend with David Fisher (hailing back to the 1960s), the pair collaborated on a number of non-fiction works, including The Fall of Berlin, The Proudest Day: India's Long Road to Independence and Colonel Z: The Secret Life of a Master of Spies. He also wrote a number of solo works focussed around the Second World War, including winning the Wingate Literary Prize for Kristallnacht; however he also kept up his fictional ties, especially with regard to his soft spot, The Baker Street Boys.

The actor William Byrd Wilkins has died at the age of 50.

William Byrd Wilkins played The Preacher in the 2012 Doctor Who story A Town Called Mercy.

Other TV roles included playing a crack dealer in 2006 Wayne Cramer film Running Scared and playing a bouncer in the 1998 comedy Overnight Delivery.

William Byrd Wilkins was born in Louisburg, North Carolina. After seeing the acclaimed African-American theatre company Penumbra perform locally, he moved to the company's base, Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he was determined to join the company, something he achieved after two years. His memorable roles at Penumbra included playing Boy Willie, a brother who wants to sell a family heirloom to fund a land-buying scheme, in August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson.

In recent years, he returned to his home town, teaching drama at Louisburg College.

Earlier this year he was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. Wilkins declined chemotherapy saying he wanted to live out his days without Doctors and toxic chemo, and a fund was set up to raise money to allow him to enjoy his final few months.

William Byrd Wilkins died last Saturday, 31 October. He is survived by his mother, sister and two brothers.

The actor Neville Jason has died at the age of 81

Neville Jason appeared in the 1978 story The Androids of Tara where he played Prince Reynart in the Key to Time story, based upon The Prisoner Of Zenda and directed by Michael Hayes.

Recalling the story he said He appeared in many UK TV Dramas, including regular roles in Emergency-Ward 10, Maigret, Barlow, The Little Ship. Armchair Thriller, Goodbye Darling and Skorpion.

His theatre credits included Publius in Titus Andronicus various roles in The Knight of the Burning Pestle and playing John Fryer in the musical Mutiny!.

In later years he recorded many audio books, including the whole of War And Peace. His recoding of Proust's Remembrance Of Things Past, which he partly translated, comes on 120 CD's.

He is survived by his wife Gillian

Actor and Stunt Arranger Derek Ware has died at the age of 77.

Derek Ware was a regular performer on Doctor Who throughout the first ten years of its existence, appearing in at least 21 episodes and acting as Fight Arranger in many more.

He appeared in the very first story, An Unearthly Child, where he doubled for actor Jeremy Young, in the fight scene between the cavemen Kal and Za, arranging Doctor Who's first fight scene. He returned to the series arranging the fight between Marco and Tegana in Marco Polo and between Ian and Ixta in The Aztecs.. As well as Fight Arranging he was back before the cameras in The Crusade playing a Saracen Warrior.

Later that year he played a Bus Conductor in the final scenes of The Chase where Ian and Barbara return to London. He continued with roles in The Myth Makers and the epic The Daleks' Master Plan where he played the Egyptian messenger Tuthmos. He played a Spaniard in The Smugglers

He again arranged the fights in the Patrick Troughton stories The Underwater Menace and The Web of Fear.

In 1970 he formed HAVOC, a team of specialist stunt performers who regularly worked on the third Doctor's era of the show. The Ambassadors of Death, Inferno, where he played Private Wyatt, Terror of the Autons, The Sea Devils and The Claws of Axos all benefited from his skills, with Ware himself playing the tramp Pigbin Josh in the latter story.

Costs and Union problems saw the end of HAVOC after the end of Season 9, and Ware never worked on Doctor Who again.

Ware continued his work as a stunt performer working on series such as Z Cars, Colditz, King Cinder, The Prisoner of Zenda, The Kenny Everett Television Show and Last of the Summer Wine. He appeared with Michael Crawford in a well known clip from the comedy series Some Mother's Do 'Ave 'Em when he played a window cleaner working alongside the hapless Frank Spencer. The stunt, which featured both actors hanging from a window cleaning platform on the side of a London skyscraper, went wrong when the cradle became stuck, resulting in both actors being trapped 300 feet above the ground.

Film work included The Italian Job, Krull, Willow and Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.

Derek Ware had trained at RADA and for many years a Derek Ware Prize was awarded at the academy for the best fight based around a classical text.

The actor and director Robin Phillips has died at the age of 73.

Robin Phillips played Altos in five episodes of the 1964 story The Keys of Marinus, accompanying the Doctor and his companions in their quest for the Conscience's keys.

Phillips was born in Haslemere, in 1942. He studied acting at the Bristol Old Vic and went on to appear in many well known TV series including Compact, The Forsyte Saga, The Avengers and The Saint. In 1969 he played the title character in the star studded TV version of Charles Dickens' David Copperfield.

In 1975 he was hired as artistic director at the Stratford Festival in Canada. He spent six seasons directing many productions starring such actors as Maggie Smith, Richard Monette, Martha Henry, and Brian Bedford, directing 40 productions. He made Canada his home, becoming a Canadian citizen and developing a wide-ranging career in the country, including a period as artistic director at The Grand Theatre in London, Ontario, and as director general of Edmonton's Citadel Theatre.

Phillips's directing credits included a London production of Long Day's Journey into Night starring Jessica Lange, the Broadway musical Jekyll and Hyde, and a Canadian Opera Company performance of The Marriage of Figaro.

In 1983 he was given an honorary degree by the University of Western Ontario and was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2005. He was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at The Governor General's Performing Arts Awards in 2010.

Robin Phillips died peacefully at his Stratford home, after a prolonged illness. He is survived by his long-time partner Joe Mandel.

Olaf Pooley, the man who was the oldest surviving actor to have worked on Doctor Who, has died at the age of 101.

Olaf Pooley was one of a small group of actors to have appeared in both the Doctor Who and Star Trek franchises. He appeared in Doctor Who in 1970, playing both Professor Stahlman and his parallel-Earth counterpart Director Stahlman in the seven-part story Inferno. His appearance in Star Trek came thirty years later when he appeared in the Voyager episode Blink Of An Eye playing Cleric.

Pooley was born in the Parkstone area of Poole in Dorset to an English father and Danish mother, he studied architecture at the Architectural Association in London and painting at the Chelsea School of Art. Until his death he was still an exhibiting painter.

His first full-time job was with Pinewood Film Studios' design department, and he then became a member of the BBC Radio Drama Repertory Company, with his prolific acting career also seeing him appearing in the West End, on film and on TV

During his career, he wrote and appeared in the film The Corpse - entitled Crucible of Horror in the USA - which starred Michael Gough, and wrote, directed and appeared in The Johnstown Monster. He also wrote the screenplay for a film version of Bernard Taylor's The Godsend, which was directed by his future second wife Gabrielle Beaumont. Pooley's other writing credits include the 1982 TV film Falcon's Gold, while he was an uncredited writer on the 1985 sci-fi horror movie Lifeforce.

His TV guest appearances since the 1950s included roles in Dixon of Dock Green, Paul Temple, Jason King and MacGyver, as well as playing Lars Torvik in the first episode of The Sandbaggers.

In 1958, Pooley took part in the BBC radio play Ambrose In Paris, and he played Sebastian in a 1956 film production of The Tempest. Pooley had a major career in West End theatre, appearing in notable productions such as Noël Coward's Peace In Our Time as well as The Tempest and Othello, and he counted Sir Alec Guinness among his close friends.

He emigrated to the United States in 1986, where he continued his acting, also becoming a respected artist both there and abroad. In an interview, he said: "It is a privilege to be an artist and I am fortunate in this respect."

He celebrated his 100th birthday in 2014 with a special exhibition of his paintings at the Santa Monica Art Studios

Olaf Pooley died on Tuesday.

The actor Edward Burnham has died at the age of 98.

Edward Burnham had two major roles in Doctor Who. In 1968 he played Professor Watkins, the uncle of Isobel, in 4 episodes of the second Doctor story The Invasion. He returned to the series at the end of 1974 in Tom Baker's début story Robot, playing Professor Kettlewell, the creator of the Experimental Prototype Robot K1.

Edward Burnham was an actor for over 60 years, appearing on Television as early as 1938 in productions of The Marvellous History of St. Bernard and The Swiss Family Robinson. In 1959 he appeared in the science fiction series Quatermass and the Pit. Other roles followed in productions such as The Citadel, Z Cars, The Plane Makers, To Sir, with Love, The Pallisers, The Search for the Nile, Churchill's People, All Creatures Great and Small, Nightingales and Nicholas Nickleby.

In the early 1960's he played Dr. Dorking and Dr. Danvers White in Emergency-Ward 10 and in 1985 he played Mr. Grimwig in Terrance Dicks's production of Oliver Twist. He also appeared in the feature films 10 Rillington Place, Young Winston and The Hiding Place.

Edward Burnham died peacefully at home last Tuesday, 30th June.

Bob Hornery 1931-2015 The actor Bob Hornery has died at the age of 83.

Bob Hornery appeared in the 1979 Fourth Doctor story The Horns of Nimon where he played the Pilot.

The Australian actor was best known for playing Tom Kennedy in long-running soap Neighbours. He was a long standing member of the Melbourne Theatre Company, first appearing in a 1961 touring production of Sweeney Todd. His last appearance for the company was in 2011 in The Importance of Being Earnest. His 60 year long career included TV roles in Sapphire & Steel, Orlando, Nicholas Nickleby, The Glynn Nicholas Show and Thunderstone. Movie parts include roles in Crackerjack and Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome.

The actor died last Tuesday, just two days before his 84th birthday.

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Peter Howell 1919-2015

The actor Peter Howell has died at the age of 96.

Peter Howell played the Investigator in the last episode of the 1972 story The Mutants.

He was best known for his role in the 1960's medical drama Emergency Ward 10, playing Dr. Peter Harrison in well over 100 episodes. He had roles in Dr. Finlay's Casebook, The Ten Commandments, Freewheelers, Edward VII, The Mill on the Floss, Pride and Prejudice, The Prisoner Love in a Cold Climate, Death of an Expert Witness, Crown Court, A Sort of Innocence, Our Mutual Friend and Perfect Strangers. He played the Governor in the TV movie Scum. His many radio roles included the Right Reverend Cyril Hood in The Archers and playing Saruman in the 1981 BBC production of The Lord of the Rings.

Howell died on 20 April 2015 after a short illness.

The actor Nigel Terry has died at the age of 69.

Nigel Terry played General Cobb in the 2008 Tenth Doctor story The Doctor's Daughter.

Terry has a long career both on stage and screen and worked extensively for both the National Theatre and theRoyal Shakespeare Company.

He is best known for playing King Arthur in John Boorman’s 1981 film Excalibur. Other movie roles include playing Prince John in Anthony Harvey’s The Lion in Winter and playing the title role of Caravaggio in the Derek Jarman film. On television he appeared in Agatha Christie's Marple, MI-5, Foyle's War, Holby City, Mortimer's Law, Resort to Murder, Highlander, The Orchid House, Ruth Rendell Mysteries, Denys Villiers, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Sherlock Holmes and Kenilworth.

Nigel Terry died last Thursday after contracting emphysema.