Oliver Elmes, the man who designed the Seventh Doctor's title sequence, has died.

In 1987 producer John Nathan Turner commissioned BBC designer Oliver Elmes to design a new opening for the show. Elmes worked with CAL Video to produce the first Doctor Who logo to be designed entirely on computer.

The basic concept was the 'Big Bang', with stars exploding to form a multi-coloured galaxy, and features a spinning TARDIS and Sylvester McCoy's face painted silver. The sequence, which cost £20,000 and took three months to create, ran for the duration of McCoy's era, from Time and the Rani to Survival, appearing on 12 stories, some 42 episodes.

A short documentary explaining the history of the sequence, Helter Skelter, is included on the DVD release of Time and the Rani.

After the series was put on hold in 1989, the new logo continued to be used for the Virgin New Adventures novels until Bad Therapy in 1996.

In addition to his work on Doctor Who, Elmes designed title sequences for Elizabeth R, The Goodies, and The Good Life. He also worked on Multi Coloured Swapshop and Top of the Pops, and designed the BBC2 idents with the two lines and one of the early spinning globe idents

With the sad news of the death of Elisabeth Sladen still raw in many people's minds and so difficult to comprehend, many fans around the world have been making their own tributes to a woman who was such a central part of so many childhoods.

British folk singer Talis Kimberley has recorded her own tribute, Goodnight Sarah Jane, available as a download from her website. Kimberley says "this is my tribute to the actor Lis Sladen. Along with many other people I was desparately saddened to hear of her death; her portrayal of Sarah-Jane Smith was an inspiration during two periods of my life."

Other tracks released include Companion by Parralox and What's the Story Sarah Jane by New Magnet.

The tribute page in Gallifrey Base now stands at over 2000 posts and a special thread has been setup where fans can post their own artwork. Meanwhile a whole new generation of fans have been expressing their sense of loss on the BBC's Newsround page, which has had its biggest response ever to a story covered on the site. Some of the messages from children are read out by the co-stars of The Sarah Jane Adventures, Tommy Knight and Daniel Anthony, who are mourning the loss of the woman they called their "Mother Hen, ...always smiling, always laughing".

Many fans have made their own tribute videos which can be found on YouTube. Dork Tower, the online comic, has also produced its own cartoon in tribute.

A group of fans have launched a JustGiving site raising money for the charity Cancer Research UK, in memory of the actress. To date over £3000 has been raised. Other fans have been donating to the Lymphoedema Support Network, which was understood to be a charity the actress supported. A JustGiving site has been set up to buy an imaginary pint to toast Sarah Jane.

The BBC's programme in memory of Elisabeth Sladen, My Sarah Jane, which contains contributions from many of those who worked with her, can be seen in the UK on CBBC at 6.45pm Saturday, directly after Doctor Who finishes on BBC One.


News links: Obituary, Doctors pay tribute, Elisabeth Sladen Tributes, Press Roundup

The three surviving actors to play Sarah Jane Smith's "Doctor" have paid tribute to their former co-star Elisabeth Sladen, who died yesterday morning.




Sixth Doctor Colin Baker has also paid tribute via Twitter:

Greatest Doctor Who girl ever, is how the British tabloid The Sun reports the sad death of Elisabeth Sladen yesterday, at the age of 65. The paper reports how Doctor Who fans are in mourning over the loss of one of the most popular actors to have worked on the series. The Guardian confirms the tribute stating Sladen is widely regarded as the most beloved companion in the show's 48-year-history.

BBC News interviewed former Doctor Who showrunner, Russell T Davies, who spoke of her love for the character of Sarah Jane and how devastated the Doctor Who family are at the loss. "It was a joy to know the woman", he said "and an honour to work with her".

Sladen had been suffering with Cancer, something known only to her close family and friends. Davies spoke of her privacy and how she hated any fuss. "She would give me a good nudge in the ribs for talking about her on the Radio" he said. "She was a great great woman and a great actor... If I'm glad about anything in my career I'm so glad we brought her back, so a whole new generation of children could fall in love with her"

The loss has made headlines around the world, reported in publications from the US to Australia and from Canada to New Zealand, with the news trending on Twitter for much of the evening - a number of media articles are listed below.

The BBC's heavyweight news programme Newsnight closed its Tuesday edition with Jeremy Paxman reading a tribute to Sladen and a clip from The Sarah Jane Adventures. The following morning saw a tribute running on BBC Breakfast and the BBC News channel throughout the morning - this is available to watch via the BBC News website. The Classic Doctor Who channel on YouTube features a section highlighting her work on Doctor Who.

Other broadcasters also covered the news, with items running on Sky News, ITV's Daybreak and Lorraine shows, and even on Channel 10's news in Australia.

Many fans and colleagues have also posted tributes, which are reported in our earlier article.

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Many tributes have been paid Elisabeth Sladen who died earlier today.

Russell T Davies who brought the character of Sarah Jane back to Doctor Who and who later created The Sarah Jane Adventures said: "I absolutely loved Lis. She was funny and cheeky and clever and just simply wonderful. The universe was lucky to have Sarah Jane Smith; the world was lucky to have Lis."

Steven Moffat, Doctor Who's current Lead Writer and Executive Producer said:"Sarah Jane Smith was everybody's hero when I was younger, and as brave and funny and brilliant as people only ever are in stories. But many years later, when I met the real Sarah-Jane - Lis Sladen herself - she was exactly as any child ever have wanted her to be. Kind and gentle and clever; and a ferociously talented actress, of course, but in that perfectly English unassuming way."

John Barrowman, who worked with Sladen on Doctor Who, posted on twitter:"I loved my time on the Tardis with her. I am proud to have worked with such an icon of the sci fi world, your Dr Who family are very sad and will miss you and your beautiful smile."

Keith Jones, Director, BBC Cymru Wales which make The Sarah Jane Adventures, said:"A brilliant presence on screen and on set, she brought the excitement and energy of the Doctor Who family of programmes, of which we are very proud at BBC Wales, to a whole new generation. She will be missed by all at BBC Wales who worked with her."

Damian Kavanagh The Controller of CBBC said :"Lis brought joy, excitement and a sense of wonder to her many fans in her role as Sarah Jane Smith. She was adored by our young audience and I know all of them will miss her as much as I will."

Roger Carey, who represented Lis for many years, said:"She was not just a client, but a dear friend. She was so positive about life and her natural energy was intoxicating. She couldn't believe her luck when her career was resurrected in her own series."

Mary Tamm, who played Romana in the classic series, said: "Sad, sad day. Just heard the news of Elisabeth Sladen's death. I can honestly say she was one of the loveliest women I ever met - beautiful, talented, charming and clever. I was over the moon for her when her career in who was resurrected with the Sarah Jane Adventures; she was brilliant in it. how we will all miss her. Goodbye Liz, you were loved more than you knew, dear friend."

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You can listen to a tribute to Elisabeth Sladen from Russell T Davies via BBC News, and BBC Worldwide have published a YouTube playlist of Sladen's finest moments.

It is with great sadness that we report the death of the actress Elisabeth Sladen - forever known to us as the Doctor's best friend, Sarah Jane Smith.

Born in Liverpool in February 1946, Elisabeth Sladen took an interest in acting from an early age; she joined the Liverpool Playhouse repertory company as assistant stage manager after drama school, where she would meet her future husband Brian Miller. After a stint touring the country in repertory, she settled in Manchester, during which she had her breakthrough television role in 1970, appearing as Anita Reynolds in Coronation Street. More small roles were to follow in popular shows like Doomwatch, Z Cars and Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em.

Then in 1973 came what would be her defining role as she was cast as the replacement companion for third Doctor Jon Pertwee. Following in the footsteps of popular companion Jo Grant played by Katy Manning, Sladen was to hit the ground running as investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith in her debut story The Time Warrior, and over the next three years would see her popularity soar as she became part of what is arguably known as the "golden years" of Doctor Who alongside fourth Doctor Tom Baker, an era including the story frequently appearing top of fan polls, Genesis of the Daleks.

Despite choosing to leave the programme in 1976, with an emotional departure scene at the conclusion of the serial The Hand of Fear, Sladen later stated in interviews that although she had left Sarah Jane, "Sarah Jane never left me". Although she declined producer John Nathan-Turner's offer to come back as support for the Fourth Doctor's regeneration (being present at his own arrival at the end of this week's DVD release Planet of the Spiders), she did returned to the role for the 1981 pilot: having been described by the Doctor as his best friend, Sarah was form her second long-lasting partnership with his "second-best friend" in the titular K9 and Company.

Sladen was re-united with "her" Doctor, Jon Pertwee, in the 1983 20th anniversary celebration The Five Doctors, and again during the 1990s for the two radio stories The Paradise of Death and The Ghosts of N-Space, written and produced by the person who originally cast her, Barry Letts - the two would also be joined by another popular Doctor Who legend in the form of Nicholas Courtney as the Brigadier.

Outside of Doctor Who, Elisabeth continued to work in theatre and television, often alongside her husband Brian; roles included Josie Hall in Take My Wife, a small role in the film Silver Dream Racer, and as Lady Flimnap in a production of Gulliver in Lilliput by her former producer Barry Letts, followed a few years later in his production of Alice in Wonderland as the Cheshire Cat. However, with the birth of her daughter Sadie in 1985, she was to focus more on her family.

However, Sarah would never be far from her life, with the actress continuing to be a popular guest at Doctor Who conventions, and also featuring in a series of audio adventures from Big Finish. Then, in 2005, a discussion with the revived Doctor Who's head writer and long-term fan of hers, Russell T Davies, led to a guest appearance in the second series adventure School Reunion, which re-united Sarah (and K9!) with the Doctor in his most recent incarnation (David Tennant) - her appearance proved instrumental in cementing the connection between the 20th and 21st Century productions in a way that the Daleks couldn't!

The character, and Sladen's performance, proved to be as popular as ever, if not more so, and led to her own starring role in spin-off series, The Sarah Jane Adventures; the CBBC series continued on from her re-introduction in Doctor Who as an independent investigator of alien activity - now joined by her young own assistants as well as her faithful K9 - and winning a whole new legion of fans, both young and old. It is also a testament to the strength of the show that it has been graced by the appearance of the both the Brigadier (Nicholas Courtney), and the Doctor himself in both his Tenth incarnation in The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith (and David Tennant's final performance as the Doctor), and Eleventh in the form of Matt Smith in Death of the Doctor - where Sladen was also to come 'full circle' by performing with the actress she 'replaced' way back in 1973, Katy Manning, aka Jo Jones né Grant.

The series itself has gone on to win awards, including the Royal Television Society award for Children's Drama last month.

At the time of her death there are still three stories of The Sarah Jane Adventures to be broadcast on television, and her autobiography, Who's That Girl is due out later in the year.


Elisabeth Sladen died in the morning of 19th April, having been battling with cancer for some time. She is survived by her husband Brian Miller, and daughter Sadie.


Media Obituaries: Toby Hadoke for The Guardian; Scott Matthewman for The Stage.

The actor Michael Gough has died.

Michael Gough was best known to Doctor Who fans for his role as The Celestial Toymaker alongside the first Doctor, William Hartnell. He later appeared with fifth Doctor Peter Davison when he played the Doctor’s old friend Hedin, in the 1982 story ‘Arc of Infinity’.

Gough was born in Kuala Lumpa in either 1916 or 1915 – he never knew which. Despite the uncertainty about his year of birth, he holds the honour of being one of the longest-lived actors to have appeared in Doctor Who. His career was extraordinary. Between 1947 and 2000, he recorded at least one film per year, often more, in addition to a busy TV and stage career, which included tours with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Michael Gough’s unstoppable film career began in the forties, with ‘Androcles and the Lion’, but it was his role as Nicholai in ‘Anna Karenina’ that set in motion a prolific and distinguished movie career. By the early sixties he was well-known to TV viewers through such series as ‘The Adventures of Robin Hood’, ‘The Count of Monte Christo’, ‘The Saint’, ITV’s ‘Play of the Week’ and many more.

After appearing in the title role of the 1965 Doctor Who story ‘The Celestial Toymaker’, Gough started to achieve a cult status among horror film fans, appearing in several notable productions from Hammer and Amicus, while continuing to be a regular face on British TV, with roles in ‘The Avengers’, ‘Orlando’, ‘The Champions’ and ‘Theatre 625’, to name just a few. Throughout the seventies, he continued making several movies and TV series each year. Among the many classic series he appeared in during that decade are ‘Colditz’, ‘The Protectors’, ‘Crown Court’ and ‘Blake’s 7’. His career continued into the eighties with ‘Brideshead Revisited,’ ‘Smiley’s People’ and a second appearance in Doctor Who – this time with the fifth Doctor, Peter Davison.

After a further decade of TV and film appearances, Gough found new adoration among a new generation of film-goers as Batman’s butler, Alfred, in the new films in that franchise which began in 1989. His relentless work-rate continued during the 90s and into the 2000s, and he established a long friendship with director Tim Burton, appearing in ‘Sleepy Hollow’, ‘Corpse Bride’ and, in 2010, ‘Alice in Wonderland’.

Gough was married four times – his third wife being Doctor Who actor Anneke Wills. Wills had encountered him at various times during her life – firstly during a theatre trip with her mother in 1952 – but they first met formally, on the set of ‘Candidate for Murder’ and the attraction was instant. Gough adopted Anneke’s daughter Polly, and in 1965, their son Jasper was born.

Wills said: "As his body was deteriorating this week, he said that he wanted to hang on for St Patrick’s Day. And he did, just. In the end... there is only love."

Michael Gough leaves his wife Henrietta, his daughter Emma and sons Simon and Jasper (Yogi).
His grandchildren Samuel and Daisy are also actors.

He was 94 or 95.

Nicholas Courtney, known to and beloved by Doctor Who fans worldwide as Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart and one of the longest-serving co-stars of the series, has died, aged 81.

Born in Egypt, William Nicholas Stone Courtney spent his childhood and education in a variety of places - his father serving in the diplomatic service - before entering the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art after completing his National Service in 1950. He then entered rep in 1952 - his first job being actor/ASM in Cromer! - before a move to London brought him to the world of television.

His first appearance in this media was as a Warrant Officer in the 1957 series Escape, followed by playing King Charles II in Looking About and Mark Norman in an episode of No Hiding Place. He was then to appear throughout the 1960s in shows like Callan and Sword of Honour, as well as popular fantasy genre titles like The Saint, The Champions, The Avengers, and Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (alongside Master-to-be, Roger Delgado).

His first brush with Doctor Who was to be as Space Security Agent Bret Vyon in the First Doctor epic The Daleks' Master Plan. For Doctor Who fans, of course, he will always be remembered as UNIT stalwart Lethbridge-Stewart. Originally slated to play Captain Knight in the Second Doctor adventure The Web Of Fear, he was 'promoted' to the role of Colonel by director Douglas Camfield when original actor David Langton pulled out, and returned a year as a newly promoted Brigadier in The Invasion, a role he was to become associated with for over forty years! Appearing as one of the main characters throughout the Third Doctor's incarnation as the UK head of UNIT, he was then to appear with every other classic series Doctor, both during the television show's original run and through the Big Finish audio adventures. Name-checked a number of times in the revived series of Doctor Who, Sir Alistair was to eventually return in the spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures in 2008 - the actor being re-united with 70s co-star Elisabeth Sladen.

Work continued after his departure from Doctor Who, appearing in shows such as All Creatures Great And Small and Sink or Swim (both alongside Fifth Doctor Peter Davison), Shelley, Yes, Prime Minister and Only Fools and Horses; he also played Lt. Col. Robert Witherton in 1993's Then Churchill Said to Me. More recently, he appeared in popular shows like The Bill, Doctors, and Casualty. In 2008 he played the Archbishop of Canterbury in Incendiary.

In 1997, he became the Honorary President of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society, a position he was very proud to hold.


There have been two autobiographies on his life, Five Rounds Rapid! in 1998 and Still Getting Away With It in 2005; his memoirs were also released by Big Finish as A Soldier In Time in 2002.

He is survived by his wife Karen, his son Philip and daughter Bella.

William Nicholas Stone Courtney (16th December 1929 - 22nd February 2011)

Special Tributes: Tom Baker, Steven Moffat (via BBC Doctor Who), GreyhoundLeader (Nicholas Courtney's official site).
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The actor T.P. McKenna has died, aged 81.

He appeared in the Season 25, seventh Doctor story, The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, playing the intergalactic explorer, Captain Cook.

Born Thomas Patrick McKenna, he made his stage debut in Summer and Smoke by Tennessee Williams at the Pike Theatre in Dublin 1954. He continued to appear in therater productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre Company.

Following several years on the stage with, he began appearing in popular television dramas from the 1960s including Dangerman, Adam Adamant, The Avengers, The Saint, Jason King, The Sweeney, Blakes 7 and Minder.

He also featured prominently in other television dramas including The Duchess of Malfi, The Changeling, Napoleon and Love, Holocaust, The Manions of America, To The Lighthouse, Bleak House, Strong Medicine, Jack the Ripper, and the final episode of Inspector Morse. McKenna had fulfilled a long-held ambition to appear with John Thaw in Inspector Morse.

He had film roles in Ulysses, Straw Dogs, and A Portrait of the Artist As A Young Man. In 1985 he appeared in The Doctor and the Devils alongside Timothy Dalton (Rassilon, The End of Time).

He died on 13th February in London following a long illness. He will be laid to rest in Mullagh, County Cavan, Ireland alongside his wife May, who died five years ago. He is survived by his sons Rafe, Killian, Breffní and Stephen and his daughter Sally.

Thomas Patrick McKenna (7th September 1929 – 13th February 2011)


Media coverage by: BBC News, The Irish Times, The Telegraph.