January 18th's BBC Radio Five Live's "Brief Lives" show (an obituary programme) featured a segment on Dinsdale Landen ("The Curse of Fenric"), featuring an interview with his wife discussing his work on Fenric. (Thanks to Chris Patient)

Dinsdale Landen, who played Dr. Judson in "The Curse of Fenric" and was a veteran of British stage, TV and film, died this weekend from cancer at his home in Norfolk. His TV roles, besides Doctor Who, included "All Creatures Great and Small," "The Avengers" and "Lovejoy"; he also claimed a huge repetoire on the stage, where he was nominated for a prestigious Olivier Award for his role in the West End play "Alphabetical Order". He was 71. Read the BBC news article about his passing here. (Thanks to Steve Freestone, Paul Hayes)

Composer Malcolm Clarke passed away yesterday, December 11. Says Mark Ayres, himself a Doctor Who composer and current member of the Restoration Team: "Malcolm was undoubtedly one of the most colourful characters ever to work at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, joining in 1969. Fuelled by his keen interest in the visual arts, his music - always anarchic, never boring - holds a special place in my affections." Clarke composed the incidental music for seven Doctor Who stories, including the very haunting and memorable score for "The Sea Devils," the ghastly cybernetic tones of "Earthshock" and the high-seas-adventure movements of "Enlightenment," as well as "Resurrection of the Daleks," "The Twin Dilemma," "Attack of the Cybermen" and "Trial of a Time Lord: Terror of the Vervoids." "His work for ... 'The Sea Devils,'" says Ayres, "is a benchmark in 'doing it your own way and hang the consequences' and made a deep impression on at least one young would-be composer. His award-winning 'August 4th 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains' (1976) is a beat-perfect lesson in pure radio." Clarke was one of the last to leave the BBC Radiophonic Workshop when it was dismantled in the mid 1990's and had been studying for a PhD in music ("at last he would be qualified to do what he had spent his life successfully doing," Ayres joked). Selections from his work were made available on a variety of CDs from Silva Screen and the BBC Radio Collection. (Thanks to Mark Ayres)

Gordon Reid, who played Phillips in episode 1 of "Invasion of the Dinosaurs," died on stage in London on November 27. (Thanks to Ben Jolly)

Tomb of the Cybermen production designer Martin Johnson died on October 9. A small obituary and picture can be found by clicking here.

Ben Aris, who played Lieutenant Shears in part 1 of "Invasion of the Dinosaurs," the Jon Pertwee serial, passed away on September 4; he was 66. Aris found his greatest fame in the classic BBC sitcom Hi-De-Hi! as camp ballroom dancer Julian Dalrimple-Sykes. (Thanks to Steve Stratford and the Death Comes in Time site)