It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Actor, Nicholas Parsons.

Nicholas was known for the playing the role of Reverend Wainwright in the 7th Doctor adventure, The Curse Of Fenric.

His career began at the end of the Second World War, making his stage debut as Kiwi in The Hasty Heart. Nicholas then went on to have further credits in Film and TV; The Eric Barker Half-Hour, Look At It This Way, Here And Now, The Adventures Of Robin Hood, Four Feather Falls, The Ugliest Girl In Town, Benny Hill, Cluedo, The Wotwots and Good Omens are just a few from his many performances.

Nicholas was also the host of popular BBC Radio 4 panel game, Just A Minute - a show which had its first broadcast in 1967! There were some episodes where he relinquished his chair to be a panellist, but was famed for never missing an episode until 2018, where Giles Brandreth stood in for him due to illness.

On a personal note, I met Nicholas in 1998 during the Southampton leg of The Rocky Horror Stage Show. I was studying drama at college at the time, and all of our class were dressing up as characters from the show. As I knew Nicholas was in Doctor Who, I decided to dress up as him with flour in my hair and eyebrows and a cravat (much to the confusion of some of my peers) - in hindsight, this was also my first-ever cosplay!

I met him after the show (pictured-right) and he was incredibly generous with him time. A gently spoken man who looked back on his Doctor Who role with pride. He even found time to give me a few career tips and advice. Lovely man!

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Nicholas' family and friends.

[Source: DWO]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Actor, Peter Miles.

Peter appeared in 3, classic series, Doctor Who adventures; Doctor Who And The Silurians (as Dr Charles Lawrence), Invasion Of The Dinosaurs (as Professor Whitaker), and, his most fondly remembered role in Genesis of Daleks as Davros' chief henchman, Nyder.

Peter's other career highlights include roles in; Blakes 7, Bergerac, Z-Cars and Disraeli (to name just a few). Peter also appeared in a number of audio plays for Big Finish.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Peter's family and friends.

On a personal note, I (Seb), got to meet Peter on two occasions, but most memorably in 2006, where I got to have a photo with him [pictured right]. Unlike his famed character, Nyder, Peter was a gentle, kind man, who genuinely loved meeting fans of the show. He will be greatly missed.

[Source: DWO]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Writer, Robert Banks Stewart.

Robert was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for penning two, much-loved, 4th Doctor adventures; Terror Of The Zygons & The Seeds Of Doom.

Robert's other career highlights included contributing scripts to; The Sweeney, Callan, Special Branch and The Edgar Wallace Mysteries. He also produced Bergerac, The Darling Buds Of May and Lovejoy (to name just a few)

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Robert's family and friends.

+ Read DWO's Interview with Robert Banks Stewart from 2013. 

[Source: BBC News]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Actor, Angus Lennie.

Angus was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for playing the role of Storr in the Classic Series 2nd Doctor adventure; The Ice Warriors, Angus in the Classic Series 4th Doctor adventure; Terror Of The Zygons.

Angus' other career highlights include roles in; The Great Escape, Crossroads and Monarch Of The Glen.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Angus' family and friends.

[Source: Scottish Daily Record]

Yesterday, we were shocked and saddened to hear the news that Big Finish Production Assistant and Producer, Paul Spragg had died.

Paul had worked at Big Finish for over 5 years, and as well as his behind-the-scenes work, Paul provided customers and website owners and bloggers with the most fantastic service and upbeat attitude to his work which he clearly loved.

Big Finish posted a news item on their site, stating:

"Paul had worked with us for over five years and had become an essential member of the team. We will remember him for his tireless diligence, his total dedication to his job, his cheery nature, his hilarious sense of humour and his kindness and friendship.

He had relatively recently become editor of Vortex magazine (a promotion he was given 'live' on a podcast).

His work behind the scenes on contracts, script distribution, proof-reading, cover layout, studio management, CD Extra interviews, the website and so much more made him vital to the company's operations." 

Doctor Who Magazine Editor and friend of Paul since he was 11, Tom Spilsbury, posted a poignant and heartfelt tribute on his blog, here. 

On a personal level, Paul was the guy who provided DWO with all our Big Finish covers for our site reviews and merchandise guide. From the many emails we have bounced back and forth over the years, he had a great sense of humour and was one of the fastest email repliers out there!

Paul's partner, Natalie Hayden, issued a statement on Facebook, yesterday.

"To all of you that I didn't manage to text yesterday (I couldn't get round to everyone): there is sad news that Paul died yesterday suddenly. He'd been unwell for a few weeks, and was due to go to the GPs yesterday. But he was too breathless to be able to make it in to the surgery, so they phoned him instead. They arranged for a non-emergency ambulance to come and take him to hospital so he could be monitored. When they arrived, he was talking to them normally, and then had a seizure. He came out of that one, then had another seizure, during which his heart stopped and he stopped breathing. The ambulance crew tried to resuscitate him for two hours at home, and then took him to hospital where they tried for a further half an hour, but couldn't bring him round."

DWO would like to pass on our condolences to the Paul's friends and family, as well as the Big Finish family.

[Source: Big Finish]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Actress, Kate O'Mara.

Kate was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for playing the role of The Rani in the Classic Series adventures; The Mark Of The Rani, & Time And The Rani. She also appeared as The Rani in the 1993 Children In Need charity special, Dimensions In Time.

Kate's other career highlights include roles in; Z Cars, The Brothers, Dynasty, Howards' Way and Benidorm.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Kate's family and friends.

[Source: BBC News]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Director, Derek Martinus.

Derek was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for directing the Classic Series adventures; Galaxy 4, Mission To The Unknown, The Tenth Planet, The Evil Of The Daleks, The Ice Warriors & Spearhead From Space.

He was also the first person to direct a colour episode of Doctor Who (Spearhead From Space).

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Derek's family and friends.

[Source: Tim Vine]

Doctor Who Director, Douglas Mackinnon has paid to Sarah Jones, a camera assistant who was tragically killed on the set of Midnight Rider on 20th February.

Jones, who grew up in West Columbia, S.C., began her career interning on the TV show Army Wives, and later went on to work on The Vampire Diaries.

It is understood that she was killed when a freight train struck and killed her on set filming the Greg Allman biopic, Midnight Rider. The crew were filming a dream sequence on a railroad trestle when a train unexpectedly crossed the bridge. Four other people were injured in the accident.

Whilst filming the new series of Doctor Who with Peter Capaldi, Mackinnon tweeted a tribute picture from the set, featuring a clapperboard with the words “In memory of Sarah Jones”.

When reports broke, there was some initial confusion as to whether it was the same Sarah Jones who worked on The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot, with online news sources and IMDB providing conflicting confirmation. Peter Davison (The 5th Doctor), got in touch with DWO to confirm it is not the same Sarah who worked with him:

"Hi. Thought I should log on and say no, it is not the same Sarah Jones who worked with me on The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot. Have checked this with the production co-ordinator, who spoke to her on the 27th of Feb." 

[Sources: Variety; Twitter; Peter Davison]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Director, Christopher Barry.

Christopher was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for directing the Classic Series adventures; The Daleks, The Rescue, The Romans, The Savages, The Power of The Daleks, The Daemons, The Mutants, Robot, The Brain Of Morbius and The Creature From The Pit.

He was one of only three people to direct stories featuring the first four Doctors (William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker).

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Christopher's family and friends.

[Source: Tim Vine]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Actor, Jerome Willis.

Jerome was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for appearing in the Classic Series, 3rd Doctor adventure; The Green Death as Stevens.

Jerome's other career highlights include; Within These Walls, Wish Me Luck and Space Precinct.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Jerome's family and friends.

[Source: Neil Marsh]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Designer of The Daleks, Ray Cusick.

Ray designed the iconic look of The Daleks - brainchild of creator, Terry Nation. The design of The Daleks has changed very little since the 1960's and at the time of designing, Cusick was on a standard BBC salary, so did not collect any royalties from his designs.

The Daleks have since gone on to earn huge revenues for Terry Nation's estate - a fact which many fans feel Cusick should have received more recognition (and royalties) for.

During his life, Cusick always stated he never asked for money, only to be recognised as a designer.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Raymond's family and friends.

[Source: BBC News]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Actor, Reg Pritchard.

Reg was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for his roles in the following Classic Series adventures:

Ben Daheer in the 1st Doctor adventure; The Crusade.
Man In Mackintosh in the 1st Doctor adventure; The Dalek's Masterplan.

Reg, who was born in Wrexham; Wales, had a long career spanning as far back as 1961, and featured in such shows as Dixon Of Dock Green, The Avengers, The Saint and Z Cars.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Reg's family and friends.

* * *

On a personal note, there was a bit of story behind getting Reg's birth date. DWO deal with a number of Doctor Who related obituaries, and it is normally easy to find birth dates, but for some reason, there was no record online, or in any printed media of Reg's. We had this news item ready two days ago but kept drawing a blank when it came to finding Reg's year of birth. We contacted Equity, to no avail, and then contacted The Stage (on advice from Toby Hadoke), who informed us they would be in touch.

This afternoon we received a telephone call from a lovely lady named Audrey Leybourne - an actress, who has also had a long career. Audrey was friends with Reg, and did some detective work of her own and managed to find Reg's year of birth for us!

I guess the reason we are recounting this story is because we find it baffling and sad that a man who had such a long career, and who clearly had a lot of friends, should have so little said about him online - despite all the technology and resources we have available to us these days. And thank heavens for people like Audrey, who single-handedly trumped even the best that Google could offer!

[Sources: Neil Marsh; Audrey Leybourne; The Stage; Toby Hadoke]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Actor, Peter Gilmore.

Peter was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for appearing in the Classic Series adventure Frontios as Brazen.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Peter's family and friends.

UPDATE: Wednesday 6th February 2013

There are some reports online that Peter's death was a hoax, but DWO have contacted Equity and Peter's agent (Roger Carey Associates), who both sadly re-confirmed the news that he passed away on Sunday 3rd February.

[Sources: Alan Pulverton; Equity; Roger Carey Associates]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Actor, Trevor Lawrence.

Trevor was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for his role as Lodge in the 3rd Doctor adventure; Invasion Of The Dinosaurs.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Trevor's family and friends.

[Sources: Neil Marsh; Equity]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Actor, David Webb.

David was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for his role as Eric Leeson in the 3rd Doctor adventure; Colony In Space.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to David's family and friends.

[Sources: Neil Marsh; Equity]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Actor, Michael Turner.

Michael was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for his role as Jarvis Bennett on the 2nd Doctor adventure; The Wheel in Space.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Michael's family and friends.

[Source: Neil Marsh]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Actress, Mary Tamm.

Mary was best known to Doctor Who fans for playing The 4th Doctor's companion; Romana I. Mary appeared as Romana in a total of 6 televised stories which formed the Key to Time series of adventures:

The Ribos Operation
The Pirate Planet
The Stones of Blood
The Androids of Tara
The Power of Kroll
The Armageddon Factor

The actress, who was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, fought a long battle with cancer and died in hospital in London.

Agent Barry Langford, who confirmed the news, said she had a "zest for life".

Tamm's stage and screen career also included films The Odessa File and The Likely Lads, as well as recurring roles in EastEnders and Brookside.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Mary's family and friends.

On announcing the news to the @DrWhoOnline Twitter followers, we asked for some of your comments to include in our obituary, of which we have added a small selection below:

@yeles - @DrWhoOnline really sad news. All my thoughts to family and friends.

@UKVampire - @DrWhoOnline #RIPMaryTamm will forever live on in our hearts as Romana - Thoughts go out to friends and family during this difficult time.

@Blackadder345 - @DrWhoOnline A wonderful actress and companion, will be sadly missed. Shall never be able to watch the Key to Time again without a tear.

@TheGazulator - DrWhoOnline Great chunks of our past, detaching themselves like melting icebergs. :( RIP, Mary Tamm. Thoughts and prayers with her family.

@TheOldLondoner - @DrWhoOnline How awful that the wonderful Mary Tamm has passed away. She was the very best of actresses & my favourite Dr Who assistant

@Deensey - @DrWhoOnline Romana was the first thing I loved about Doctor Who. I was about 6 and watched with my big brother

+  You can leave messages of condolence in the DWO Forums thread, here.

[Source: BBC]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Costume Designer, Colin Lavers.

Colin was the credited costumer for four Doctor Who serials, most in the Peter Davison era. As the designer of costumes for Four to Doomsday — the first adventure that Davison recorded — he was responsible for helping to realise The Fifth Doctor's iconic "look".

One part of The Fifth Doctor's costume that was not his idea was the retention of the question mark-lapeled shirt from Tom Baker's season 18 look. He was specifically asked to keep them in, via a 10 February 1981 memo from John Nathan-Turner to Lavers. "I do feel that the Doctor Who shirt with the '?' mark on the lapels is worth hanging on to," wrote Nathan-Turner.

A couple of years later, Lavers' duties on The Five Doctors gave him the opportunity to clothe a wide range of Doctors and companions, some of whom had never been seen on colour television before. Combined with his turns on his other two serials, The Power of Kroll and The King's Demons, he provided outfits for more recurring characters in "classic" Doctor Who than any other costumer.

He provided new or significantly modified outfits for the Fifth Doctor, The Master, Susan, Sarah Jane, Liz, Zoe, Jamie, the Brigadier, Romana I and Tegan. He recreated costumes for Mike Yates and The First, Second and Third Doctors. Although he didn't actually design this last group's costumes, their Five Doctors costumes were at least subtly different from those they had worn in any other serial. In his stories, Lavers failed to provide costumes for only two main characters: Turlough and the Fourth Doctor

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Colin's family and friends.

[Sources: Richard Kewing; TARDIS Index File]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who VFX Desginer, Peter Wragg.

Peter was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for his work on the 5th Doctor adventures; The Visitation & Resurrection of the Daleks and the 6th Doctor adventure; Minwarp, which formed part of the Trial of a Time Lord season.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Peter's family and friends.

[Source: Steve Freestone]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Actor, Tony Sibbald.

Tony was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for his role as Mr Huckle in the 4th Doctor adventure; Terror of the Zygons. Sibbald also had roles in movies, such as Superman II and A View To A Kill.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Tony's family and friends.

[Source: Neil Marsh]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Actor, Richard Henry.

Richard was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for his role as a Mentor in the 6th Doctor adventure; Minwarp, which formed part of the Trial of a Time Lord season.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Richard's family and friends.

[Source: Neil Marsh]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Doctor Who Actor, Philip Madoc.

Philip, who was born in 1934 in Wales played no less than five roles in Doctor Who:

The Krotons (as Eelek)

The War Games (as the War Lord)

The Brain of Morbius (as Mehendri Solon)

The Power of Kroll (as Fenner)

Madoc also appeared in the 1966 Doctor Who Movie; Dalek's Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D., as Brockley.

In 2010, DWO interviewed Philip Madoc at the Series 5 Launch Party in London, below is the video interview segement, taken from our VLOG from the event:

[youtube:pEA3Z41-5b0]

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Philip's family and friends.

[Sources: DWO; TARDIS Index File]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Doctor Who Actor, Derek Crewe.

Derek was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for his role as Synge in the 4th Doctor adventure; The Sun Makers.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Derek's family and friends.

[Source: Neil Marsh]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Doctor Who Actor, Roy Skelton.

Roy is best known to Doctor Who fans for providing the voices of The Daleks in the Classic Series, as well as supporting roles:

The Ark (Monoid voices), The Tenth Planet (Cybermen voices), The Evil of the Daleks (Dalek voices), The Ice Warriors (Computer voice), The Wheel in Space (Cybermen voices), The Krotons (Kroton voices), Colony in Space (as Norton), Planet of the Daleks (Dalek voices and as Wester), The Green Death (as James), Genesis of the Daleks (Dalek voices), The Android Invasion (as Chedaki), The Hand of Fear (as King Rokon), Destiny of the Daleks (Dalek voices), The Five Doctors (Dalek voice), Revelation of the Daleks (Dalek voices), Remembrance of the Daleks (Dalek voices), The Curse of Fatal Death (Dalek voices).

Roy died after suffering a stroke and was 79 years of age.

DWO would like to extend our wishes to Roy's family and friends.

[Source: BBC News; TARDIS Wiki]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Doctor Who Actress, Yolande Palfrey.

Yolande was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for her role as Janet in The Sixth Doctor Trial of A Time Lord adventure; Terror of the Vervoids.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Yolande's family and friends.

[Source: Neil Marsh]

Unconfirmed reports are coming in that much-loved Classic Series Doctor Who Actress, Elisabeth Sladen has died.

It would be an understatement to say that Doctor Who fandom is in shock with this news, especially after the recent shock of Nicholas Courtney's passing.

It is understood that Elisabeth had been ill for some time, and that filming on Series 5 of The Sarah Jane Adventures had to be postponed as a result.

We are still waiting to hear official confirmation from the BBC, but Doctor Who Magazine, Gallifrey One, Nicola Bryant and Matthew Sweet (to name just a few) have all confirmed the news on their Twitter feeds.

We would like to extend our sympathies to Elisabeth's friends and family, and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.

On a personal note, Elisabeth's portrayal as Sarah Jane Smith solidified her place as one of our favourite Doctor  Who companions of all time. Members of our team have met Liz on several occasions, and she held a very special place in her heart for fans of Doctor Who and Sarah Jane Smith.

DWO would like to hear from our visitors with their thoughts, memories and messages about Elisabeth, some of which we will add to this news item. You can get in touch with us via Email, Twitter, or on the DWO Facebook page.

[Source: Adam Reynolds]

Michael Gough, the actor best known to Doctor Who fans as The Celestial Toymaker, has died. As well as his fondly remembered portrayal of the Toymaker, opposite the first Doctor William Hartnell in 1965, Gough also appeared as 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 the longest-lived actor 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’. Even this however, was not his final appearance. Released in February 2011, ‘All Star Superman’ features one last outing for his legendary and unique voice. 

Gough was married three 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. 

Anneke says, “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).

[Source: Tim Hirst]