The actor Donald Pickering has died at the age of 76.

Donald Pickering was a well known British actor appearing in many classic television, film and radio roles. His television appearances included The Pallisers, The Avengers, The House of Eliott, All Creatures Great and Small, Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, Yes, Prime Minister, The Bittas Empire and Executive Stress.

He is best known to Doctor Who fans for his three appearances in the Classic series. He fist played the role of Eyesen in the 1964 story The Keys of Marinus alongside William Hartnell. Eyesen was the Court Prosecutor, who has succeeded in persuading the Three Judges of Millennium to find Ian guilty of murder.

Pickering returned to the series in 1967, this time with Patrick Troughton, playing Captain Blade in The Faceless Ones. Blade was an airplane pilot at Gatwick Airport whose identity was taken over by a Chameleon.

His final appearance in the series was twenty years later in Sylvester McCoy's first story, Time and the Rani. In this story he played Beyus, the leader of the Lakertyan race, who was forced to serve the Rani alongside his daughter.

Donald Pickering died peacefully at home on 19th December 2009.

Posted by Andy on Saturday, 26-Dec-2009 09:08 AM

Barry Letts, producer of Doctor Who through one of its most fondly-remembered periods with Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor from 1970 to 1974, has died at the age of eighty-four.

Previously an actor, Letts moved behind the camera in the 1960s, finding work as a director on several programmes for BBC television. He first worked on Doctor Who as director of the 1968 Patrick Troughton serial Enemy of the World, before accepting the job of producer during production Jon Pertwee's first season, in 1969. Working closely in association with script editor Terrance Dicks, Letts oversaw the creative direction and production of the programme for the following five seasons.

In addition to his producing role, Letts also directed several serials during his time in charge of the programme - Terror of the Autons, Carnival of Monsters and Planet of the Spiders. He also handled much of the direction for Inferno after Douglas Camfield was taken ill, and after leaving the series as producer he directed The Android Invasion for his successor, Philip Hinchcliffe. He also co-wrote The Daemons with Robert Sloman (under the pseudonym 'Guy Leopold') and worked closely with Sloman on the writer's other scripts for the programme.

Letts's legacy to the programme included the creation of the character Sarah Jane Smith, played by Elisabeth Sladen on the BBC to this day, and the decision to cast Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor. The latter was a decision for which Tom Baker was always ready to express immense gratitude, as when Letts appeared on his episode of "This is Your Life" in the year 2000.

Letts remained fond of and connected with the series right up until his death. When producer Graham Williams broke his leg during production of season 16 in 1978 Letts helped to keep an eye on the series, and more officially he served as Executive Producer in 1980, overseeing the inexperienced John Nathan-Turner's first season in charge of the programme. For many years thereafter Letts also penned novels, novelisations and radio serials connected to the programme. He also appeared on DVD commentaries and in various documentaries.

He also gained extensive credits outside of Doctor Who, most notably as producer of the BBC's "Classic Serial" strand during the late 1970s and early 1980s. In this role he produced many acclaimed and award-winning adaptations of classic novels, including "Great Expectations", "Alice in Wonderland" and "Jane Eyre". Later, he directed episodes for the soap opera "EastEnders".

Posted by Andy on Saturday, 10-Oct-2009 14:00 PM

It is sad news that Doctor Who World News has to pass on the news of the death of actor Harry Towb, best known to Doctor Who fans as the memorable characters of Osgood in 1969's Ice Warrior's adventure The Seeds of Death and factory boss McDermott in 1971's Terror of the Autons.

He was born July 27, 1925 in Larne, County Antrim, in Northern Ireland, Towb become one of the most recognisable character actors from the province, chalking up a string of TV and film appearances during a screen career that spanned 58 years from his first movie appearance as Jim Cranshaw in The Quiet Woman to an appearance in the BBC soap EastEnders late last year.

Among his long list of TV and movie credits are appearances in The Saint, The Avengers, Callan, Z Cars, Armchair Theatre, Dixon of Dock Green, Moll Flanders, The Bill, The Blue Max and The 39 Steps. On stage, he starred in the National Theatre production of Brighton Beach Memoirs, as well as starring in Little Shop of Horrors, Bar Mitzvah Boy, Death of a Salesman and The Mandate.

He passed away after suffering from cancer on July 24, 2009 at the age of 83 at his home in London, and is survived by his wife Diana Hoddinott whom he married in 1965.

Posted by Andy on Tuesday, 28-Jul-2009 01:14 AM