AUBREY WOODS 1928-2013

The actor Aubrey Woods has died at the age of 85.

Aubrey Woods played the Controller in the 1972 story Day of the Daleks. His performance was widely acclaimed bringing real depth to the character, who as the main lieutenant of the Daleks comes to realise he has the power to help defeat them.

He had a long and distinguished career appearing in many classic Television Dramas such as Z-Cars, Up Pompeii!, Blake's 7 in the episode Gambit, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Ever Decreasing Circles. He played Fagin in the West End production of the musical Oliver!, taking over from Ron Moody, and later appeared in the London production of Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. He played the Player Queen to Paul Scofield's Hamlet.

He is perhaps best known for his role in the feature film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, where he played the Candy Store Owner singing "The Candy Man" during some of the film's first scenes.


NORMAN JONES 1935-2013

The actor Norman Jones has died at the age of 78.

Norman Jones appeared in 15 episodes of Doctor Who. He first played Khrisong, the leader of the warrior monks, in the 1967 story The Abominable Snowmen. In 1970 he returned to the series playing Major Baker, the Head of Security, in Doctor Who And The Silurians. His final role in the series came in 1976 when he played Hieronymous, the official astrologer of the Court of San Martino, in the story The Masque of Mandragora.

Away from Doctor Who he had parts in many classic British Television Dramas including Screen Two, Inspector Morse, Boon, Travelling Man, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Angels, Jemima Shore Investigates, Crown Court, Bergerac, The Borgias, Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years, A Tale of Two Cities, The Professionals, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, Z Cars, Yes, Honestly, The Avengers and Dixon of Dock Green.


SEAN CAFFREY 1940-2013

The actor Sean Caffrey has died at the age of 72.

Sean Caffrey played Lord Palmerdale in the 1977 story Horror of Fang Rock.

He is best remembered for his performances on television with credits including Coronation Street, Z-Cars, Sutherland's Law, Oil Strike North, Survivors, The Professionals, Minder, Bergerac and Edge of Darkness. He also appeared in the film When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth.


RASHID KARAPIET 1929-2013

The actor Rashid Karapiet has died at the age of 84.

Rashid Karapiet played Rita's father in the 2012 story The God Complex.

Born in India Karapiet trained at the Bristol Old Vic. He appeared in the 1984 film A Passage to India as well as a variety of Televisionprogrammes including Auf Wiedersehn Pet, The Jewel in the Crown, The Bill, Mrs Merton and Malcolm, Doctors, Hustle, The Kumars at No 42, Family Affairs, New Tricks, and Casualty.


BOBI BARTLETT Died 2013

The costume designer Bobi Bartlett has died.

Bobi Bartlett worked on 24 episodes of Doctor Who between 1968 and 1971. Her first commission was on a set of stories beginning with the 1968 story The Invasion, where she was tasked with updating the design of the Cybermen as well as designing costumes for Tobias Vaughn and UNIT. She continued into The Krotons and onto The Seeds of Death where as well as undating the Ice Warriors she designed the costume for The Grand Marshall. After a break from the series she returned in 1971 on the story The Mind of Evil

Away from Doctor Who she is best known for her work with Jon Pertwee on the Southern TV series Worzel Gummidge. Other work included Sykes, The Liver Birds and Play for Today.

Posted by Andy on Friday, 17-May-2013 12:03 PM

Ray Cusick, the designer of infamous Doctor Who villains the Daleks, has died aged 84.

The BBC reports that he passed away on Thursday (February 21) of heart failure, according to his daughter Claire Heawood.

During his time at the BBC, Cusick was responsible for set design on the long-running science fiction show, and created the first versions of the extraterrestrial race for the second episode of the original 1963 series of Doctor Who, featuring William Hartnell as The Doctor.

He later went on to speak about the Daleks' design and how they were developed in a 2008 episode of Doctor Who Confidential.

After retiring as an art director for the BBC, Cusick contributed to several specialist magazines on the subject of battles from the Napoleonic era.

He leaves behind two daughters and seven grandchildren.

Posted by Andy on Sunday, 24-Feb-2013 10:15 AM

the actor Richard Briers has died at the age of 79.

Born in 1934 in Raynes Park, Briers started off his career as a filing clerk, a role he continued to perform during his national service. At was at this time he met Brian Murphy, who introduced him to acting and once his service had finished Briers went to study at RADA. After graduating, he then worked at Liverpool Repertory Theatre, where he was to meet his wife Ann Davies.

An established actor of stage and screen, Briers became a household name during the 1970s for his role as Tom Good in The Good Life; this was followed by other popular roles such as Martin Bryce in Ever Decreasing Circles, Tony Fairfax in Down to Earth, Hector McDonald in Monarch of the Glen, and for two generations of children as the narrator and voices of Roobarb.

Other notable television roles include his breakthrough as George Starling in Marriage Lines (along with Prunella Scales, whose son Sam is his godson), Birds on a Wing, The Norman Conquests, All in Good Faith, and If You See God, Tell Him. He was also a presenter of Jackanory, narrator of another childrens' animated series Noah and Nelly, and played Bob The Builder's dad Robert.

In theatre, he worked alongside Kenneth Branagh in a number of productions, including the lead roles in King Lear and Uncle Vanya, and also took on roles in some nine films by the director, including Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, and Frankenstein. His most recent role was as machine gun-wielding walker-bound Hamish in Cockneys vs Zombies.

In 1987 he appeared in the Doctor Who story Paradise Towers alongside Sylvester McCoy, playing the Chief Caretaker; talking about the role to Doctor Who Magazine, the actor said: Doctor Who enabled me to overact, and I enjoy that. The producer (John Nathan-Turner) worried that I wasn't taking the role seriously. He thought that Doctor Who was some kind of classic, which I suppose it was, but he considered it a classic like one of Shakespeare's plays. He thought that I wanted to send up Doctor Who. I think he was frightened that I would start overdoing it...so I did! I thought I had leeway." In 2008 he returned to the Doctor Who universe, appearing in the Torchwood story A Day in the Death as the critically ill Henry Parker.

In his later life, Briers became President of the Parkinson's Disease Society, and was also involved in the launch of the Sense-National Deafblind and Rubella Association campaign. He was also a non-medical patron of the Tracheo-Oesophageal Fistula Support charity, which supports children and the families of children born unable to swallow.

He was awarded the OBE in 1989, and then the CBE in 2003 for his services to drama.


Briers passed peacefully in his sleep on Sunday after a

Posted by Andy on Monday, 18-Feb-2013 17:02 PM