In Memoriam

Sadly, we lost three actors with classic era Doctor Who connections in as many days recently.

Tina Packer, who played Ann Travers in The Web of Fear (which I'm about to start covering in my weekly "Episodes" posts), died on 9th January, aged 87, at her home in Massachusetts. She had lived in the US for many years, establishing a noted Shakespeare company there.

The following day saw news that Derek Martin had passed away at the age of 92. He first appeared as an extra in The Highlanders before going on to become part of the HAVOC stunt team. He features in the battle of Covent Garden in The Web of Fear, chases Liz Shaw across a weir in The Ambassadors of Death, and gets zapped by an Axon outside Dungeness power station, amongst his many appearances.

He would later get the speaking role of Mitchell, the security guard, in Image of the Fendahl.

He is best known to the general public for the role of taxi driver Charlie Slater in EastEnders. 

I had the pleasure of meeting him at Riverside Studios last year when he attended the Recall UNIT event.

11th January then saw the news that Battlefield's Marcus Gilbert had died, aged only 67. He played the knight Ancelyn in the 1989 story - a role he only recently returned to on audio.

RIP