Saint Bernard

 

Whoever coined the phrase "national treasure" to describe an entertainer whose popularity spanned decades may well have been thinking of Bernard Cribbins when they thought it up.

Much of his popularity derived from children's projects. I'm of an age to recall him giving voice to The Wombles, presenting Jackanory, and featuring in the film version of The Railway Children, in which he played station master Perks.

That distinctive voice formed part of the soundtrack to my childhood. As a Doctor Who fan, I also knew that he had played Tom Campbell, the comic relief character in Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150AD.

He had Peter Cushing as a guest on his light entertainment show around the same time, and starred with him again in the Hammer film version of She. Whilst making the Dalek movie he popped into the studio next door to cameo as a taxi driver in the James Bond spoof Casino Royale.

He starred in several of the Carry On... movies (... Spying would be my personal favourite), as well as many stand alone comedies of the 1960's.

Whilst horror films were unusual for him, he did appear in the late Hitchcock thriller Frenzy, and played a killer in an episode of detective series Dalziel and Pascoe. He was also a detective himself - Dangerous Davies, a character later portrayed by Peter Davison.

One other sci-fi appearance was the Space: 1999 episode "Brian the Brain", in which he voiced the titular computer and also played its creator.

For many, one of his most popular appearances will be the Fawlty Towers episode "The Hotel Inspectors".

Bernard returned to Doctor Who to play a cameo role, as a newspaper vendor who is determined not to abandon London at Christmas time, when it has lately been threatened by aliens. Whilst everyone was wowed to be appearing with Kylie Minogue, she was wowed to be appearing with Bernard Cribbins.

This was Voyage of the Damned, the 2007 Christmas Special.

An unfortunate set of circumstances led to him being offered a recurring role - that of Wilf Mott, grandfather of Donna Noble. Howard Attfield, who played Donna's dad, fell ill and died just as Series 4 was getting off the ground. Bernard was invited back to become the new character of Wilf, who would take on Attfield's role in the series. He was invited back to become the latest one-off companion for David Tennant's swansong - The End of Time. It was Wilf who ultimately caused the Tenth Doctor's demise.

We all know that David is back as the Doctor in a trio of specials for the 60th Anniversary, and know that Bernard was filmed on location in Camden. He looked frail, and was confined to a wheelchair, and his place was taken by a double when the filming moved to Bristol. A short time later a fan who had written to him for an autograph was notified that he was in hospital. That was a couple of weeks ago.

It looks as though his final work will have been Doctor Who - a job he loved, and for which he was loved in return.

Bernard Cribbins 1928 - 2022.

RIP.