RIP Elisabeth Sladen (1948 – 2011)

Dreadful, dreadful news.

About ten minutes ago, I came online after watching some Doctor Who, and ready to blog in eager anticipation of Saturday’s new series. Instead I am just devastated by the announcement that Elisabeth Sladen has passed away. An actress so full of life and vitality that it is a little hard to even accept the news. I bought the newly released Planet of the Spiders DVD on Monday this week and haven’t watched it yet. It’s going to be difficult to watch with both Liz and Nicholas Courtney starring but I think it will be a small tribute. She was one of the best loved of Doctor Who’s cast of thousands with her comeback in School Reunion being one of the most memorable of all new Doctor Who’s comebacks and acting as a catalyst for return appearances and her own spin-off show. My thoughts, and I daresay, the thoughts of every other Who fan in the world, go out to her friends and family at this time. Rest in peace, Sarah Jane.

Links to other blogs & elsewhere with their tributes (please add more in the comments)….

• BBC News 24 report (via YouTube)
• Doctor Who News Page (with links to worldwide news sites)
• Frank Collins (on Cathode Ray Tube)
• Pocketpete
• Andrew Collins (on Never Knowingly Underwhelmed)
• Keith Topping (on From The North)
• Tom Baker (on his own blog… very moving)
• Richard Herring
• Scott Matthewman
• BBC Press Office Tributes
• David Lewis (on Cult Box)
• CBBC Newsround (heartbreaking comments from the kids)
• Toby Hadoke (on the Guardian site)

 

RIP Nicholas Courtney (1929 – 2011)

The trouble with being a fan of a show that is over 47 years old… there seems to be a steady stream of obituaries that need to be written. The latest, though, is for one of the greatest: Nicholas Courtney. There is a BBC news report to be found here and an excellent obit from Keith Topping here. I was lucky enough to have met the man at a signing many years ago and he was as sweet and affable a chap as you could hope for. If there was a Doctor Who Hall of Fame, Nicholas Courtney would be among the first names on the list.

 

RIP Barry Letts (1925 – 2009)

RIP Barry Letts

News from the world of Doctor Who this evening that Barry Letts has passed away. Such a shame, he always struck me as being a real gent on the DVD commentaries and interviews that I have seen. He was one of the greats who directed, produced and wrote scripts and novels for Doctor Who, most notably for Jon Pertwee’s Doctor in the 1970′s but maintaining links to fandom ever since. Sympathies to his family and friends.