Bernard Cribbins, the veteran actor and musician who played Albert Perks in The Railway Children and starred in Doctor Who, has died aged 93.
He starred in dozens of films, plays and TV shows over the course of his seven-decade career, but one of the appearances that stood out the most was his role as a team member on a Doctor Who-themed special of Never Mind the Buzzcocks.
In 2009, David Tennant hosted the special episode, alongside team captains Phill Jupitus and Noel Fielding. Guests included Doctor Who stars Cribbins and Catherine Tate, as well as jazz artist Jamie Cullum and Radio 1’s Jo Whiley.
Cribbins had played the Doctor’s companion, Tom Campbell, in the 1966 movie Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150, returning four decades later in the revived Doctor Who TV series to play Wilfred Mott, the grandfather of Tate’s character Donna Noble, from 2007 to 2010.
On the 2009 Never Mind the Buzzcocks special, Cribbins won over fans with his surreal sense of humour.
At one point, when his co-stars were talking about not liking Coldplay, Cribbins randomly offered up the information that he doesn’t like certain kinds of cereals.
When discussing the Doctor Who character Davros, Fielding asked, “Is he that small one? With the weird face? Looks like a prawn.”
Cribbins then piped up with: “I like prawns. They’re nice.”
After laughter from the audience, Fielding said: “I can tell there’s gonna be a clash between our styles tonight. I’m gonna look like a right mainstream idiot when you’ve been on.”
Later in the show, after more left-field jokes, Fielding asked Cribbins if he wanted to come and write for his surrealist comedy The Mighty Boosh.
Many stars, including Doctor Who writer Russell T Davies, have paid tribute to Cribbins after his death.
The cause of Cribbins’s death has not yet been disclosed.
