{"id":19343,"date":"2022-07-28T12:02:42","date_gmt":"2022-07-28T10:02:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1687341"},"modified":"2022-07-28T12:27:25","modified_gmt":"2022-07-28T10:27:25","slug":"russell-t-davies-leads-tributes-to-doctor-who-star-bernard-cribbins","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/russell-t-davies-leads-tributes-to-doctor-who-star-bernard-cribbins\/","title":{"rendered":"Russell T Davies leads tributes to Doctor Who star Bernard Cribbins"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By David Craig\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 28 July 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Screenwriter and television producer Russell T Davies has been among the first to pay tribute to actor Bernard Cribbins, who has sadly passed away at the age of 93.<\/p>\n

The two had worked together on the fourth revived season of Doctor Who, which earned Cribbins a whole new generation of fans, while they had also recently reunited for the upcoming 60th anniversary special.<\/p>\n

Cribbins played Wilf in the sci-fi drama, grandfather to Catherine Tate\u2019s Donna Noble, which was just one of many iconic roles across an incredible career that spanned a total of seven decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love this man. I love him,\u201d began Davies in an Instagram<\/a> caption, which accompanied a photo of Cribbins playing Snout in a version of Shakespeare\u2019s A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe knew everyone! He\u2019d talk about the Beatles and David Niven, and how he once sat on the stairs at a party impersonating bird calls with T H White,\u201d he continued. \u201cThen he\u2019d add, \u2018I said to Ashley Banjo last week\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cHe loved being in Doctor Who. He said, \u2018Children are calling me grandad in the street!\u2019 His first day was on location with Kylie Minogue, but all eyes, even Kylie\u2019s, were on Bernard. He\u2019d turned up with a suitcase full of props, just in case, including a rubber chicken.<\/p>\n

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Bernard Cribbins<\/span><\/figcaption> Getty<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

\u201cAnd what an actor. Oh, really though, what a wonderful actor. We once took him to the TV Choice Awards and sent him up on his own to collect the award, and the entire room stood up and cheered him. That\u2019s a lovely memory. He\u2019d phone up and say, \u2018I\u2019ve got an idea! What if I attack a Dalek with a paintball gun?!\u2019 Okay, Bernard, in it went!\u201d<\/p>\n

Davies\u2019s tribute ends with a mention of Cribbins\u2019s wife of 66 years, Gillian McBarnet, who herself passed away last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe loved Gill with all his heart; he mentioned her in every conversation we ever had. A love story for the ages. I\u2019m so lucky to have known him. Thanks for everything, my old soldier. A legend has left the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team behind Doctor Who added via Twitter that they were \u201cextremely saddened\u201d by the news that broke today, but hailed Cribbins\u2019s \u201clong legacy in film and TV\u201d.<\/p>\n

Writer and actor Mark Gatiss said on Twitter: \u201cThere was no one quite like Cribbins. A gifted comic actor with an incredible seam of pathos and real heart. From Sellers to Star Turn, Wombles to Wilf.<\/p>\n

\u201cI once gushed to him about his lovely performance in Hammer\u2019s \u2018She\u2019. That afternoon he was off to play 5 aside \u2013 aged almost 90.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was no one quite like Cribbins. A gifted comic actor with an incredible seam of pathos and real heart. From Sellers to Star Turn, Wombles to Wilf. I once gushed to him about his lovely performance in Hammer\u2019s \u2018She\u2019. That afternoon he was off to play 5 aside – aged almost 90<\/p>\u2014 Mark Gatiss ???? (@Markgatiss) July 28, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>