2023 in memoriam

Our annual tribute list

Kelly Monteith (aged 80, died January 1st)

American comedian whose BBC sitcom ran for six series

Fay Weldon (91, January 4th)

Writer of The Life And Loves Of A She-Devil, copywiter of the "go to work on an egg" campaign

Piers Haggard (83, January 11th)

Director of Play For Today, Pennies From Heaven, the ITV Quatermass, Callan

Tim Barlow (87, January 20th)

Longstanding bit-part actor, Tyssan in Doctor Who

Cindy Williams (75, January 25th)

Shirley in Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley

Sylvia Sims (89, January 27th)

'Grand Dame of British Cinema', star of My Good Woman, appeared in Doctor Who, The Saint, EastEnders, Peak Practice

Lisa Loring (64, January 28th)

Wednesday in The Addams Family

Hugh Hudson (86, February 10th)

Chariots Of Fire director, made adverts for British Airways ('face'), Cinzano with Rossiter and Collins, Courage Best with Chas & Dave, Fiat Strada to Figaro

Lee Whitlock (54, February 17th)

Stanley in Shine On Harvey Moon, Behind The Bike Sheds, assorted bit-parts

Dickie Davies (94, February 19th)

World Of Sport presenter

John Motson (77, February 23rd)

Charles Foster (86, February 27th)

Granada continuity announcer and voiceover artist

Bob Goody (71, March 5th)

RSC actor, half of Smith & Goody, Crime Traveller

Vivian White (76, March 7th)

Panorama and Granada Tonight reporter

Mystic Meg (80, March 9th)

Sun astrologer and resident on the National Lottery

Bill Tidy (89, March 11th)

Cartoonist, TV regular (Countdown Dictionary Corner etc)

Bernadette Hunt (59, March 14th)

Falcon in Gladiators

Paul O'Grady (67, March 28th)

Nick Symons (?, April)

ITV head of comedy, produced A Bit Of Fry & Laurie, Dave Allen, TV Burp, co-wrote No. 73

Nicola Heywood-Thomas (67, April 6th)

HTV newsreader, BBC Wales Today presenter and reporter

Paul Cattermole (46, April 6th)

S Club 7 and their various TV vehicles

Murray Melvin (90, April 14th)

Stage actor and Ken Russell favourite, appeared in The Avengers, The Flaxton Boys, Jonathan Creek, Torchwood

Terrence Hardiman (86, April 18th)

The Demon Headmaster; regularly played authority figures (Prime Suspect, Juliet Bravo, Crown Court) and Nazis (Secret Army, Colditz)

Peter Martin (82, April 19th)

The Royle Family's neighbour Joe, Len Reynolds in Emmerdale

Barry Humphries (89, April 22nd)

Len Goodman (78, April 22nd)

Strictly Come Dancing head judge for first twelve years

Dale Meeks (48, April 22nd)

Simon Meredith in Emmerdale, rival youth club gang leader in Byker Grove

Jerry Springer (79, April 27th)

Barbara Young (92, April 27th)

Agrippina in I, Claudius, Hazell, four different roles in Coronation Street

John Edmunds (94, May 3rd)

ABC and Associated Rediffusion continuity announcer, Top Of The Form presenter

Iain Johnstone (80, May 4th)

Producer of the Film series and host of Film '82, produced Friday Night Saturday Morning and the BBC Watergate coverage

Rolf Harris (93, May 10th)

Barry Newman (92, May 11th)

Title character in Petrocelli

Francis Monkman (73, May 12th)

Musician (Curved Air, Sky), composed IBA Engineering Announcements and Think Again themes, regularly demonstrated synths on TV

Stanley Appel (89, May 15th)

Producer and director of 262 episodes of Top Of The Pops, plus Blankety Blank, Parkinson, Wogan, Late Late Breakfast Show etc

Andy Smart (63, May 16th)

Comedian, half of The Vicious Boys (The Tube, Channel 4 American Football presenters)

George Logan (78, May 21st)

Dame Evadne Hinge of Hinge & Bracket

Dougie Squires (91, May 21st)

Choreographer of The Young Generation and The Second Generation

Marcus Plantin (77, June 2nd)

ITV network director 1992-1997, then head of Granada entertainment, producer and director of The Generation Game, Wogan, The Two Ronnies, Bob’s Full House, Blind Date

Glenda Jackson (87, June 15th)

Elizabeth R, regular Morecambe & Wise guest

Angela Thorne (84, June 16th)

Marjory in To the Manor Born, Margaret Thatcher in Anyone For Denis?, Three Up Two Down

Meg Johnson (86, July 1st)

Eunice Gee in Coronation Street, Victoria Wood regular, Brigid in Brookside, Pearl in Emmerdale

Yvonne Littlewood (95, July 7th)

BBC LE's first female producer - Val Doonican, Petula Clark, Nana Mouskouri, Royal Variety, directed 1963 Eurovision Song Contest

George Armstrong (60, July 11th)

Alan Humphries in Grange Hill and Tucker's Luck, Hubert Lane in Just William

John Nettleton (94, July 12th)

Sir Arnold Robinson in Yes Minister, Sir Stephen Baxter in The New Statesman

Geoffrey Davies (84, July 13th)

Dr Dick Stuart-Clark in Doctor In The House and all the sequels

Anita Carey (75, July 19th)

Thelma's sister Susan in Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads?, I Didn't Know You Cared, Vivien March in Doctors

Vince Hill (89, July 22nd)

Singer, presented They Sold A Million, The Musical Time Machine and Gas Street

Nick Hitchon (65, July 23rd)

Up! series participant; nuclear fusion scientist and professor

George Alagiah (67, July 24th)

BBC news foreign correspondent, then anchor 1999-2022

Carl Davis (86, August 3rd)

Composer, wrote the scores for more than a hundred series including The World At War, the BBC Pride And Prejudice, The Naked Civil Servant, Play For Today, Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years

Rosemary Squires (94, August 8th)

Big band singer responsible for the Fairy Liquid jingle

Doreen Mantle (97, August 9th)

Mrs Warboys in One Foot In The Grave, Duchess Of Duke Street

Julian Haviland (93, August 11th)

Journalist, political editor of ITN 1975–1981

Michael Parkinson (88, August 16th)

Bernard Newnham (76, August 17th)

BBC presentation department producer responsible for trails and idents, produced Points Of View, invented the Broom Cupboard

Sarah Lawson (95, August 18th)

The Odd Man, Callan, Within These Walls

Sid Sutton (84, September)

Opening titles designer for Doctor Who, Bergerac, Shoestring, Pennies From Heaven

Joe Fagin (83, September 5th)

Sang the themes to Auf Weidersehen Pet (closing) and As Time Goes By

John Stevenson (86, September 5th)

Coronation Street writer for thirty years and 447 episodes, co-wrote Brass

Mike Yarwood (92, September 8th)

Jean Boht (91, September 12th)

Nellie Boswell in Bread

Roger Whittaker (87, September 13th)

Singer, presented Whittaker's World Of Music

David McCallum (90, September 25th)

Illya Kuryakin in The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Sapphire & Steel, Colditz, NCIS

Michael Gambon (82, September 27th)

The Singing Detective, Maigret, Longitude, Cranford

Jake Abraham (56, October 1st)

GBH, BBC Saturday morning series It's Wicked!

Stacy Marking (83, October 2nd)

One of the first female documentary directors across BBC, Channel 4 and Granada, also TV critic for Time Out

Piper Laurie (91, October 14th)

The Thorn Birds, Twin Peaks

Tony Husband (73, October 18th)

Oink! and Private Eye cartoonist, co-created Round The Bend

Alan J.W. Bell (85, October 19th)

Producer and director of 250 episodes of Last Of The Summer Wine, also Ripping Yarns, Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, Emmerdale, The Bill, Parkinson, Crackerjack

Haydn Gwynne (66, October 20th)

Alex in Drop The Dead Donkey, Peak Practice, Merseybeat, The Windsors

David Stafford (74, October 25th)

Alexei Sayle collaborator, reporter for 4 What It's Worth and The Late Show

Matthew Perry (54, October 28th)

Tim Woodward (70, November 9th)

Wings, Piece Of Cake, Heartbeat

Paul Watson (81, November 18th)

Documentarian, made The Family, The Fishing Party, Sylvania Waters, Cutting Edge, series editor of 40 Minutes

Joss Ackland (95, November 19th)

Z-Cars, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Annabel Giles (64, November 20th)

Razzmatazz, Posh Frocks And New Trousers, regular panellist

Dean Sullivan (68, November 29th)

Jimmy Corkhill in Brookside

John Byrne (83, November 30th)

Tutti Frutti and Your Cheatin' Heart writer

Brigit Forsyth (83, December 1st)

Thelma in Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads?, Boon, Still Open All Hours

Norman Lear (101, December 5th)

Producer, writer or developer on more than 100 series, including UK-US transfers Sanford & Son and All In The Family

Benjamin Zephaniah (65, December 7th)

Groundbreaking poet and TV regular

Wilf Lunn (81, December 13th)

Eccentric inventor and regular on Vision On, Magpie, Jigsaw, Eureka

Steve Halliwell (77, December 15th)

Zak Dingle in Emmerdale

Mo Moreland (87, December 19th)

Lead Roly Poly

Richard Franklin (87, December 25th)

Captain Mike Yates in Doctor Who

Tom Wilkinson (75, December 30th)

1994 Martin Chuzzlewit, Prime Suspect, The Gathering Storm, First Among Equals, then film career