British Television

Len Goodman (1944–2023), Dancing with the Stars judge 

Len Goodman was a ballroom dancer and instructor best known for his long tenure as a judge on “Dancing with the Stars” and “Strictly Come Dancing.” 

George Ward (1993–2022), “RuPaul’s Drag Race U.K.” star  

George Ward , also known as Cherry Valentine, was a star on the TV show “RuPaul’s Drag Race U.K.”

Bernard Cribbins (1928–2022), “Doctor Who” actor 

Bernard Cribbins was a British actor who starred in “Doctor Who” and narrated the popular children’s show “The Wombles.”

Mona Hammond (1931–2022), British actress in “EastEnders”

Mona Hammond was a Jamaican-British actress with a longtime stage career who starred on “EastEnders” in the 1990s.

Veronica Carlson (1944–2022), British actress in Hammer horror films

Veronica Carlson was a British actress known for her roles in Hammer horror films including “Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed.”

Jana Bennett (1955–2022), trailblazing former BBC TV executive

Jana Bennett was the former director of BBC TV who oversaw the reboot of “Doctor Who” and the popular series “Sherlock.”  

Henry Woolf (1930–2021), “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” actor

Henry Woolf was an actor with a long career on stage and screen that included a dual role in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

Bob Baker (1939–2021), writer for “Doctor Who,” “Wallace and Gromit”

Bob Baker was a British writer for the Wallace and Gromit series as well as co-creator of the robotic dog K9 as a writer for “Doctor Who.”

Sarah Harding (1981–2021), singer with Girls Aloud

Sarah Harding was an actress, model, and singer with the British girl group Girls Aloud.

Sean Lock (1963–2021), English comedian known for “8 Out of 10 Cats”

Sean Lock was an English comedian and actor known for the British TV show “8 Out of 10 Cats.”

Una Stubbs (1937–2021), "Sherlock" actor

Una Stubbs was a British actor best known for "Sherlock" and "Til Death Us Do Part."

Helen McCrory (1968–2021), “Harry Potter,” “Peaky Blinders” actress

Helen McCrory was an English actress known for roles including Narcissa Malfoy in the final three “Harry Potter” movies.

Sabine Schmitz (1969–2021), racing driver and “Top Gear” star

Sabine Schmitz was a racing driver who was the first and, to date, only woman to win the famed 24 Hours Nürburgring race. She was also a star of TV’s “Top Gear.”

Michael Apted (1941–2021), "Coal Miner's Daughter" director

Michael Apted was a prolific British director known for "Coal Miner's Daughter" and the "Up" documentary series.

Luis Troyano (2020), “Great British Baking Show” finalist

Luis Troyano was a runner-up on season five of the popular reality series “The Great British Baking Show.”

Margaret Nolan (1943–2020), actress in “Goldfinger,” “A Hard Day’s Night”

Margaret Nolan was a British actress known for films including “Goldfinger,” in which she was painted gold and wore a gold bikini for the iconic title sequence.

Diana Rigg (1938–2020), played Emma Peel in TV’s “The Avengers”

Diana Rigg was an actress best known for playing the tough, smart, and stylish spy Emma Peel in TV’s “The Avengers” from 1965 to 1968. Rigg also portrayed the Queen of Thorns, Olenna Tyrell, in “Game of Thrones.”

Michael Angelis (2020), “Thomas the Tank Engine” narrator

Michael Angelis was a British actor best known for narrating the children’s television series “Thomas the Tank Engine.”

Jay Benedict (1951–2020) "Aliens" actor

Jay Benedict was an actor known for his roles in "Aliens" and "The Dark Knight Rises."

Terry Jones (1942–2020), founding member of the Monty Python team

Terry Jones  was a founding member of the Monty Python comedy team, who brought absurd humor to the world with their “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” TV sketch show and several movies. Jones directed those films — “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” “Monty Python’s Life of Brian,” and “Monty Python’s the Meaning of Life.” He appeared in them too, as well as in non-Python films including “Jabberwocky” and “L.A. Story.” It was Jones who was responsible for a key piece of the tone of “Flying Circus,” the show’s tendency to skip punchlines to sketches in favor of ending abruptly or wandering dreamily to a new story in a stream-of-consciousness way. Jones was also a medieval historian and an author of children’s books.

Neil Innes (1944–2019), Monty Python comedian who co-created The Rutles

Neil Innes was a comedian, writer, and songwriter best known for collaborating with the Monty Python team. He wrote songs and sketches for their TV show, “Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” and he wrote and performed songs on some of the comedy troupe’s albums. Innes played several small roles in the movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” — the leader of Sir Robin’s minstrels, a serf crushed by the Trojan Rabbit, the leader of the chanting monks, and more — as well as writing the songs “Knights of the Round Table” and “Brave Sir Robin.” He also had small roles in “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” and Python member Terry Gilliam’s “Jabberwocky,” and he had his own show on British TV, “The Innes Book of Records.” Innes was a member of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, who were featured in the Beatles’ movie “Magical Mystery Tour,” and the Rutles.

Terrance Dicks (1935–2019), beloved Doctor Who writer

Stories he crafted introduced the Time Lords, the Master, and the Fourth Doctor.

Leslie Grantham (1947 – 2018), British actor starred in soap opera “EastEnders”

Actor Leslie Grantham, the British actor who starred in the soap opera "EastEnders," died Friday, June 15, 2018, according to the Associated Press. He was 71.

Emma Chambers (1964 - 2018), British actress starred in "The Vicar of Dibley"

Emma Chambers, the British actress known for her roles in the TV series “The Vicar of Dibley” and the film “Notting Hill,” died Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018, according to The Associated Press. She was 53.

Simon Shelton Barnes (1966–2018), Played Tinky Winky on "Teletubbies”

The children’s show was an international sensation…

Peter Wyngarde (1927–2018), stylish British actor inspired Austin Powers

Peter Wyngarde, stylish British actor who starred as playboy detective Jason King and inspired the look of Austin Powers, died Monday, Jan. 15, 2018, according to The Associated Press. He was 90.

Liz Dawn (1939 – 2017), starred on British soap opera “Coronation Street”

Fans loved her character Vera on “Coronation Street”...

Sir Bruce Forsyth (1928 - 2017), Strictly Come Dancing host

British TV legend hosted "Strictly Come Dancing" and "The Generation Game"...

Robert Hardy (1925 - 2017), Harry Potter actor

English actor played minister of magic in 4 “Harry Potter” films…

Deborah Watling (1948 - 2017)

"Doctor Who" actress played the second Doctor’s companion in the 1960s…

Molly Peters (1942 - 2017), Bond girl in Thunderball

Actress played Bond girl Nurse Fearing in “Thunderball”…

Andrew Sachs (1930 - 2016), Fawlty Towers actor

British actor Andrew Sachs was known best for playing Spanish waiter Manuel on “Fawlty Towers.”