Bernard Cribbins, the veteran British actor who narrated The Wombles and starred in the popular film adaptation of The Railway Children, has died. He was 93.
Cribbins’ agent, Gavin Barker Associates, confirmed the news with Deadline in a statement.
“Beloved actor Bernard Cribbins OBE has passed away at the age of 93. His career spanned seven decades with such diverse work ranging from films like The Railway Children and the Carry On series, hit 60’s song Right Said Fred a notorious guest on Fawlty Towers and narrating The Wombles,” the statement read.
“He worked well into his 90’s, recently appearing in Doctor Who and the CBeebies series Old Jack’s Boat. He lost his wife of 66 years, Gill, last year.”
The statement continued: “Bernard’s contribution to British entertainment is without question. He was unique, typifying the best of his generation, and will be greatly missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing and working with him.”
Born in Oldham in the 1920s, Cribbins made several big screen appearances, including in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1972 film Frenzy, for which he played the barman Felix Forsythe. Cribbins also went on to make regular appearances on Doctor Who as Wilfred Mott, the grandfather of the Doctor’s popular companion Donna Noble, played by Catherine Tate.
He also made recurring appearances on the British soap drama Coronation Street. Off-screen, Cribbins had a successful musical career with two top-10 hits in 1962, with Hole In The Ground and Right Said Fred.
Other Cribbins credits include The Mouse on the Moon (1963), The Girl on the Boat (1962), Langley Bottom (1968), Carry on Columbus (1992), and Blackball (2003).
In 2011, he was was awarded an OBE for services to drama.
