The Derker born actor Bernard Cribbins, who narrated The Wombles, starred in the film adaptation of The Railway Children, and was latterly in Doctor Who has died aged 93, his agent has announced
Bernard Cribbins career spanned seven decades of radio,Television, music and film and became an actor at the age of 14, a student player in Oldham Rep where he stayed for eight years, becoming established in theatre and variety.
He became a major star on the London stage by his mid-20s, and national star by his success in film comedies and with a string of hit records.
He appeared in several of the “Carry On” series, and also achieved a great degree of success doing voiceovers for cartoons and TV commercials.
The early 1970’s brought a BAFTA-nominated film role, as genial station porter Perks in children’s classic The Railway Children
The film led to him becoming a star of children’s TV, Jackanory made Cribbins a BBC Children’s face and voice. He also narrated The Wombles and hosted the first three series of charades-style celebrity game Star Turn.
He appeared numerous times in The Good Old Days but his most repeated performance has to be the spoon salesman Hutchinson in Fawlty Towers ‘The Hotel Inspectors’.
In 2003, his many television guest roles saw him appear as cantankerous Wally Bannister in Coronation Street.
Latterly he will be remembered for his appearances in Dr Who,Cribbins actually made his first appearance in the show in the 1960’s but reappeared forty years later as Wilfred Mott, the grandfather of the Doctor’s companion Donna Noble, played by Catherine Tate.
He was awarded an OBE in 2011. Speaking at the investiture ceremony, he said providing the voices of characters such as Uncle Bulgaria, Tobermory and Orinoco was simple because of how The Wombles was written.
