Thursday, 21 June 2012

Caroline John 1940 - 2012

We are sad to report that Doctor Who actress Caroline John, has died aged 71.

Caroline, who played Liz Shaw alongside Jon Pertwee's third Doctor passed away on 5th June 2012 with the news being brought to us today.
Liz Shaw was the Doctor's Companion for one series in 1970 but heralded some of Doctor Who's all time greatest episodes like Spearhead from Space, Doctor Who and the Silurians, The Ambassadors of Death and Inferno. Caroline's Character also went on to making appearances in Th Five Doctors and charity special Dimensions in Time

Caroline John was born in 1940 in York and studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She was an accomplished stage actress, touring with the Royal Shakespeare company and the National Theatre with a television career including Z cars, Agatha Christie's Poiro A Perfect Spy and the BBC's 1981 adaptation of The Hounds of the Baskervilles, playing opposite Tom Baker. Caroline also went on to appear in hit Rom-Com Love Actually written by Richard Curtis, and came back to portray Liz Shaw in four Big Finish Companion Chronicles stories starting with The Blue Tooth in 2007 and most recently in Binary, which was released just three months ago in March. In addition, she appeared as Shaw in the straight-to-video P.R.O.B.E. stories of the 1990s, which were written by Mark Gatiss and co-starred Pertwee, Peter DavisonColin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy. in recent years Caroline has also appeared in many commentaries for the Doctor Who DVD releases. 


Steven Moffat, Doctor Who's Lead write and Executive Producer commented: ‘Caroline was a brilliant actress and in her role as Liz Shaw, a tremendous co-star for Jon Pertwee in his first year as the Doctor.  She was not just a sidekick but a scientist in her own right and a match for the universe's number one know-all. The Doctor's companions should never be his assistants - they're the people who keep him on his toes, and that's what Caroline did.  From everyone at the show, our thoughts go out to Caroline’s family.’

All of our thoughts are with her close friends and Family.

RIP Caroline John - 1940 - 2012.

0 Comments: