- Bernard Cribbins, Doctor Who #189: Partners in Crime, TV, 2008. Born in the UK’s finest county of Surrey, Attfield played the father of Doc10 David Tennant’s travelling rug, Donna Noble (alleged comic Catherine Tate) in the 2006 Christmas Special, #178: The Runaway Bird. Invited back two years later, he died before completing his scenes. In respect, Russell T Davies dedicated the episode to him and “retired” the character of Geoff Noble. In the previous episode, #188: Voyage of the Damned, Cribbins had played a newspaper seller called Wilfred Mott. He suddenly became Donna’s grandfather, reshot everything – and continued as Mott for eight more adventures until 2010. It’s surprising that Cribbins, who must have appeared in almost every UK TV series known to man (from Jackanory to Coronation Street) during his 96 other screen roles, had never worked with the Time Lord before. He had, though, appeared in Peter Cushing’s second dull big-screen incarnation, Daleks’ Invasion Earth: 2150 AD, 1966…and was shortlisted for Doc4 in 1974.
- Bernard Cribbins, Doctor Who #192: The Sontaran Stratagem, TV, 2008. Soon after agreeing to reprise his Geoff Noble from #178: The Runaway Bride, 2006, Attfieled succumbed to his cancer. Cribbins was quickly drafted in for the fourth of his eight guest-shots in the Whoverse.
Birth year: 1947Death year: 2007Other name: Casting Calls: 1