Bernard Cribbins dead: Russell T Davies pays tribute to late Doctor Who actor

Russel T Davies has paid an emotional tribute to his late friend and actor Bernard Cribbins (Getty Images)

Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies has paid an emotional tribute to his late friend and actor Bernard Cribbins, who has died at the age of 93.

The veteran actor appeared in the cult sci-fi show during Davies’ tenure alongside David Tennant and Catherine Tate.

They were recently reunited on set when Cribbins returned to film for the upcoming 60th anniversary of the show.

Taking to Instagram, the 59-year-old uploaded an image highlighting Cribbins’ well-documented humour with his face poking through a cut out hole on a piece of cardboard painted to look like a wall, which he explained was when Cribbins played Snout in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

“Bernard Cribbins (1928-2022) I love this man. I love him,” he began his tribute.

“That’s him as Snout in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. D’you fancy doing some Shakespeare, Bernard? ‘Let me see the script.’

“He knew everyone! He’d talk about the Beatles and David Niven, and how he once sat on the stairs at a party impersonating bird calls with T H White. Then he’d add, ‘I said to Ashley Banjo last week…’

Davies went on to recall Cribbins’ first day of filming and the unique energy that he brought to set.

“He loved being in Doctor Who. He said, ‘Children are calling me grandad in the street!’ His first day was on location with Kylie Minogue, but all eyes, even Kylie’s, were on Bernard.

Bernard Cribbins and David Tennant at the National Television Awards 2010 (PA Archive)

“He’d turned up with a suitcase full of props, just in case, including a rubber chicken. And what an actor. Oh, really though, what a wonderful actor.

“We once took him to the TV Choice Awards and sent him up on his own to collect the award, and the entire room stood up and cheered him. That’s a lovely memory.”

Bernard Cribbins meeting the Queen at Children’s Trust in Tadworth, Surrey in 2004 (PA Wire)

He also revealed how one of the late star’s most memorable Doctor Who moments had been Cribbins’ own idea.

He explained: “He’d phone up and say, ‘I’ve got an idea! What if I attack a Dalek with a paintball gun?!’ Okay, Bernard, in it went!”

The It’s A Sin writer also paid tribute to Cribbins’ beloved wife Gill who he was married to for 66 years until she died last year.

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“He loved Gill with all his heart; he mentioned her in every conversation we ever had. A love story for the ages,” he penned.

He signed off by declaring himself “so lucky” to have known Cribbins.

Adding: “Thanks for everything, my old soldier. A legend has left the world.”