Doctor Who is the longest-running sci-fi franchise in the world, and so the Whoniverse has been home to countless beloved cast members over its 60-year-and-counting lifespan. Tragically, due to the show’s old age, this must also mean that we have had to say goodbye to several of these cast members over the years.
Some notable actors from Who history who are no longer with us include Roger Delgado and Anthony Ainley, the two most popular incarnations of the Doctor’s nemesis the Master from the classic series, as well as Peter Cushing, who played the Doctor in two non-canon theatrical Doctor Who films released in the 1960s. Richard Hurndall, who replaced William Hartnell as the First Doctor in 1983’s “The Five Doctors” is another almost-Doctor to have left us.
A complete list of every single guest and/or recurring actor to have appeared in Doctor Who who has since died would tragically reach into three figures. However, the following is a chance for us to remember every regular cast member of both the classic and modern eras who has passed away. To misquote the Eighth Doctor; Doctors, companions, we salute you.
William Hartnell (First Doctor)
The First Doctor himself was also sadly the first major Doctor Who actor to pass away. As detailed in 2013’s An Adventure in Space and Time, a biopic about the show’s origins, William Hartnell suffered from ill health throughout his tenure on the series from 1963-66, which impaired his ability to remember his lines and ultimately forced him to leave the show and retire from acting. He passed away from heart failure on April 23, 1975, at the age of 67.
Ian Marter (Harry Sullivan)
Ian Marter made up one third of one of the most popular TARDIS teams in Doctor Who history, playing Harry Sullivan opposite Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor and Elisabeth Sladen’s Sarah Jane Smith from 1974-75. After leaving the show, he remained entrenched in the Whoniverse by becoming a writer and penning nine Doctor Who novelizations (several based on episodes he starred in). Marter died suddenly of a heart attack on Oct. 28, 1986, his 42nd birthday.
Patrick Troughton (Second Doctor)
Second Doctor Patrick Troughton may have exited the show full-time in 1969, but he remained part of Doctor Who for the remainder of his life. Not only did he return for 10th anniversary celebration “The Three Doctors” (alongside Hartnell), he also came back for 20th anniversary special “The Five Doctors.” Two years later, he made one more appearance in 1985’s “The Two Doctors.” On the morning of March 28, 1987, the 67-year-old Troughton suffered a fatal heart attack. He was due to attend a Doctor Who convention that very day.
Jacqueline Hill (Barbara Wright)
Appearing opposite Hartnell in Doctor Who‘s very first stories, Jacqueline Hill played Barbara Wright, a history teacher to the Doctor’s granddaughter Susan (Carole Ann Ford) who ended up traveling time and space with them. After leaving the TARDIS in 1965, Hill returned for a guest spot as a villainous character opposite Tom Baker in 1980’s “Meglos.” Hill passed away from breast cancer on Feb. 18, 1993 at the age of 63.
Jon Pertwee (Third Doctor)
Jon Pertwee replaced Troughton as the Third Doctor, protecting the universe from 1970-74, before handing the sonic screwdriver over to Tom Baker. Like Troughton, he returned for 1983’s “The Five Doctors” and was a regular on the convention circuit throughout the ’80s and 1990s before he passed away in his sleep from a heart attack on May 20, 1996, at the age of 76. In contrast to public opinion, Pertwee’s own favorite role was scarecrow Worzel Gummidge, a part he played in the children’s show of the same name from 1979-81. A toy of the character was fixed to his coffin, as per his wishes.
Michael Craze (Ben Jackson)
Michael Craze, as Ben Jackson, had the honor of witnessing the Doctor’s very first regeneration when William Hartnell’s Doctor morphed into Troughton’s. Like Hill’s Barbara and William Russell’s Ian Chesterton before them, Craze’s Ben and Anneke Wills’ Polly Wright were always a pair and both entered and left the show together, appearing from 1966-67. Craze suffered a heart attack at the age of 56, brought about by falling down some steps the day before, on Dec. 8, 1998.
Nicholas Courtney (The Brigadier)
Nicholas Courtney is a bonafide Doctor Who legend as he made his first appearance opposite William Hartnell in 1965 and his last opposite Sylvester McCoy in 1989. After a guest role as one character, Courtney returned as Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, the head of alien-busting organization U.N.I.T., from 1967 onward, starring alongside Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, and McCoy (but not Colin Baker). He reappeared in the modern era in an episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures in 2008 before passing away on Feb. 22, 2011 aged 81.
Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith)
There are other Doctor Who companions, and then there’s Elisabeth Sladen. As assistant to both Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, Sladen starred in the golden age of the classic era from 1973-76. After a failed spinoff, K-9 and Company, in 1981, Sladen was brought back opposite David Tennant’s Doctor in 2006, which set up The Sarah Jane Adventures. The actress led the popular series for five seasons beginning in 2007 and lasting until her death on April 19, 2011 from cancer at the age of 65.
Caroline John (Liz Shaw)
Caroline John is known to Who fans as Dr. Liz Shaw, the very first companion to Pertwee’s Third Doctor. John appeared for one season in 1970 before passing the baton to Katy Manning’s Jo Grant. Aside from a brief cameo in “The Five Doctors,” she never returned to the series. John passed away from cancer on June 5, 2012, at the age of 71, leaving Manning as the last surviving companion of the Pertwee era.
Mary Tamm (Romana I)
Mary Tamm played the first incarnation of Romana, the Doctor’s fellow Time Lord companion. Tamm appeared in the epic 1978-79 season, subtitled “The Key to Time,” before leaving the series due to dissatisfaction with her character’s development. Her replacement, Lalla Ward, remained on board as Romana II until 1981 and even married co-star Tom Baker for a brief 16 months in 1980-81. After a prolific screen career, Tamm died from cancer on July 26, 2012. She was 62.
John Hurt (War Doctor)
The legendary John Hurt didn’t need to add another iconic role to his career by the time he joined the Whoniverse in 2013, but he did it anyway. The Alien and Harry Potter star appeared in the 50th anniversary spectacular “The Day of the Doctor,” as the hitherto-unknown War Doctor. Embraced by the fandom as a bonafide version of the hero, Hurt became a regular on the convention circuit and reprised his character numerous times in official audio dramas. He passed away from cancer on Jan. 25, 2017, three days after his 77th birthday.
Deborah Watling (Victoria Waterfield)
Deborah Watling appeared as Victoria Waterfield opposite Patrick Troughton’s Second Doctor and Frazer Hines’ Jamie McCrimmon from 1967-68, before her role on the TARDIS team was filled by Wendy Padbury’s Zoe. Watling ultimately died from lung cancer on July 21, 2017, aged 69. Her character, Victoria, was remembered by Jamie and Zoe in an episode of 2023’s Tales of the TARDIS spinoff series.
Jackie Lane (Dodo Chaplet)
Jackie Lane is the most recent cast member from the William Hartnell era to pass away. Lane only appeared in the series for a few months — February-July 1966 — as Dodo Chaplet, a companion to the First Doctor. Notoriously, her character was written out off-screen, with Lane never getting to film a goodbye scene. At the age of 79, she died on June 7, 2021 from unknown causes.
Bernard Cribbins (Wilfred Mott)
Bernard Cribbins’ Doctor Who legacy goes back to his role in 1966 movie Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D., opposite Peter Cushing, but he’s most known as part of the official Who family thanks to his beloved role as Wilfred Mott, granddad to Catherine Tate’s Donna Noble. Cribbins made numerous appearances across 2007-8 before becoming the main companion himself in David Tennant’s last regular episode, “The End of Time,” in 2010. Cribbins died on July 27, 2022 at the age of 93. His final Doctor Who appearance, in Tennant/Tate reunion special “Wild Blue Yonder,” was released posthumously in December 2023.
