The Watcher

Jill Gascoine has died aged 83 after a 10 year battle with Alzheimer's.

The sci-fi yarn is that there was a Dr McCoy in Star Trek (Leonard aka 'Bones') & a BBC executive thought that as Dr Who was waning & not at all popular with Michael Grade, that another Dr McCoy but this time in Dr Who would improve the show's fortunes.

All very strange as Christopher Ecclestone specifically asked Russell T Davies if he could play the eponymous hero when Dr Who returned in 2005. In the week it returned for 13 weekly episodes, Ecclestone announced that he was leaving. Many have said that he was an "actor's actor" (whatever that means) like the late Pete Postlethwaite. It certainly wasn't as amicable as it first seemed as he refused to appear in the 2013 50th anniversary special when they wanted 3 doctors (as in the1973 10th aniversary special when they had the very frail William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton & Jon Pertwee - the latter possibly on another thread as like John Thaw both former wives are still with us) so Stephen Moffat invented a new doctor played by the late John Hurt who together with David Tennant & Matt Smith made up the requisite three doctors. Incidentally, probably everyone knows that Peter Davison's daughter is married to David Tennant - they met after she appeared in the show as his daughter. Dr Who's grand daughter Carole Ford is still with us as is one other of the original companions - the 95 year old William Russell.

Patrick Troughton (another former Dr Who) was in The Omen!! Incidentally, a lot of disappointment (& even anger)in the Whoverse that Christopher Ecclestone was the only living Dr Who not to appear in the Big Night In Dr Who segment last night.

Sean Arnold confirmed dead on Wiki. He played Crozier the boss of Bergerac in the Jersey-based series for 8 of the 9 series. The other crime series created by Robert Banks Stewart was Shoestring & the boss of Eddie Shoestring was played by Michael Medwin & he also died this year

Peter Bonetti ("The Cat") & understudy for Gordon Banks in Mexico 1970 has died aged 78. One of the greatest ever Chelsea players.

She is about 2 months younger than Jean Kennedy Smith who is her sister-in-law & the last surviving child of Joe & Rose Kennedy. She is the sister of two assassinated siblings & Edward. As Rose lived to 104, Jean could outlive her assassinated presidenial sibling by 70 years.

Eileen Ash (nee Whelan) born 30 October 1911 is the oldest ever test cricketer (male or female). She rang the bell at Lords about 5 years ago to signal the start of play at a test match. Surely even coverage on the national news when her innings ends.

Linda Lusardi and her husband are the latest 'celebrities' to say they have the disease.

Jeanne Calment may not even have been a centenarian as every few weeks there seems to be another report or documentary casting doubt that the same person reached 122. Many state that she 'only' reached 99! For many years the oldest man was a Japanese gentleman who lived to 120 or 121. He was pictured in Guiness World Records with Norris McWhirter who had flown to meet him. Eventually he was discredited as a fraud although it may have been his family who perpetuated the fraud.

So the final player to play first class cricket before WW2 has died aged 105 - he played as long ago as 1936. He was the oldest ever first class cricketer but Eileen Whelan at 108 and a former Women's Test cricketer is still alive.

Apparently the first ever to go one minute without H,R or D. Also in the much delayed obituary in today's paper, she once chaired Just a Minute in an all woman show which was the only show Nicholas Parsons did not chair until Gyles Brandreth chaired two shows a few months ago. Also it stated that only 3 women have appeared in more shows - probably Sheila Hancock is one?

Prince William & Prince Harry's great-aunt has died aged 99 and a half. She was Diana's aunt & the elder & only sibling of her father Earl Spencer.

Centenarians are dropping like flies. Surely one of the centenarian cricketers will join them soon as they are aged 105 (last male cricketer to play first class cricket before WW2) & 108 (female test cricketer & probably oldest ever international player at any sport)?

The oldest British woman is bizarrely exactly the same age as Bob Weighton at 111 years 333 days. Up to about a year ago Bob Weighton & another British man were joint oldest men in the UK & used to exchange birthday cards until the other gentleman died. The 3rd oldest Briton is Violet Davies-Evans who is only a day younger at 111 years 332 days!

Irene Triplett is 'only' 89 but is the oldest (& conversely youngest) person to still be receiving a pension from service in the American Civil War which ended 155 years ago! Her father who saw active service (& also reputedly saw Abraham Lincoln who was shot in 1865) was over 80 when she was born.

Robin Parkinson is now 90. He was the 3rd (not 2nd) actor to play Monsieur Leclerc in Allo Allo despite Wiki getting it wrong & also giving 2 different first names for " It is I, Leclerc". (Ernest or Roger - take your pick!) Jack Haig (1913-1989) was the first actor to portray Leclerc. Haig also stood in regularly for Clive Dunn in the stage show of Dads Army. After Haig's death Derek Royle (1928-90) took over the part. However he died after 1 series & is also remembered for being the father of the better known actor Carol Royle. (now appearing in Endeavour). Robin Parkinson (b 1929) took over the part until the series ended.

How well that illustrates the proverb, "Empty vessels make most noise".

I think the whole episode reached quadruple confusion mode. Endeavour is a prequel to Morse in which the John Thaw character is played by Shaun Evans. John's daughter Abigail Thaw has a regular supporting role as the local newspaper editor. In last Sunday's episode which was set in 1970 the real-life character of Sally Alexander appeared in a scene with Abigail Thaw who is her real-life daughter of course. The part of Sally Alexander was played by Abigail Thaw's actual daughter!

Both wives of John Thaw & also Jon Pertwee are still alive & John Thaw's first wife (before Sheila Hancock) was portrayed in Endeavour last Sunday as she was a leading Women's Liberation activist in the 70's which is the decade Endeavour has now reached. Confusingly JohnThaw's daughter Abigail is a regular in the show (as editor of the Oxford Mail) & also her daughter appeared last Sunday as well as someone playing her own mother in a scene at Ruskin College where a significant Women's Liberation Movement meeting was held!

Michael Medwin is 96. He was a matinee idol in the 50's but many will remember him as the radio boss in Shoestring in which he was the superior of Trevor Eve's investigative radio reporter. When Trevor Eve declined the opportunity to do any more series, the creator of the show Robert Banks Stewart was asked to come up with another series & he devised Bergerac which ran for 9 series & made a star of John Nettles.

He missed 2 episodes of JAM in 2018 & 2 more last year. There seems to have been a much longer period between series of JAM than usual - in recent years there are 6 or 8 shows of JAM (recorded 2 at a time) and then a series of a different show lasting about 6 or 8 weeks then back to JAM. Additionally, on his 96th birthday (Oct 2019?) he was photographed between his wife & The Duchess of Cornwall in a wheelchair & it was also widely reported that due to a fall he was unable to particpate in a carol concert last December that his daughter has been involved in for many years and in which he reads a lesson.

Obituaries in at least 2 British national papers today for Anne Robson aged 108. She was not surprisingly Britain's oldest female WW2 veteran but she was also a senior commander for the War Office at Aldershot. She was responsible for the physical fitness of all women in the Auxiliary Territorial Service based in England, Scotland & Germany. Her obituaries appear to have been reduced due to the extensive ones for Terry Jones. However, the one in The Times says that "She lived through the suffragette movement, saw the radical advance of women's rights during her lifetime and lived through the tenure of 21 British prime ministers, four monarchs and two world wars."

How many centenarian couples have there been when at least one has been really famous or perhaps both have been famous? I don't mean couples who are only famous for their age such as the Chands. The obvious two are Bob and Dolores Hope who both reached 100. Currently Kirk and Ann Douglas are both at least 100.