Thunderbirds & Doctor Who legend famed for being voice of the Daleks leaves behind eye-watering amount in will

The Irish Sun

14-05-2025

ACTOR David Graham - the voice of cockney chauffeur Parker in the Thunderbirds - left a £1.2million fortune in his will, probate documents reveal.
Voice artist Graham, who
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Jamie Anderson, son of Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson, with David Graham
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David Graham with a Thunderbirds' Parker puppet
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Parker, from Thunderbirds
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Graham played the widely-loved character Grandpa on Peppa Pig
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Daleks are the most famous baddies on Doctor Who
Credit: BBC
He later wowed generations of children as Peppa Pig's lovable Grandpa, and as the Wise Old Elf in Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom.
His will saw him leave an estate valued at £1,235,001 - most of which was passed on to his niece Elizabeth Rehfeld and nephew Jonathan Smit, who both live in the
He found fame as Lady Penelope's croaky-voiced driver Parker - a cult TV figure whose famous 'Yus, m'lady' expression is still a popular catchphrase.
Parker, a reformed safecracker, drove his employer Lady Penelope around in a pink Rolls Royce in Thunderbirds and won immortality among the show's legions of fans.
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Graham - born into a Jewish household in London in 1925 - provided voices for many other characters in all 32 episodes of the much repeated hit show, which first ran in the mid-1960s.
The inspiration for the voice of Aloysius 'Nosey' Parker was said to have been a
Explaining how they based the character on him, Graham said in an interview: 'A lovely
'I looked at Gerry and Gerry looked at me. We kept him talking and it turned out that he had 'worked for 'is majesty at
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Graham provided the voices of up to seven different characters in the each of the episodes including that of Gordon Tracy, Kyrano - the Tracy family's loyal servant - and Brains.
He provided some of the voices for the Daleks first appearances on
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And, from 2004 onwards Graham won million of new fans as the voice behind Grandpa in the smash-hit cartoon series
He gave Grandpa a jovial, faltering upper-class voice that helped give the character an upbeat but occasionally grumpy nature.
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And his distinctive tones came through as the Wise old
Graham, who served as an RAF radar mechanic during World War Two, later trained as an actor in
His time in the US helped him to pick up an American accent which proved useful in his later voice artist career on his return to the UK.
He also provided the voice of
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Graham, who lived in Hampstead,
His will also stipulate donations to
And he left a small chunk of his fortune to a local friend, Christopher, or his wife.
The probate document said: "I would like Christopher to know that this small gift is a token of my gratitude for his devoted friendship to me throughout my professional life. Man has no better friend."
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David Graham in 2017 had the legendary role of voicing the Daleks on Doctor Who
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Thunderbirds puppets Lady Penelope and Parker outside Planet Hollywood, central London
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Graham at the BAFTA Kids TV Preview
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