
Thunderbirds & Doctor Who legend famed for being voice of the Daleks leaves behind eye-watering amount in will
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
Advertisement
8
Jamie Anderson, son of Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson, with David Graham
Credit: X
8
David Graham with a Thunderbirds' Parker puppet
Credit: Rex
8
Parker, from Thunderbirds
Credit: Alamy
8
Graham played the widely-loved character Grandpa on Peppa Pig
Credit: YouTube
8
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.
Advertisement
Read more Showbiz
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
Advertisement
Most read in Showbiz
Breaking
Exclusive
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
David Tennant tells Doctor Who haters to 'f--k off' in hilarious new The Assembly trailer as he gets a grilling
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.
Advertisement
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
Advertisement
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."
Advertisement
8
David Graham in 2017 had the legendary role of voicing the Daleks on Doctor Who
Credit: PA
8
Thunderbirds puppets Lady Penelope and Parker outside Planet Hollywood, central London
Credit: Alamy
8
Graham at the BAFTA Kids TV Preview
Credit: Getty
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Irish Sun
4 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Fly-on-the wall reality show following very unlikely TV star and his family ends after just one series
BEING TV's poshest ever reality show hasn't saved Meet The Rees-Moggs. I can reveal the fly-on-the-wall documentary featuring top 6 Meet The Rees-Moggs won't be returning for a second series on Discovery+. Credit: PA 6 Jacob was seen in the show losing his seat at the General Election last July Credit: PA It is another setback for the former MP, who was seen in A TV insider said: 'Although the critics seemed to lap up the ridiculousness of the show, it didn't quite get the response from audiences they had hoped for. 'Though it was easy to see how the series could run and run, the feeling among the execs was this should be a one-off capturing of a moment in time, namely the last general election.' Jacob felt that making the read more on jacob rees-mogg But it doesn't seem to have paid off. When it aired last December, it followed him and his incredibly aristocratic wife, Helena, plus The family provided a snapshot of their Discovery+ were approached for comment. Most read in News TV JOHNNY ON ADHD AND ART JOHNNY VEGAS is back with a new documentary. 6 Johnny Vegas will front new documentary Johnny Vegas: Art, ADHD And Me Credit: Rex His most personal project yet, Johnny Vegas: Art, ADHD And Me will follow him on a journey of self-discovery after his ADHD diagnosis in 2022. Johnny said: 'I used to sit at a potter's wheel on stage, and people thought it was a gimmick, but I actually started out as a dedicated wannabe ceramicist. "Art was my educational saviour. 'Over years of an ongoing decline in educational commitment to the very same arts, I felt it was time to kick-start a debate about culture in general, whilst giving something of a visual a symbol of gratitude back to my honestly beloved town.' The two-parter will be shown on Channel 4. SKY Max has confirmed that its rebooted version of panel show Never Mind The Buzzcocks will be returning for another series. Greg Davies will be back in the hot seat for the fifth season of the show, which previously aired on BBC Two from its launch in 1996 to 2015. LAUREN RETURNS AS TV TEC LAUREN LYLE will be getting her detective uniform back on as ITV cold case drama Karen Pirie returns. The actress, who plays DI Karen Pirie, will be joined by her loveable sidekick, DC Mint (Chris Jenks), and the romantically complicated DS Phil Parhatka, played by Zach Wyatt. 6 Karen Pirie is returning for a second series with Lauren Lyle Credit: Rex The story, The discovery will put Karen under closer scrutiny from her boss, the media and sinister forces linked to the crime which begin to come to light. It will air on ITV this summer. RUTH HAS WILL FOR NEW ROLE SHE waved goodbye to her role in Gavin and Stacey when the series ended last Christmas, but now The actress, who has just released her fourth book, hopes to have her latest novel turned into a TV series so she can play the leading lady. 6 Ruth Jones wants her latest novel turned into a TV series so she can play the leading lady Credit: Getty By Your Side features Linda Standish, a divorced, plus-sized Scots woman in her fifties working at the Unclaimed Heirs Unit, which traces family members of people who die without a will. And it follows her last case before retiring, involving Welshman Levi Norman. Revealing fans ask who she would cast as a character like Linda, Ruth said: 'I'm in my fifties, and I'm a plus-size woman, but admittedly I am not Scottish!' PANEL show Sorry, I Didn't Know has landed its sixth series on ITV. Jimmy Akingbola will be replaced by former Holby City actress Chizzy Akudolu – who will join team captains Eddie Kadi and Richard Blackwood. Filming will take place this summer. CYNTHIA'S LESSONS IN FAILURE AS Miranda Hobbes in Sex And The City, But far from getting her down, the actress says she has learned a lot about how to deal with things going wrong. 6 Cynthia Nixon as Miranda Hobbes in And Just Like That... Credit: © Home Box Office, Inc. All rights reserved. HBO® and all related programs are the prope She told Elizabeth Day on the How To Fail podcast: 'Right from the get-go, we've seen Miranda fail at a lot of things – and that was the best thing to happen. 'She didn't actually fail at being a lawyer, I think she realised that her life quest to be on top of the corporate law world was a mistake. 'That's the wonderful thing about the show, it shows there's enough time to make a change. 'A lot of people identify with Miranda, and as years have passed, more of them identify with her. I love her.' Series three of spin-off And Just Like That . . . is available to stream now on Sky. Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme - Sun Club.


The Irish Sun
5 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Love Island star Harry Cooksley had a hair transplant at just 24 years old as his transformation is revealed
LOVE Island star Harry Cooksley had a hair transplant at just 24-years-old and shared the journey to his transformation. Semi-professional footballer Advertisement 4 Harry is one of this year's Love Island stars Credit: Shutterstock 4 He jetted to Turkey at 24 to have a hair transplant Credit: YouTube 4 He described it as 'a perfect experience' Credit: YouTube While he's now got a full head of hair, that wasn't always the case for the Guildford lad - who jetted to Turkey to have the procedure. Appearing in a YouTube video posted by the clinic he visited in Istanbul, Harry explained the process and showed off the before and after results. He said: 'It was a perfect experience for something that I really wanted to have done and I'm very glad that I found EstePera.' The Love Island villa was left reeling last night when Advertisement More on Harry Cooksley During the first recoupling, Shakira, 22, had to choose between Harry, And fans later insisted Shakira only went with Harry One fan wrote on social media: 'Shakira well wanted to pick Conor but didn't wanna send Helena home and for that I kinda respect it. Advertisement Most read in Love Island 'But also she'd suit Conor well better.' Another viewer added: 'No way she picked Harry for any reason other than she wanted the other women to stay… I simply don't believe it.' First person dumped from Love Island revealed And someone else said: 'I feel like she chose based on the girls, not the guys.' 4 Harry found himself caught up in the first dumping of the series when Sophie was axed Credit: Shutterstock Advertisement Love Island 2025 full lineup : A 29-year-old footballer with charm to spare. : A model and motivational speaker who has overcome adversity after suffering life-changing burns in an accident. : A 22-year-old Manchester-based model, ready to turn heads. : A boxer with striking model looks, seeking love in the villa. : A payroll specialist from Southampton, looking for someone tall and stylish. : International business graduate with brains and ambition. : A gym enthusiast with a big heart. : A Londoner with celebrity connections, aiming to find someone funny or Northern. Ben Hullbra : A model ready to make waves. : An Irish actress already drawing comparisons to Maura Higgins. : A personal trainer and semi-pro footballer, following in his footballer father's footsteps. : A towering 6'5' personal trainer. : A 25-year-old Irish rugby pro : Love Island's first bombshell revealed as sexy Las Vegas pool party waitress. : Beauty salon owner from Devon who runs 12 aesthetics clinics, boasting a famous clientele including former Love Islanders Departures : : Axed after an arrest over a machete attack emerged. He was released with no further action taken and denies any wrongdoing. Have YOU got a story or an amazing picture or video? Email and you could even get PAID


The Irish Sun
6 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Hit TV show cancelled after four seasons on air and tragic death of star
FOX have cancelled one of their hit TV shows after four seasons. The Cleaning Lady's last episode has already aired - leaving fans devastated. 3 The Cleaning Lady has now been cancelled Credit: Kurt Iswarienko/FOX 3 Adan Canton tragically passed away last year Credit: Alamy The network has cited poor ratings for the demise of the crime drama - going from three million per episode during the first couple of seasons to just a million by the fourth. It comes a year after the death of the show's beloved star Adan Canto, who The X-Men actor starred in 25 episodes of The Cleaning Lady before his death. Adan made his final appearance on The Cleaning Lady on April 9 of last year, which showed his character, Arman Morales, being captured in a van after a botched drug deal. Adan's family ended up finding him and the vehicle after a planned drop-off in the desert. Thony was involved in a shootout with Arman's kidnappers, which ultimately led to the tragic end. The car, which Arman was in, had flown over a cliff after he had moved the kidnapper's hand that was pointing a gun at Thony. After seeing Thony's sad reaction, fans gathered that Arman and the others in the car had died in the crash. Most read in Celebrity The episode ended with a flashback to a scene between Arman and Thony kissing in Season 1. Adan Canto written off The Cleaning Lady with emotional tribute months after his death at 42 from cancer Alongside the character's death, the series also paid tribute to the late actor with an on-screen message after the flashback scene. Before the credits rolled, the words "In Loving Memory of Adan Canto" were shown on a white background. 3 Thony De La Rosa is played by Elodie Yung on the show Credit: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. & Fox Media LLC