Ray Brooks, voice of Mr Benn, dies aged 86
Brooks was best known for narrating the 1970s children's TV show Mr Benn and for his role in EastEnders playing Joe Macer, who killed his wife Pauline Fowler.
The actor died peacefully on Saturday with his loved ones at his bedside, according to a statement shared by his family with the BBC.
The statement also revealed that Brooks had spent the last few years living with dementia. BBC/EastEnders Ray Brooks played Joe Macer in EastEnders. BBC/EastEnders
Brooks' sons, Will and Tom, said: 'His three true loves were family (he also had a daughter Emma, who died in 2003), Fulham Football Club, and spending time in Brighton, where he was born.'
The cartoon Mr Benn, narrated by Brooks, follows the character who enters a magical costume shop and travels to new places based on the costumes he wears.
Despite the cartoon only releasing 13 episodes, it became well known for generations of children as episodes were repeated twice a year for more than 21 years.
Brooks went on to appear in a host of different primetime television shows including ITV's Coronation Street, in which he played Norman Philips.
He also starred in the BBC comedy drama Big Deal, which followed gambler Robbie Box as he tried to make a living by betting while also trying to maintain his relationship with Jan, played by Sharon Duce.
Brooks earned himself a number of film credits, including a role in The Knack… And How To Get It, which won the 1965 Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
A year later he starred in Ken Loach's Cathy Come Home, which documented the impact of Britain's housing shortage in the late 1960s.
Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Alex Kingston makes first Strictly statement as Doctor Who star confirmed for BBC show
Alex Kingston has shared with her fans some of her dancing moves after the BBC confirmed that the Doctor Who actress will join the cast for this year's Strictly Come Dancing. Posting a video of herself practicing some footwork on Monday (11 August), the 62-year-old actor sung the show's theme tune before looking at the camera and saying: "Strictly… just dancing.' In the post's caption, she wrote: 'Hello sweeties… Spoilers are out! I'm getting ready to shake my hips all the way to a glitter ball trophy. Strictly 2025 here I come!!' Kingston was the second celebrity announced as part of the this year's cast for the hit dancing show, which returns to screens Autumn 2025.
Times
an hour ago
- Times
Michelle Collins: ‘The death of my school friend changed my life'
Michelle Collins, who's in Edinburgh with her Fringe show, Motorhome Marilyn, is best known for playing Cindy Beale in EastEnders. It's a dark comedy about a woman called Denise who went to America to seek fame and fortune and ends up as a Marilyn impersonator. She is an obsessive Marilyn fan and also lives in a motorhome, hence the title. She has a very lonely existence in Las Vegas, living with her pet python, and has been Marilyn for so long she is not quite sure who Denise is any more. Port Logan, where I spent three summers filming Two Thousand Acres of Sky (even though the series was set on a fictional island off Skye). It was probably the most enjoyable filming I've ever done. Port Logan is a tiny village next to Portpatrick with, I think, a population then of only about 20 people. Just beautiful. In the height of summer I remember it not getting dark until so late, and sometimes you could see the northern lights. I love the beautiful, rugged landscape of Scotland; I feel a real affinity with the country. I also filmed Sea of Souls with Bill Paterson right up in northern Scotland, near Durness. It was a really hot summer and there were caves right on the beach. When the weather is good, Scotland is the best place in the world. The beaches were so beautiful and it was quite spooky because it was about a psychic criminologist and that part of Scotland in the north is quite spooky — I even stayed in a haunted hotel and saw a ghost. Mother India's café in Edinburgh, an amazing Indian tapas restaurant near the Gilded Balloon, where I am performing this year. There were also some fantastic fish restaurants in Portpatrick: I remember getting my first deep-fried Mars bar there. I'm partial to vegetarian haggis. • The 15 best restaurants in Edinburgh — our critic's guide Intense, kind, scatty. Charlie George. I used to have big posters of the Arsenal football team, especially when they did the double in the early Seventies. I still support them now. The train up to Glasgow, then driving down along the coastline to Stranraer and on to Portpatrick and Port Logan. That I was in Baywatch. I had dinner with someone once and they asked me if I still had that red swimming costume. Apparently, Wikipedia says I was in it. I wasn't. Never send an email on a Monday morning. Always sit on it. • Paul Sinha: I dodged an early death. It changes your perspective My great-grandma, Granny Bowen. My sister and I lived with her and my grandad for about a year when we were children, when I was about 11. I didn't like living out in Hayes, Middlesex — it felt like the back of beyond. I used to do everything I could to wind them up. She used to call me a little minx. David Essex, David Cassidy, David Bowie — all the Davids. I'm not sure if this is just my mind playing tricks with me, but I remember being in a huge pram (a big perambulator — I was a Sixties baby). Apparently, I threw eggs out of it and someone went into the butcher's shop where I was parked outside, and said to my mum: 'Your little baby boy is throwing eggs outside.' My mum didn't care about the eggs but she told them: 'That's not a boy, that's a girl!' I was in a TV show called The Illustrated Mum, which was adapted from a Jacqueline Wilson book. My agent didn't really want me to do it, but I wanted to because I loved the book. I loved playing the character, Marigold. It did really well — it won Baftas and an International Emmy. And I had a very memorable experience going to New York with Jacqueline Wilson. I was presented with the Emmy by Lenny Kravitz. • Miriam Margolyes: 'They call me vile. I'm absolutely delightful' I have very fond memories of going to see Oliver! with my mum when I was a kid. We saw it loads of times and every time I see it on TV now I feel an overwhelming sense of warmth and nostalgia. It still makes me cry. Also, The Sound of Music. Meeting a girl called Kate Healy. I was about 14, she was 15. We had very, very different lives; she had much more of a privileged life than I did. I would say she was more middle class, I was working class from a single-parent family. Sadly, Kate died when she was 16 — I was devastated. She had a cousin who was an actress who then helped me to audition for drama school. In many ways Kate really changed my life. Michelle Collins is performing in Motorhome Marilyn at Gilded Balloon Patter House until Aug 25 (not 13),
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Hollywood star hosting 'new game show which has become a global success is set to come to ITV'
ITV is reportedly lining up a brand-new quiz show for its Saturday night schedule - and it's already a global hit. Titled The Floor, it has taken television by storm in more than 20 countries, with Hollywood actor Rob Lowe fronting the American edition. The UK will become the format's 25th stop when it launches next year, according to The Sun. Producers are staying tight-lipped about who will present the British version, but ITV bosses promise it will be a high-energy addition to their entertainment slate. 'The Floor, with its compelling gameplay, is an excellent addition to our roster of popular quiz shows across ITV and ITVX,' Katie Rawcliffe, the network's Director of Entertainment told the publication. DailyMail has approached ITV for further comment. Originally created in the Netherlands, The Floor pits 81 trivia enthusiasts against one another in head-to-head battles on a massive LED floor. Each of its 81 squares represents a unique category of knowledge, making every duel a test of both brains and nerve. The format has already proved a smash hit in countries such as Australia, Poland, and Spain, with recent launches in Estonia and Latvia further expanding its reach. Over in the US, it has enjoyed three successful seasons, with Rob's star power signalling the network's early faith in the concept. That gamble paid off as broadcaster Fox has now commissioned two additional seasons, securing the American edition through 2027. Rob rose to fame in the 1980s as part of the 'Brat Pack,' starring in films like The Outsiders and St. Elmo's Fire. He has since built a long career in TV, with notable roles in The West Wing and 9-1-1: Lone Star. More recently, Rob has been busy hosting the podcast Literally! With Rob Lowe, where he regularly welcomes A-list guests including Adam Scott, Jason Isaac, and Kristin Davis. In June, Rob shared vivid memories of his grandmother Mim's battle with breast cancer. The actor shared a close bond with his grandmother during his childhood, and has said his grandma's health fight became a pivotal experience that would shape his life and the way he approaches cancer awareness today. He told People: 'My memory of it is like it happened yesterday because of this sort of uproar it caused in our family. In those days, the odds were not good. I 100 percent remember our family feeling lost, wishing that there was more that could be done.' Rob affectionately refers to his grandmother as 'my beloved,' and recounts the profound impact her illness had on their family. As Mim's condition worsened, doctors told her to 'get her affairs in order' in a grim diagnosis that devastated the family. But just as it seemed there were no options left, Mim's fate took a dramatic turn when she was accepted into a clinical trial for breast cancer treatments. Rob also explained how the clinical trial changed everything for his grandmother, saying: 'There were multiple times where she had run out of options and just at that moment there was a clinical trial (that) changed the course of her cancer journey.' Mim's survival story became a beacon of hope for Rob and his family. The actor said: 'She survived and thrived longer than anyone with her type of cancer in those days.' He added Mim's success in the trial not only defied the odds but also paved the way for treatments that would later become standard care. Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world and affects more than two MILLION women a year Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. Each year in the UK there are more than 55,000 new cases, and the disease claims the lives of 11,500 women. In the US, it strikes 266,000 each year and kills 40,000. But what causes it and how can it be treated? What is breast cancer? It comes from a cancerous cell which develops in the lining of a duct or lobule in one of the breasts. When the breast cancer has spread into surrounding tissue it is called 'invasive'. Some people are diagnosed with 'carcinoma in situ', where no cancer cells have grown beyond the duct or lobule. Most cases develop in those over the age of 50 but younger women are sometimes affected. Breast cancer can develop in men, though this is rare. Staging indicates how big the cancer is and whether it has spread. Stage 1 is the earliest stage and stage 4 means the cancer has spread to another part of the body. The cancerous cells are graded from low, which means a slow growth, to high, which is fast-growing. High-grade cancers are more likely to come back after they have first been treated. What causes breast cancer? A cancerous tumour starts from one abnormal cell. The exact reason why a cell becomes cancerous is unclear. It is thought that something damages or alters certain genes in the cell. This makes the cell abnormal and multiply 'out of control'. Although breast cancer can develop for no apparent reason, there are some risk factors that can increase the chance, such as genetics. What are the symptoms of breast cancer? The usual first symptom is a painless lump in the breast, although most are not cancerous and are fluid filled cysts, which are benign. The first place that breast cancer usually spreads to is the lymph nodes in the armpit. If this occurs you will develop a swelling or lump in an armpit. How is breast cancer diagnosed? Initial assessment: A doctor examines the breasts and armpits. They may do tests such as a mammography, a special x-ray of the breast tissue which can indicate the possibility of tumours. Biopsy: A biopsy is when a small sample of tissue is removed from a part of the body. The sample is then examined under a microscope to look for abnormal cells. The sample can confirm or rule out cancer. If you are confirmed to have breast cancer, further tests may be needed to assess if it has spread. For example, blood tests, an ultrasound scan of the liver or a chest X-ray. How is breast cancer treated? Treatment options which may be considered include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone treatment. Often a combination of two or more of these treatments are used. Surgery: Breast-conserving surgery or the removal of the affected breast depending on the size of the tumour. Radiotherapy: A treatment which uses high energy beams of radiation focused on cancerous tissue. This kills cancer cells, or stops them from multiplying. It is mainly used in addition to surgery. Chemotherapy: A treatment of cancer by using anti-cancer drugs which kill cancer cells, or stop them from multiplying. Hormone treatments: Some types of breast cancer are affected by the 'female' hormone oestrogen, which can stimulate the cancer cells to divide and multiply. Treatments which reduce the level of these hormones, or prevent them from working, are commonly used in people with breast cancer. How successful is treatment? The outlook is best in those who are diagnosed when the cancer is still small, and has not spread. Surgical removal of a tumour in an early stage may then give a good chance of cure. The routine mammography offered to women between the ages of 50 and 71 means more breast cancers are being diagnosed and treated at an early stage.
