Caroline John obit

Caroline John (1940-2012)

 

She was not on the list.

The actress Caroline John - who played companion Liz Shaw - has died aged 71, it was announced today. The news came via a tweet from the BBC on the Doctor Who Twitter feed.

She passed away on 5th June but the news was not made public by her family until after the funeral, which took place yesterday in south-west London. The cause of death is unknown as yet.

Born in York in September 1940, John trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama then worked in theatre, touring with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre.

In 1969, she won the part of scientist and companion Dr Elizabeth Shaw opposite Jon Pertwee as the Doctor when the show was revamped for its seventh season, seeing the title character exiled to Earth. Liz Shaw appeared as a regular character for one season in 1970, with John playing two roles in the final story of that year, Inferno, the other character being Shaw's parallel-universe counterpart, Section Leader Elizabeth Shaw.

After leaving the series she had many theatre and television roles, including, in 1982, appearing in the BBC TV adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles, which starred Tom Baker as Sherlock Holmes. John returned to Doctor Who in 1983 for the 20th-anniversary special The Five Doctors, in which she played a fake Shaw. She reprised the role of Shaw for the 1993 BBC Children In Need special Dimensions In Time.

Married to Geoffrey Beevers, John appeared as Madame Salvadori with him in the Big Finish audio drama Dust Breeding, which was released in 2001. She also portrayed Liz Shaw for Big Finish for four stories in the Companion Chronicles range, starting with The Blue Tooth in 2007 and most recently in Binary, which was released just three months ago in March. In addition, she appeared as Shaw in the straight-to-video P.R.O.B.E. stories of the 1990s, which were written by Mark Gatiss and co-starred Pertwee, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy.

Paying tribute, Companion Chronicles producer David Richardson said:

Carry was the first assistant I ever saw in Doctor Who, and through meeting and working with her many times she remained a favourite over the years. She was an accomplished actor, and the most lovely, warm person you could ever hope to spend time with. Carry loved working on the Companion Chronicles and came in to record what would be her final contribution, The Last Post, on January 26.

Colin Baker tweeted:

Devastated to hear that the lovely, talented, wise and gentle Caroline John is no longer with us. So sad. Thoughts with Geoffrey and family.

while Mark Gatiss also paid tribute via Twitter:

Very sad to hear that the lovely Caroline John has passed away. RIP.

and on the official site Steven Moffat wrote:

Caroline was a brilliant actress and in her role as Liz Shaw, a tremendous co-star for Jon Pertwee in his first year as the Doctor. She was not just a sidekick but a scientist in her own right and a match for the universe's number one know-all. The Doctor's companions should never be his assistants - they're the people who keep him on his toes, and that's what Caroline did. From everyone at the show, our thoughts go out to Caroline's family.

Big Finish executive producer Nicholas Briggs said:

I met Carry many years ago while filming. She was the Detective Inspector and I was her assistant. We had such a laugh working together, and when we came to record a Myth Makers interview a few weeks later, we just couldn't stop giggling. She was a lovely lady who was always so much fun to be with, and even though she could enjoy a saucy joke or two, there was also something of a delightful prudishness about her. When I think of her smile and her warmth now, it brightens my heart.

John and Beevers also starred together in the Agatha Christie's Poirot episode Problem At Sea on ITV in 1989. In addition, the couple had roles in the Channel 4 adaptation of the political thriller A Very British Coup in 1988. They had three children: a daughter, Daisy, and sons Ben and Tom.

Her most recent screen appearances included the 2003 rom-com film Love Actually (written and directed by Richard Curtis and featuring Bill Nighy as well as Steven Moffat's Curse of Fatal Death Doctors Rowan Atkinson and Hugh Grant) and the ITV drama series Vital Signs (with Gugu Mbatha-Raw) in 2006 and the BBC daytime drama Doctors (with Malcolm Tierney and Matthew Chambers) in 2008.

She also narrated the audiobook of Elisabeth Sladen's autobiography, which was released last November, and narrated the audiobooks of Doctor Who And The Auton Invasion (2008) and Doctor Who And The Cave Monsters (2007), which were adaptations of her first and second Doctor Who stories respectively.

UPDATE (22nd June): A spokeswoman at Caroline John's agency, Shepherd Management Ltd, confirmed to Doctor Who News that John had died of cancer.

 

Actress

Doctor Who: The Companion Chronicles (2007)

Doctor Who: The Companion Chronicles

7.2

Podcast Series

Liz Shaw

Narrator (voice)

2007–2012

5 episodes

 

Doctor Who: Target Novelisation Audiobooks (2005)

Doctor Who: Target Novelisation Audiobooks

Podcast Series

Narrator (voice)

2007–2011

3 episodes

 

Doctors (2000)

Doctors

4.6

TV Series

Susan Milnes

2008

1 episode

 

Vital Signs (2006)

Vital Signs

7.8

TV Series

Mrs Carter

2006

1 episode

 

Rowan Atkinson, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Laura Linney, Keira Knightley, Martine McCutcheon, and Bill Nighy in Love Actually (2003)

Love Actually

7.6

Sam's Grandmother

2003

 

Post Mark Lick

Short

(voice)

2003

 

Doctor Who: The Monthly Adventures (1999)

Doctor Who: The Monthly Adventures

7.9

Podcast Series

Madame Salvadori (voice)

2001

1 episode

 

Annette Badland, Neil Dudgeon, and Nick Hendrix in Midsomer Murders (1997)

Midsomer Murders

7.9

TV Series

Florist

2000

1 episode

 

The Woodlanders (1997)

The Woodlanders

6.2

Housekeeper

1997

 

Nigel Le Vaillant in Dangerfield (1995)

Dangerfield

6.0

TV Series

Coroner

1996

1 episode

 

Daniel Craig in Kiss and Tell (1996)

Kiss and Tell

5.6

TV Movie

Avril Owens

1996

 

Caroline John in P.R.O.B.E. (1994)

P.R.O.B.E.

7.0

TV Series

Dr. Elizabeth Shaw

1994–1996

4 episodes

 

Edward Woodward in In Suspicious Circumstances (1991)

In Suspicious Circumstances

8.1

TV Series

Mabel Ramsay (segment: Murder of a Memsahib)

1996

1 episode

 

Amanda Burton, Emilia Fox, Sam Barnard, David Caves, and Genesis Lynea in Silent Witness (1996)

Silent Witness

7.9

TV Series

Mrs. Claire

1996

2 episodes

 

Frances Barber and Jim Carter in It Might Be You (1995)

It Might Be You

4.8

TV Movie

Barrister's wife

1995

 

EastEnders (1985)

EastEnders

4.7

TV Series

Judge

1995

1 episode

 

The Choir (1995)

The Choir

7.9

TV Mini Series

Janet Young

1995

3 episodes

 

Colin Baker, Nicholas Briggs, and Nicola Bryant in The Stranger (1991)

The Stranger

TV Series

Detective Chief Inspector Diana Sellars

1994

1 episode

 

Hannah Taylor Gordon and Craig Rowlands in Against All Odds (1994)

Against All Odds

TV Series

Caroline Cook

1994

1 episode

 

Colin Blumenau, Nula Conwell, Peter Ellis, Trudie Goodwin, Jon Iles, Gary Olsen, Eric Richard, John Salthouse, Tony Scannell, Jeff Stewart, Mark Wingett, and Delia Swan in The Bill (1984)

The Bill

6.7

TV Series

Doctor

F.M.E.

Medical Examiner ...

1985–1994

5 episodes

 

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1994)

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

8.6

TV Mini Series

Mrs Carnac

1994

1 episode

 

Stella Gonet and Louise Lombard in The House of Eliott (1991)

The House of Eliott

8.0

TV Series

Lilian Brownlow

1994

1 episode

 

Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time (1993)

Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time

4.8

TV Mini Series

Liz Shaw

1993

2 episodes

 

London's Burning (1988)

London's Burning

7.0

TV Series

Counsellor

1992

1 episode

 

Millicent Martin in Moon and Son (1992)

Moon and Son

7.6

TV Series

Mrs. Thorpe

1992

1 episode

 

Harry Enfield in Harry Enfield's Television Programme (1990)

Harry Enfield's Television Programme

7.3

TV Series

Housekeeper

1990

4 episodes

 

Chancer (1990)

Chancer

7.3

TV Series

Female Doctor

1990

1 episode

 

Julian Glover, Jane Asher, Kate Buffery, and Suzanna Hamilton in Wish Me Luck (1987)

Wish Me Luck

7.7

TV Series

Helene

Helene Renard

1990

5 episodes

 

Pauline Moran in The Woman in Black (1989)

The Woman in Black

7.1

TV Movie

Stella's Mother

1989

 

David Suchet in Poirot (1989)

Poirot

8.6

TV Series

Mrs Tolliver

1989

1 episode

 

Peter Egan and Jack Shepherd in A Day in Summer (1989)

A Day in Summer

8.5

TV Movie

Mrs. Peplow

1989

 

Casualty (1986)

Casualty

6.1

TV Series

Edith Howlett

1988

1 episode

 

Dramarama (1983)

Dramarama

6.6

TV Series

Mrs. Bradshaw

1988

1 episode

 

Ray McAnally in A Very British Coup (1988)

A Very British Coup

8.2

TV Mini Series

The People - Annette

1988

2 episodes

 

A Perfect Spy (1987)

A Perfect Spy

7.3

TV Mini Series

Dorothy Pym

1987

1 episode

 

Edward Petherbridge in A Dorothy L. Sayers Mystery (1987)

A Dorothy L. Sayers Mystery

8.2

TV Series

Miss Burrows

1987

3 episodes

 

Elisabeth Shue in Link (1986)

Link

5.9

Mrs. Miller (uncredited)

1986

 

David Huddleston in Santa Claus (1985)

Santa Claus

6.3

Woman (uncredited)

1985

 

Bill Murray, Theresa Russell, and Catherine Hicks in The Razor's Edge (1984)

The Razor's Edge

6.4

Mrs. Mackenzie

1984

 

Goodbye Days

TV Movie

Joan's mother

1984

 

Suzanna Hamilton in A Pattern of Roses (1983)

A Pattern of Roses

6.0

TV Movie

Vicar's Wife

1983

 

Paul McGann, Colin Baker, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, William Hartnell, Sylvester McCoy, Jon Pertwee, and Patrick Troughton in Doctor Who (1963)

Doctor Who

8.4

TV Series

Liz Shaw

Section Leader Elizabeth Shaw

1970–1983

26 episodes

 

Enemies of the State

6.6

TV Movie

Doctor

1983

 

Tom Baker in The Hound of the Baskervilles (1982)

The Hound of the Baskervilles

6.9

TV Mini Series

Laura Lyons

1982

2 episodes

 

The Way of the World

TV Movie

Foible

1975

 

Assassin (1973)

Assassin

6.1

Ann

1973

 

Don Henderson, Diane Keen, Peter Sallis, and Don Warrington in Crown Court (1972)

Crown Court

7.3

TV Series

Sheena Smithson

1973

3 episodes

 

The Roses of Eyam (1973)

The Roses of Eyam

8.3

TV Movie

Catherine Mompesson

1973

 

Donald Pleasence and Betsy Blair in Love Story (1963)

Love Story

7.1

TV Series

Babs

1973

1 episode

 

James Ellis, John Slater, and Gary Watson in Z Cars (1962)

Z Cars

7.0

TV Series

Mrs. Drummond

1972

1 episode

 

ITV Sunday Night Drama (1959)

ITV Sunday Night Drama

7.1

TV Series

Denise

1972

1 episode

 

Omnibus (1967)

Omnibus

7.2

TV Series

Jenny

1972

1 episode

 

Derek Jacobi, Ronald Fraser, Charles Gray, Bernard Hepton, John Thaw, and Douglas Wilmer in The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (1971)

The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes

7.2

TV Series

Edith Dallas

1971

1 episode

 

The Doctors (1969)

The Doctors

6.9

TV Series

Marilyn Lane

1971

8 episodes

 

Patrick Wymark in The Power Game (1965)

The Power Game

8.1

TV Series

Maggie

1969

1 episode

 

Much Ado About Nothing

7.2

TV Movie

Hero

1967

 

Ann Lynn and Richard Warner in Teletale (1963)

Teletale

TV Series

Nurse

1963

1 episode

 

Maurice Denham in The King's Breakfast (1963)

The King's Breakfast

7.0

Short

Queen's Maid (as Caroline Johns)

1963

 

Kenneth More in Raising a Riot (1955)

Raising a Riot

6.7

Child at Party (uncredited)

1955

 

Cinematographer

Turning Points (2012)

Turning Points

Short

Cinematographer

2012