Tom Chadbon, a Doctor Who fan-favorite actor also known for his roles in high-profile projects such as Game of Thrones and Casino Royale, has died.
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On July 27, events company Fantom Events took to Facebook to share the sad news. “Sorry to hear the news that Tom Chadbon passed away last weekend,” the company wrote. Fantom had held multiple Doctor Who signing events that Chadbon participated in, with his most recent appearance promoted just in April.
“Tom was a familiar face to many from his numerous television and film credits, including Doctor Who, James Bond and Game of Thrones,” the statement read. “He was always a warm and friendly man to work with and we send our condolences to his family at this sad time.”
No cause of death was disclosed. Chadbon was 80.
Born in Luton, Bedfordshire, England in 1946, Chadbon went on to build an impressive career in film and television. According to IMDb, he appeared in over 120 projects across more than five decades, with his first television performance in the 1968 series The Jazz Age.
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In the Doctor Who franchise, Chadbon played private detective Duggan alongside Tom Baker’s Doctor in the 1979 serial “City of Death.” The four-part story aired from September to October of that year, with its final installment drawing over 16 million viewers, making it the most-watched episode in the show’s history, according to the BBC.
“Oh, and Tom Chadbon was terribly funny,” Baker gushed in a 2009 interview. “Terribly funny! I used to love the other actors – I was always trying to help them make things funnier, or more dramatic.”
Chadbon later returned to Doctor Who in 1986, playing Merdeen in “The Trial of a Time Lord.”
Chadbon’s other television credits include Peep Show, The Bill, and Midsomer Murders. In film, he appeared alongside horror icon Peter Cushing in the 1974 werewolf film, The Beast Must Die.
In 2006, he appeared as a stockbroker in Casino Royale, the first of Daniel Craig’s five James Bond films.
His final credited role was High Septon Maynard in a 2017 episode of Game of Thrones.
Chadbon was married twice. He first married Deborah Elspeth Leathers in July 1966, and the couple had two sons, Dominic Thomas Chadbon and Nicholas Richard Chadbon, before divorcing in 1970. He later married Jane Hennessy in 1977, and the couple remained together until his death.