Doctor Who and Poldark star Christopher Benjamin has died aged 90 (Pictures: Getty/ Facebook)
Christoper Benjamin, best known for appearing in TV series’ including Doctor Who and Poldark, has died aged 90.
The actor passed away earlier this month, just a few weeks after celebrating his 90th birthday.
His family confirmed the news in a statement, writing: ‘It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our father, Christopher Benjamin, at the age of 90.
‘One of the few remaining ‘old school’ actors he had a huge and extensive career spanning seventy years, encompassing theatre, radio, TV and film.
‘Christopher’s love of acting started at Warminster school where he took part in school productions and excelled at acting, cricket and music, but not much else!’ they added, as reported by Radio Times.
The English actor was best known for playing Henry Gordon Jago in the 1977 Doctor Who story The Talons of Weng-Chiang.
He later reprised the role decades later in the audio drama series Jago & Litefoot, which began in 2010.
The actor appeared in Doctor Who several times throughout his career (Picture: ITV/ Shutterstock)
Benjamin also appeared in the beloved series two other times, playing Sir Keith Gold in 1970s’ Inferno and Colonel Hugh Curbishley in The Unicorn and the Wasp in 2008.
Born in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, in 1934, Benjamin’s first screen credits came in 1965 when he appeared in the TV series’ The Wednesday Play, Z-Cars and The Man in Room 17.
From 1966 until 1968 he also played several roles in the espionage series The Avengers.
Just under a decade later he also starred in Poldark as Sir Hugh Boldrugan.
Other roles throughout his carer included in Dick Turpin, When The Boat Comes In, Prosper Profond, The Diary of Anne Frank, Casualty and Inspector Morse.
He had a string of film, TV and theatre credits to his name (Picture: ITV/ Shutterstock)
In 1995 he appeared alongside Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth as Sir William Lucas in the BBC TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.
The actor also had several film credits to his name, including Ring of Bright Water, Brief Encounter, Hawk the Slayer, The Tichborne Claimant and Angel.
His final screen appearance came in the 2016 film The Legend of Tarzan which starred Alexander Skarsgård and saw Christopher play the character Lord Knutsford.
The actor also performed regularly with the Royal Shakespeare Company over a 20-year period in his career and appeared in West End shows including How the Other Half Loves, The Clandestine Marriage and Sweeney Todd.
When announcing the news of his passing on social media, publishing agency Fantom Events & Publishing shared the following.
He retired from acting after appearing in his last screen role in 2016 (Picture: ITV/ Shutterstock)
‘We’re very sad to hear the news of the passing of legendary actor Christopher Benjamin,’ they wrote.
‘Chris graced many productions with his talent, and we were very fortunate to work him on numerous occasions and it was always a pleasure. Our thoughts and condolences are with his family and friends,’ they added.
After retiring from acting, Benjamin lived in Hampstead with his wife Anna Fox, an actress and writer.
He also leaves behind his three children Kate, Sebastian and Emilia and grandchildren Bertie, Madeleine and Sam.
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