BREAKING NEWS: Doctor Who and EastEnders actor Maurice Roëves dies aged 83

Doctor Who actor Maurice Roëves has died at the age of 83, his agent has confirmed.

THE prolific TV star appeared in hundreds of shows and films during his decades-spanning career. Announcing the news on Twitter, Lovett Logan Associates paid tribute to their “wonderful client.”

“We will miss him hugely and all our love goes to Vanessa [Rawlings-Jackson, his wife] and family,” they added. Roëves, who was born in Sunderland and brought up in Glasgow, played Stotz in The Caves of Androzani episodes of Doctor Who.

His other credits including star turns in the hit 70’s series The Sweeney, Days of Our Lives, BBC’s Scotland Tutti Frutti, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. Roëves appeared in two 2003 episodes of EastEnders, Waking The Dead and The Bill. In 1996, he played Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield in a TV movie about Hillsborough.

Despite playing tough characters on screen, Vanessa said Roëves was a “softie” in real life and that no part was too small for her husband. She said he was keen to be involved in his last project, despite the small appearance. And when Tutti Frutti was played on the launch of the BBC Scotland Channel, she said Roeves was delighted at having come “full circle.”

Vanessa also said that the family would often joke, “Does your character make it to the end of this one?” because his characters would always be killed off. However, Roëves found success at a time where lots of working-class actors were just managing to break through into the mainstream, such as Albert Finney and Richard Harris.