Tuesday night he looked up from Facebook on his iPad. “Sarah something on Doctor Who has died?” he said. “What’s that about?”

I checked my own Facebook and twitter and just froze. “Oh Christ,” I said. “It’s Lis Sladen.”

He sat bolt upright, like a rabbit caught in headlights, and put his hand to his mouth. “No!”

We barely spoke for the next half hour. Such was the shock at hearing of Elisabeth’s death. It was, frankly unthinkable.

I am still stunned by the news even after all this time. And so it seems are much of the country, young and old. Her portrayal of Sarah Jane was a tour de force: it was warm, genuine, heartfelt; a mix of believable terror, bravery and humour.

And from what I saw of her in documentaries and commentaries, Elisabeth also shared those qualities. A view borne out by what I’ve heard from friends who met and worked with her.

Elisabeth Sladen was a true one-off who illuminated so many lives either through her performances or in person, and she will be missed by so many. My thoughts go out to her family and friends and colleagues. And to those children now struggling to understand that the star of their favourite show is no more. Even I, as immune to death as I seem to have become, can’t wrap my head around it.

Still so young, and with so much left to give. Rest in peace Elisabeth, and thank you so much.

Now there was a man whose comic delivery can only be described as impeccable.

Frankly I can’t imagine anyone else delivering lines like this, can you?

Samantha tells me she has to go now as she’s off to the country residence of her new gentleman friend, who has some interesting birds in the thicket. He keeps a young chicken, but Samantha says there are also wild breeds there, and she can’t wait to see his Woodcock, Pullet and Swallow.

The term is often bandied around too often, but I do think the words “National Treasure” apply in his case.

A nation mourns.

I’ll admit I’ve not seen his films. Not a single one. Nor paid a huge amount of attention to him generally. But news of his death has left me reeling somewhat. He seemed a nice guy, well-regarded as being dedicated and good at his job, not out partying the whole time and so on, and so it all seems a bit wierd really. I can’t help but feel sorry that he’s gone, and sorry for the family and friends he’s left behind.

I can’t help but feel it’s also a bit of a shame that pretty much every newspaper has gone with the “must mention Brokeback Mountain on the front page as if it’s the only thing he ever did” angle, though.

Oh well… I trust he’s found some peace, and that his family will come to terms with the undoubted shock of losing someone so young.

Okay, so she was in many respects responsible for So Haunt Me and Eldorado, but even those are only minor blips on an otherwise stellar career which included such acclaimed dramas as GBH and the Naked Civil Servant to name but two.

Her death is unfortunate not only because it came the day before the 44th Anniversary of Doctor Who (tonight – about 45 minutes ago in fact), but also because it came a couple of weeks before she was due to be presented with a lifetime achievement award at the Women in Film and Television awards.

On the basis of her work alone Verity Lambert was clearly a truly remarkable woman, and I hope she rests in a peace well-earned.

I for one shall be raising a glass to her memory tonight.

Today I learned of the death of John Normington, an actor who has had two parts in my second favourite series (Doctor Who, for the uninitiated). One was as Morgus in the last Peter Davison serial “The Caves of Androzani” – widely regarded as one of the best stories the series ever did. The other was as as Trevor Sigma in Sylvester McCoy’s “The Happiness Patrol” – which in turn is widely (and in my opinion unfairly) regarded as one of the worst.

Strange thing is that last night I watched “The Happiness Patrol” on a whim, enjoying the sheer camp and audacity of it enormously. And I was watching John’s performance and thinking how damn good he was and how wasted an actor of his calibre was in the part he was given. (He owned the screen in his scenes let’s just say that – even when standing up against Shiela Hancock’s eerie Maggie Thatcher impression.)

Today I find he’s died.

Rest in peace, John. I see from the What’s On Stage article you achieved no small recognition and from what little I’ve seen you certainly deserved it.