Tributes paid after Christopher Benjamin, Doctor Who star and esteemed actor, dies aged 90

The statement says: "It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our father, Christopher Benjamin, at the age of 90, on the 10th January.

"One of the few remaining 'old school' actors, he had a huge and extensive career spanning seventy years, encompassing theatre, radio, TV and film."

Benjamin, who was born in 1934, started his professional career in the theatre, before appearing in TV programmes throughout the 1960s, including Z Cars, The Avengers, The Saint and The Forsyte Saga.

He first appeared in Doctor Who in serial Inferno, playing Sir Keith Gold, before returning to the show for 1977's The Talons of Weng-Chiang opposite Tom Baker, playing Henry Gordon Jago.

His final on-screen Doctor Who performance was in 2008's The Unicorn and Wasp opposite David Tennant, in which he played Colonel Hugh.

However, he also featured in numerous additional Big Finish audio dramas related to the series, including spin-off show Jago & Litefoot about his Talons of Weng-Chiang character.

One of his last stage performances was as Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor at Shakespeare’s Globe in 2010, while his final screen role was as Lord Knutsford in 2016 film The Legend of Tarzan.

Since news of his passing, tributes have flooded in for the actor, including from Doctor Who's Leela star Louise Jameson, who starred opposite Benjamin in The Talons of Weng-Chiang.

Jameson said: "Laughter. That's what I remember most. In 1976 on The Talons of Weng-Chiang, there was a scene with Chris and Trevor Baxter and they literally couldn’t get through it for giggling. Later at The Bristol Old Vic in rep, laughing in the rehearsal rooms, then later corpsing on stage.

"And later still when Big Finish reunited Chris and Trevor. Like naughty schoolboys misbehaving and keeping us all in stitches. Oh my goodness, I LOVED working with him. I’m so sad I won't be teased by him again.

"Perfectly cast as Jago. You were one of a kind. With much love and respect, RIP Mr Benjamin."

Bowerman said in her own statement: "There are few actors who you feel genuinely honoured to have worked with and genuinely excited to get the chance to act with and it’s safe to say Christopher Benjamin was one of those."

Bowerman continued: "Chris was a consummate actor with a beautifully melodious voice, comedy timing to die for and a twinkle in his eye; memories of his catching up on the cricket results with Toby Hrycek-Robinson and arriving on his motorbike, crash helmet in hand.

"To be in his company was to count your blessings; the merest mention of his name would bring a smile. I was honoured to call him a friend and I shall miss him hugely. How lucky we all were both in front of and behind the mic to have worked with such a proper theatrical legend... and how lucky were the listeners."

Benjamin leaves behind his wife, Anna Fox, three children, Kate, Sebastian and Emilia, and three grandchildren, Bertie, Madeleine and Sam.