Barry Letts has sadly died

[SiHart]

I've just heard the very, very sad news that Barry Letts, one of the best loved members of the Doctor Who production team ever has died. I'm afraid I don't know much more than that for the moment, but I felt I should share the news with you all.

He was a true gentleman and will be very much missed.



RIP Barry.

Si xx

[Dino]

This is very sad news. I enjoyed his interviews and his passion for Doctor Who. It would have been a lesser show had someone else taken over instead.

R.I.P. Barry x

[Pip Madeley]

Oh no.

I know it shouldn't be a shock given his recent health problems but having only seen him talking on a DVD an hour or two ago it's pretty shocking. What a lovely man he was - we owe him a great deal for making a success of something we all hold so dear to our hearts.

I'll watch Planet of the Daleks tonight in his honour. RIP.

[Dave Tudor]

Oh no! No! What a terrible shock to log into PS and see this very sad news.

Barry was one of the absolute greats of Doctor Who, a true legend and pioneer who steered the series through some difficult times towards perhaps its most successful period, and his influence was immense. He had a huge passion for the show, one which never diminished, and this wass evidenced in his many contributions to the books, the magazine, and the DVDs. If there was one producer I would dearly have loved to have met, it was Barry. Sadly I won't get that chance now, despite the fact that there were many opportunities: he was obviously a gentleman, and a thoughtful, clever, caring human being who was more than happy to meet the fans and share his memories of his hugely important time on the show. He will be greatly missed.

May you find great peace, Barry - your spirit will truly live again.

[Andrew Curnow]

I've just logged onto PS and seen this sad news. I'm sure there'll be plenty of tributes in DWM and other places, and deservedly so. Entirely appropriate that he should command the banner, he's one of the most important figures in the show's development - and more important, always seemed to be such a sensible, thoughtful, wonderfully human man. Very sad loss, RIP Barry.

[Mr BHT]

I met him a couple of years ago at the Cavern and he was a charming man, who produced a wonderful period of Doctor Who. The audio book of Who and Me was a delight from start to finish, and I imagine it was only the tip of the iceberg regarding his life. I would love to have heard more about his spiritual beliefs.

He'll be much missed.

[Tom Simpson]

I... I...

[Jon Masters]

RIP Barry - be proud of everything you did for DW and know that we'll never forget you

[MacNimon]

Barry was a legend in the world of Doctor Who. A sad day.

[Si Hunt]

I'm shocked. He took Doctor Who to another level and pioneered a show that grew from a childrens favourite to a timeless appeal. The Pertwee Years are slipping away and Barry was one of it's last champions.

One of Doctor Who's legends. Rest in Peace.

Si.

[shada pavlova]

When I saw the banner I just didn't want to believe what I saw. I just sat there, open-mouthed, I couldn't even type in my username, I was so shocked. This is terrible.

This is exactly the same thing that happened to my grandfather. He was struggling with cancer, and after going through a bad period, we thought he was going to recover (at least for a while), but then, one day, he just...he just...

...sorry, it's still a bit of a sore spot even now.

(In fact, now I come to think of it, Barry was even the same age as my grandfather would be now.)

[SiHart]

We just raised a cup of tea in his honour after watching Curse of Peladon.

I feel really saddened by the news. It's an odd feeling as I can't say I knew him, but he gave us so much down the years that you kind of feelthat you did know him.
I'm glad that after all he gave us, I was so pleased that earlier this year I had a chance to say thank you to him.

Om mani padme hum.

Si xx

[Pip Madeley]

When I saw the banner I just didn't want to believe what I saw. I just sat there, open-mouthed, I couldn't even type in my username, I was so shocked. This is terrible.

This is exactly the same thing that happened to my grandfather. He was struggling with cancer, and after going through a bad period, we thought he was going to recover (at least for a while), but then, one day, he just...he just...

...sorry, it's still a bit of a sore spot even now.

(In fact, now I come to think of it, Barry was even the same age as my grandfather would be now.)

Braveheart, Harry.

Thanks Barry for casting Tom Baker and Lis Sladen, for the Giant Spiders, the Paradise of Death, Drashigs, Axons, Sontarans, Silurians, Peladon, Alpha Centurai, the Maggots and the BOSS, the Daemons, Azal, Sea Devils, the first multi-Doctor story... it makes you realise how important he was to Who's longevity.

[shada pavlova]

Thanks Pip.

It's such a tragedy. One of the staunchest pillars of professional Whodom has crumbled forever.

[Captain Tancredi]

In spite of what the polls might say,I've thought for a long time that one of the greatest achievements of the Letts/Dicks era was in achieving a consistency that Who had never seen before. The ramshackle and chaotic on-the-hoof production of Patrick Troughton's last season gave way over a couple of years to a slimmed-down, higher quality production which gave the leading actors the room to do their best work.

Unlike some fortunate souls, I can only go on the interviews, CDs and DVDs, but Barry Letts struck me as a very earnest critic of his own work and decision-making (not something you tend to see a lot of in television, I'd guess) and probably the producer to show the most genuine respect for fans without ever being patronising or snide. Perhaps that was partly his spirituality- principled but in a humane way rather than a dogmatic one. It's a particular shame that in recent years we discovered that there were far more strings to his bow than we could have guessed at.

[Larry]

very sad news I think we were all shocked at how ill he looked on the Dalek War documentories so as pip says this news shouldn't come as a suprise.From just watching the DVD's Barry, always comes across as a warm friendly and genuinly nice man the greatest honour I can give him is he is 2nd to only Verity Lambert in the list of all time great producer of Doctor Who.

R I P

[Larry]

We but he gave us so much down the years that you kind of feelthat you did know him.

Si xx

agreed, when you consider how old Barry, was and that so many people involved with Doctor Who during the 1960's/70's are sadly no longer with us we are very lucky to of got the many contributions to the documentories from him as we did.

[Anthony Williams]

Most of what I'd want to say has already been said by others, so I'm going to keep this brief...

Today, we have lost a true legend. Someone who was modest, honest and with a huge amount of integrity. We'd known he'd been ill, but I think that this has shocked us all. The world of Who has lost one of its brightest lights.

RIP Barry Letts

Anthony

[Larry]

several people over on DWO, have said they should dedicate the next special to him with an "In Memory! in the credits I hope the BBC do that.

[SiHart]

They did it for Verity, so lets hope they commemorate Barry in the same way. It'd be a lovely gesture.

Si xx

[Andrew Curnow]

Absolutely agreed, it would be entirely appropriate. I'd kind of forgotten about Barry casting Tom, but Pip's right to point it out, and how important a decision that was! And with the Pertwee era, Barry (along with Terrance Dicks of course) kind of reinvented the show - the show at the start of the 70s was almost an entirely new thing. Arguably it was then that it first became really obvious that when handled right Doctor Who could do, and be, just about anything.

[Antony Cox]

Very, very sad news, but I suppose not entirely surprising.

It's easy to be terribly gushing about people when they pass away, but I think I can confidently say (as we all have) that Barry really was a lovely man; one of the nicest people in the entertainment industry that I've ever 'known'; I never met him in person but saw him on the panels at a few conventions, and obviously have seen many DVD interviews of him.

He was a hugely talented individual; a consumate actor, director, producer and writer, and all these talents gave us one of the most enjoyable eras of Doctor Who. I always enjoyed listening to him on the DVD commentaries; he always balanced his chatter between factual, humour and anecdotes, and his amazing memory allowed us to enjoy looking back at his era in such interesting detail.

I also admired his philosophy on life; his Bhuddist beliefs made him such a well-rounded individual, and although his beliefs visibly permeated into his era of the show, it wasn't done in an intrusive way - in fact it served to strengthen the whole ethos of the Pertwee era, both in terms of story-telling and morality. How many times have we heard people say that Barry was far more aware of global warming than most people back in the early 70's?

I don't really know what else to say, other than I do hope there's some sort of tribute to him in a future DWM and/or DVD featurette.

RIP Barry - you will sorely be missed by your family, friends and us fans. Our thoughts to all those left behind.

And thank you for Being Barry Letts.

[Antony Cox]

I didn't know his wife had recently died - perhaps he just didn't have the strength to go on without her. How terribly sad.

[Larry]

I didn't know his wife had recently died - perhaps he just didn't have the strength to go on without her. How terribly sad.

I don't know how long he had been married but sadly more often then not when two elderly people who have been married to each other for most of their lives when one dies the other tends to die shortly afterwards.

I don't think it's an exageration that along with Verity Lambert and RTD , Barry was probably the most influential producer in the history of Doctor Who. He did so much to keep the programm going at a time when the BBC were having doubts about it's future and with out his dedication in partnership with Terrence Dicks, Doctor Who might well of ended in the late 60's early 70's.

[cyberchris35]

I have just logged on and I am very shocked by the news, I didn't know him but from watching him on the dvd's you could tell he loved the show. I am very shocked.

R.I.P. Barry Letts.