Roy Skelton
Roy Skelton
20.07.1931 - 08.06.2011 (79 years) (Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom)
Roy William Skelton (20 July 1931 – 8 June 2011) was an English actor and voice artist, whose voice was more familiar to television viewers than his name. Born in Nottingham to John H Skelton and Dorothy (née Bromley), he provided the voices for many characters on British television for nearly fifty years, particularly the characters of both Zippy and George on Rainbow, which the actor first joined in the early 1970s and performed on until it was axed in 1991. However, due to the fame of the characters, he continued to voice Zippy and George in guest appearances on television in series such as The Weakest Link and TV Burp until his death. As well as providing the iconic Rainbow voices, Skelton also voiced several Doctor Who villains including the Daleks, Cybermen and the Krotons. He started performing the Daleks in 1967 (continuing the role from fellow voice actor Peter Hawkins whom he also replaced as Zippy on Rainbow) and notably performed in the Doctor Who specials The Five Doctors and The Curse of Fatal Death. In 2002, he guest-starred in Sarah Jane Smith: Test Of Nerve, an audio drama produced by Big Finish Productions. In February 2008, he appeared as both Zippy and George in the first episode of the BBC One series Ashes to Ashes. Skelton died at his home in Brighton, East Sussex, on 8 June 2011, after suffering a stroke less than 2 months before his 80th birthday.