Ray Brooks, the British actor best known for narrating the children's cartoon Mr Benn and for roles in EastEnders and Cathy Come Home, has died at the age of 86. His family confirmed that he passed away peacefully on Saturday with loved ones at his bedside after a short illness, and that he had been living with dementia in recent years.
Brooks' sons, Will and Tom, said in a statement: 'His three true loves were family (he also had a daughter Emma, who died in 2003), Fulham Football Club, and spending time in Brighton, where he was born.' The actor narrated the 1970s cartoon Mr Benn, which follows a character who visits a magical costume shop and travels to new places based on his outfits. Only 13 episodes were made, but they were repeated twice a year for over 21 years, making the show a favourite with generations of children.
Brooks also appeared in numerous television programmes, including Coronation Street as Norman Phillips and EastEnders as Joe Macer, who famously killed his wife, Pauline Fowler. He starred in the BBC comedy drama Big Deal and had film roles in The Knack … And How To Get It, which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1965, and Ken Loach's Cathy Come Home, a landmark BBC drama about Britain's housing crisis. In 2000, a British Film Institute poll ranked Cathy Come Home as the second-best British television programme ever made.
