Actor John Leeson, best known for providing the voice of K-9 in both 20th and 21st century Doctor Who, dies at the age of 83 after a brief illness. Born John Ducker in 1943, Leeson had been acting since the 1960s when the voice-only role of K-9, a robotic dog, was offered to him for the 1977 Doctor Who story The Invisible Enemy. With the radio-controlled prop still in development, Leeson spent rehearsals on all fours portraying the dog, endearing himself to his castmates and impressing then-producer Graham Williams. Upon seeing Leeson’s voice paired with the finished prop, enough potential could be seen to extend K-9’s stay, making him a regular TARDIS traveler through the 1980–81 season. Such was the outcry over K-9’s departure during Tom Baker’s final season that the first Doctor Who spinoff, K-9 & Company, aired over the holiday season in 1981. This was enough to guarantee Leeson’s return in 1983‘s The Five Doctors for a brief scene, which in turn led to his return in the 2006 Doctor Who episode School Reunion, which set up The Sarah Jane Adventures, in which Leeson was a recurring voice artist as K-9. 2010 also saw the premiere of an Australian-made K-9 spinoff, which drastically revamped the character’s appearance but retained Leeson as K-9’s voice. Leeson also voiced K-9 for numerous Big Finish audio dramas and BBC audiobook readings. Leeson’s on-camera appearances included some episodes of Doctor Who in which K-9 did not appear (since he was already under contract), a couple of Blake’s 7 guest appearances, and guest roles in everything from Whoops Apocalypse to ‘Allo! ‘Allo!
