Roy William Skelton (20 July 1931 – 8 June 2011) was an English stage, screen and voice actor, whose voice was more familiar to television viewers than his name. Born in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

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 A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

'', 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 ''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host Anne Robinson completed her contract. ...

'' and ''

TV Burp ''Harry Hill's TV Burp'' (also known as just ''TV Burp'') is a British television comedy programme broadcast between 2001 and 2012 on ITV. The show was produced by Avalon Television and was written and hosted by comedian Harry Hill. Each ep ...

'' until his death. Skelton wrote over 40 episodes of ''Rainbow''. As well as providing the iconic ''Rainbow'' voices, Skelton also voiced several ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

'' villains including the

Dalek The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by write ...

Cybermen The Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. The Cybermen are a species of space-faring cyborgs who often forcefully and painfully convert human beings ( ...

and the Krotons. He devised the voices of the Cybermen alongside fellow Doctor Who actor Peter Hawkins. He started performing the Daleks in 1967 (continuing the role from Peter Hawkins whom he also replaced as Zippy on ''Rainbow'') and notably performed in the ''Doctor Who'' specials ''

The Five Doctors ''The Five Doctors'' is a special feature-length episode of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', produced in celebration of the programme's 20th anniversary. It had its world premiere in the United States, on the Chicago ...

'' and ''

The Curse of Fatal Death ''Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death'' is a ''Doctor Who'' special made specifically for the Red Nose Day charity telethon in the United Kingdom, and was originally broadcast in four parts on BBC One on 12 March 1999 under the title ''Doctor ...

''. In 2002, he guest-starred in '' Sarah Jane Smith: Test of Nerve'', an

audio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

produced by

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include '' Doctor Who'', th ...

. 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 Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East ...

, on 8 June 2011, after suffering a

stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

less than 2 months before his 80th birthday.

Filmography

*'' Play It Cool'' (1962) - Mechanic #1 (uncredited) *''Night After Night After Night'' (1969) - Counsel *''

There's a Girl in My Soup '' There's a Girl in My Soup'' is a 1970 British romantic comedy film based on the stage play of the same name, directed by Roy Boulting and starring Peter Sellers and Goldie Hawn. The film was Sellers' last commercial success until '' Return ...

'' (1970) - Reporter (uncredited) *''

Frenzy ''Frenzy'' is a 1972 British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It is the penultimate feature film of his extensive career. The screenplay by Anthony Shaffer was based on the 1966 novel ''Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Squa ...

'' (1972) - CID Man (uncredited)

References

External links

*
Obituary in ''The Independent''
1931 births 2011 deaths English male television actors English male voice actors People from Nottingham {{UK-tv-actor-1930s-stub