Bernard Cribbins touched the hearts of all generations with his peculiarly British charm

Bernard Cribbins touched the hearts of so many across the nation as he appeared in some of the most-loved television shows since the 1950s

There is not a generation alive whose hearts he didn’t touch with his warmth and talent as for seven long decades Bernard Cribbins bestrode British television, film and theatre.

He entertained us with his superb comic timing and effortless character acting. But it was the charm and modesty of this peculiarly British performer that most struck a chord with the nation.

Cribbins shone in so many of our all-time broadcasting gems, like the Carry On films, Doctor Who, Coronation Street, Fawlty Towers, The Avengers, The Good Old Days, Jackanory, Worzel Gummidge, Last Of The Summer Wine, The Wombles, and had two hits with the most British of cultural quirks, the comedy record.

Plus he starred in one of the most memorable films ever made here, The Railway Children, playing station master Albert Perks, a kind-hearted character who summed up the acting legend’s appeal to perfection. He was everyone’s favourite uncle.

Bernard Cribbins was 'everyone's favourite uncle'

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( Philip Coburn/Daily Mirror)

Bernard Joseph Cribbins was born in 1928 in Oldham, Lancashire, to cotton weaver Ethel and First World War veteran dad John. Bernard and his two siblings grew up in the extreme poverty of the 1930s.

He left school at 13 and found work at the Oldham Repertory Theatre, where he learned to tread the boards.

His eight-year acting apprenticeship was interrupted by National Service, as he joined the Parachute Regiment in Aldershot and served in Palestine during the 1947-1948 crisis. He recalled: “Six months of getting shot at; I don’t recommend it.”

In 1949, he left Oldham to play in seasons at Weston-super-Mare, Manchester and Hornchurch, where he took on roles in Shakespeare and Tennessee Williams. In A Streetcar Named Desire he played Stanley Kowalski, the part made famous on screen by Marlon Brando.

Cribbins, who developed into a legendary raconteur, recalled his performance: “On the first night I took my T-shirt off and wiped myself down with it and a man in the front row was sick.”

Sally Thomsett and Jenny Agutter meet Bernard Cribbins in a scene 'The Railway Children', 1970

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( Getty Images)

He made his West End debut in a 1956 musical production of A Comedy of Errors at The Arts Theatre, before starring in the first West End productions of Not Now Darling, There Goes the Bride and Run For Your Wife.

As the 1960s dawned, Cribbins found himself in great demand by producers of both theatre and film. He played alongside Peter Sellers in Two-Way Stretch and The Wrong Arm of the Law and also landed his first television role, in a live BBC production of David Copperfield.

This was his take on moving in front of the cameras: “It was quite different from the theatre as it requires more thought and stillness. I remember the cameraman telling me not to blink during a close-up otherwise my eyelashes would look like a couple of giant condors taking off.”

In 1962, Cribbins recorded two comedy records with George Martin who was soon to produce The Beatles.

Hole In The Ground and Right Said Fred became Top 10 hits and resonated with artists down the years.

Indeed, Noël Coward chose Hole In The Ground as one of his Desert Island Discs. Cribbins’ natural comedic gifts made him an obvious candidate for the Carry On films.

Bernard Cribbins was one of TV's best loved personalities

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( BBC)

He joined the cast in 1964, playing Midshipman Poop-Decker in Carry on Jack. Carry on Spying followed in the same year and in 1992 he played with a much younger generation of comedians, including Rik Mayall and Alexei Sayle, in Carry On Columbus.

His most acclaimed film role was as station master Albert in 1970 classic The Railway Children, with Jenny Agutter and Sally Thomsett. Of the climactic scene in which Jenny Agutter’s character meets her father on the platform, Cribbins said: “If you don’t shed a tear when she shouts, ‘Daddy, my daddy!’ you’re made of wood. I always well up when I watch it.”

By 1969, ITV had given him two series of his own comedy show, Cribbins, and in the 1970s he established himself as one of our most recognisable TV faces.

He famously appeared in Fawlty Towers as a loud spoon salesman mistaken for a hotel inspector by Basil Fawlty. Cribbins did more Jackanory shows for the BBC than any other actor. He also regularly appeared on BBC TV’s The Good Old Days, recreating songs made famous by the great stars of Music Hall.

Bernard Cribbins appeared as Wilfred (Wilf) Mott in Doctor Who

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( BBC)

He later cropped up in Dalziel and Pascoe, Worzel Gummidge, Shillingbury Tales, Last of the Summer Wine and, in 2003, Coronation Street, where he played Wally Bannister, a lecherous gardener passing himself off as a wealthy haulage firm owner who seduces Deirdre Barlow.

Cribbins also became a pantomime regular, especially as Widow Twankey, and found enduring fame as a voice actor, narrating road safety films as Tufty the Squirrel and in 1973 becoming the voice of every character in The Wombles.

He also voiced Buzby, the little yellow bird in a series of commercials, first for the Post Office, and then its telephone successor BT.

In his sixth decade as an actor, he gained a new generation of fans when, in 2007, he starred as Catherine Tate’s grandfather Wilfred Mott in the Doctor Who Christmas special, Voyage of the Damned.

Cribbins had also appeared in 1966 film Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 AD with Peter Cushing, making him the only actor to travel through time in the Tardis as two separate characters.

Bernard Cribbins, who appears as a Policeman, attempts to control the Daleks in 1966

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( Mirrorpix)

In 2013, he charmed a new generation of children on CBeebies, playing a retired fisherman who told tall tales on Old Jack’s Boat. The kids loved him.

In 2009, Cribbins was awarded a special BAFTA for his outstanding contribution to children’s film and television. An OBE followed two years later and in 2014 he was presented with the J.M. Barrie award for his “lasting contribution to children’s arts.” Outside of acting, he was a keen fly fisherman who voiced a number of documentaries on the subject.

He lived in Weybridge, Surrey, with his wife, Gillian, who he met during his time at the Oldham Rep. They were married for 66 years until her death last year, and had no children.

Cribbins revealed in 2018 that they “lost one quite early on and that was the only time we got near it”.

Which seemed a shame for someone who had such a magnetic bond with young audiences, a connection he put down to an ability to stare down the lens and imagine one child sitting there in front of him, transfixed.

Four years ago, as he approached 90, he penned his autobiography, the aptly-named “Bernard Who? 75 Years Of Doing Absolutely Everything”.

In it he gave this advice to anyone aspiring to succeed in the entertainment business. “Do your best and be grateful for every single job.”

Bernard Cribbins did his best for 75 years in a multitude of jobs for which millions remain hugely grateful.

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