Bernard Horsfall: Actor best known in 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' and 'Dr Who'

He played one of the Time Lords at Dr Who's trial, exiling him to earth and forcing him to regenerate

A character actor on stage and screen for more than 50 years, Bernard Horsfall's stand-out roles came in a James Bond film and four different Doctor Who adventures. In On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), alongside George Lazenby in his only outing as 007, Horsfall was the British spy Campbell, aiding Bond in his search for the villain Blofeld (Telly Savalas) in Switzerland. Campbell has been described as the film's "official sacrificial lamb", coming to an untimely end when he is murdered by Blofeld's henchmen.

Horsfall appeared alongside the second, third and fourth incarnations of Doctor Who. His first two appearances were with Patrick Troughton. In "The Mind Robber" story (1968), he played Gulliver in the Land of Fiction, who turns out not to be the character of Jonathan Swift's novel, but a Time Lord Goth monitoring the Doctor's activities.

Then, in "The War Games" (1969), he was one of three Time Lords presiding over the trial of the Doctor, exiling him to Earth and forcing him to regenerate – transforming him into Jon Pertwee's incarnation of the time-travelling extraterrestrial from the planet Gallifrey.

Horsfall returned, alongside Pertwee, as the Thai space soldier Taron in "Planet of the Daleks" (1973), leading an attack on the viewers' favourite Doctor Who enemies, before battling Tom Baker's Doctor in "The Deadly Assassin" (1977). This last appearance by Horsfall was the most memorable. It saw him, as Chancellor Goth, and Baker in virtual-reality combat that included Horsfall's character trying to drown his opponent – a sequence that drew the ire of clean-up TV campaigner Mary Whitehouse.

Later, Horsfall voiced Arnold Baynes, CEO of a galactic mega-corporation, in the 2003 Doctor Who audio adventure Davros. Not surprisingly, he became a Doctor Who fans' favourite. He appeared at their conventions over the years and died shortly before he was due to attend one in Los Angeles.

Horsfall was born in Hertfordshire, the son of an RAF officer and an opera singer, and brought up in Hindhead, Surrey, and Wisborough Green, West Sussex. He attended Rugby School, then took a job as a tree feller in Canada after visiting an uncle there.

Returning to Britain, Horsfall trained as an actor at the Webber Douglas Academy. He gained valuable experience at Dundee rep (1952), before the London stage beckoned and he played the Ghost to Richard Burton's Hamlet at the Old Vic Theatre (1953). In rep at Bristol, he met the actress Jane Jordan Rogers, whom he married in 1960.

The actor made his screen dèbut in the Maurice Edelman play The Last Flight (1957), in the Armchair Theatre series, directed by Philip Saville. He followed it with starring roles as Margery Allingham's sleuth Albert Campion in both Dancers in Mourning (1959) and Death of a Ghost (1960), and the title character in the children's comedy thriller Captain Moonlight: Man of Mystery (1960).

However, over the next four decades, Horsfall settled down to life as a prolific character actor in episodes of popular series such as Z Cars (1963), The Saint (1967), The Avengers (three roles, 1965, 1967, 1968), When the Boat Comes In (1981), The Jewel in the Crown (1984) and Casualty (three roles, 1988, 1991, 1995).

He was more prominent as the Black Knight in the mini-series Ivanhoe (1970), Cunliffe in the final run of the children's adventure Freewheelers (1973) and Alan Viner in the second series of the sitcom Big Boy Now! (1977). Horsfall was also impressive in Enemy at the Door (1978) as Dr Philip Martell, the islanders' representative trying to maintain tolerable relations with the occupying Germans in Guernsey during the Second World War.

Later, he played Melford Stevenson, the barrister defending Ruth Ellis – the last woman to be hanged in Britain – in Lady Killers (1980) and the flamboyant Conservative minister Alan Clark in the television film Thatcher: The Final Days (1991). His rare film roles included General Edgar in Gandhi (1982) and Balliol in Braveheart (1995).

Throughout this, his stage career continued. In the West End, he played REA Nightingale in The Masters (Savoy Theatre, 1963), Ronald Miller's adaptation of the CP Snow novel about two factions clashing over the election of a new master of a Cambridge University college. In the same year, he acted in the Iris Murdoch play A Severed Head (Criterion Theatre).

Between 1983 and 1990 Horsfall performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company in more than a dozen productions at Stratford-upon-Avon, the Barbican, London, and other venues. His roles included the Duke of York in Richard II, Capulet in Romeo and Juliet and the title character in Cymbeline. With the RSC, he also acted Marquis Saint-Brieux in a West End production of Camille (Comedy Theatre, 1985-86).

By the mid-1980s, Horsfall and his wife had moved to the Isle of Skye, where he became a crofter, producing fruit and vegetables. During the following decade he continued to appear in regional theatre productions and tours across Britain, although he took fewer screen roles. His last appearance was as the Archdeacon in the 2008 film Stone of Destiny. Horsfall's younger daughter, Rebecca, is a theatre director and novelist.

Bernard Arthur Gordon Horsfall, actor: born Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire 20 November 1930; married 1960 Jane Jordan Rogers; (one son, deceased, and two daughters); died Isle of Skye 28 January 2013.

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Top stories
News in pictures
World news in pictures
UK news in pictures
UK news in pictures
More stories
       
Independent
Travel Shop
Imperial Cities of Morocco
Seven nights half-board from only £799pp Find out more
Historic Sicily
Seven nights half-board from £799pp Find out more
4* all-inclusive Crete
Seven nights from only £399pp Find out more
Independent Dating
and  

By clicking 'Search' you
are agreeing to our
Terms of Use.

Day In a Page

James Pembroke: The man who's eaten everywhere

The man who's eaten everywhere

Few people know more about restaurants than James Pembroke, who only spent five mealtimes at home during his entire childhood.
A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?

A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?

The young JFK praised 'superior' Nordic races during visits to Germany
Banned Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof to attend Cannes Film Festival 2013, his first public appearance since prison

Banned Iranian director to attend Cannes Film Festival

Mohammad Rasoulof to make his first public appearance since being imprisoned three years ago
Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

An exhibition explores images how photography has shaped astronomy
Eat Spam and carry on: Wartime pamphlets could teach us a thing or two about healthy, thrifty eating

Eat Spam and carry on

Wartime pamphlets could teach us a thing or two about healthy, thrifty eating
Facial hair: Cat beards and the purrrsuit of excellence

Facial hair

Cat beards and the purrrsuit of excellence
The 10 Best salt and pepper sets

The 10 Best salt and pepper sets

Whether they're for everyday use or to make your dining table look just right, it's worth getting a stylish shaker...
Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed

Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed

Chief executive says trophies will come if a 'core' of suitable players is in place
Thomas Müller: We couldn't handle losing a Champions League Final again

Thomas Müller: We couldn't handle losing a Champions League Final again

The Bayern Munich forward tells Tim Rich his side have to shed chokers' tag after two recent final defeats
Giro d'Italia: The Stelvio Pass - cycling's killer climb

The Stelvio Pass - cycling's killer climb

As the Giro d'Italia tackles the brutal climb, Simon Usborne takes on the snow and switchbacks – and soon realises what the fuss is about
National archives: Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Newly unearthed papers reveal a shocking extra dimension to the constitutional crisis over monarch’s abdication
Sent down at the Old Bailey: A tour of the world's most famous court

Sent down at the Old Bailey

A tour of the world's most famous court
Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

The Hangover actor Zach Galifianakis’s date for his movie premieres isn’t arm candy  – it’s his 87-year-old friend who he saved from homelessness
British football scores an own goal

British football scores an own goal

Many managers barely survive a year in post. Martin Baker talks to experts who make a case for clubs using forensic business skills to find the best staff
James Lawton: Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again

James Lawton

Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again