Derek Martinus, one of the directors who helped to shape the early days of Doctor Who, and actress Kate O’Mara who played The Rani on the long-running science fiction series, both passed away over the weekend in separate incidents, Deadline reports.Martinus, who was 82 and suffered from Alzheimer’s Disease, directed adventures of Doctor Who between 1965 and 1970 during the tenures of three different Doctors. His credits include the Mission to the Unknown, The Tenth Planet, The Evil of the Daleks, and The Ice Warriors episodes, as well as the show’s first serial to be filmed in color, The Spearhead From Space.O’Mara, who played The Rani in 1985 and 1986, is probably better known for her work on the U.S. primetime soap opera Dynasty. A TV vet since the 1960s with credits that included such cult British shows as The Saint and The Avengers, O’Mara was 74 when she died. Her cause of death was not released.
