Doctor Who Pays Tribute to Bernard Cribbins

Bernard Cribbins reprised Wilfred Mott, Donna's Granddad, one last time in the Doctor Who special.

By Jamie Lovett

Doctor Who has said "farewell" to Bernard Cribbins, who appeared in Doctor Who for the last time in the second 60th-anniversary special, "Wild Blue Yonder." Cribbins' first Doctor Who experience was playing Tom Campbell in the 1966 film Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D., which is not considered canon with the television series. In the show, Cribbins played Wilfred Mott, the grandfather of the Doctor's companion, Donna Noble. Cribbins' previous final appearance on Doctor Who was alongside David Tennant during his farewell episode, "The End of Time." He returned in "Wild Blue Yonder," waiting for the TARDIS to reappear with Donna, just as she predicted he would. Mott and the Doctor are delighted to see each other again and express their fondness with a hug.

"Wilfred Mott – now I feel better," the Doctor says. "Now nothing is wrong, nothing in the whole wide world."

Doctor Who Pays Tribute to Bernard Cribbins

Unfortunately, this will be Cribbins' final appearance on Doctor Who. The actor died in 2022 at the age of 93. The official Doctor Who social media accounts shared photos of Cribbins working on "Wild Blue Yonder"  while showrunner Russell T Davies shared his remembrance of the Cribbins, noting that he'd written more lines for Wilfred Mott, but Cribbins died before they could film them.

"Farewell, old soldier," Davies writes on Instgram. "That's goodnight and goodbye to our beloved Bernard. Wilf is mentioned in dispatches next week, all safe and sound, don't worry, but that's the only scene Bernard was able to film. We had a wonderful time! We'd never lost touch, in all these years, so I phoned him up and asked him to come back. He sniffed and said, 'Let me see the script.'😂 We had a wonderful readthrough with 120 people at which he was adored by one and all. A lovely dinner in Cardiff where he regaled us with tales galore, twinkling as ever. Then the shoot in Camden – you can see in Unleashed and read in next week's DWM how much he enjoyed that. And then… we had a little more written, but it wasn't to be; at 93 years old, the old soldier had given us his best, and stepped away. Night, Bernard, and thank you. I love you.♥️"

Davies had penned a similar tribute to Cribbins upon his passing. He wrote, "Bernard Cribbins (1928-2022) I love this man. I love him. That's him as Snout in A Midsummer Night's Dream. D'you fancy doing some Shakespeare, Bernard? 'Let me see the script.' He knew everyone! He'd talk about the Beatles and David Niven, and how he once sat on the stairs at a party impersonating bird calls with T H White," Davies wrote. "Then he'd add, 'I said to Ashley Banjo last week…' He loved being in Doctor Who. He said, 'Children are calling me grandad in the street!' His first day was on location with Kylie Minogue, but all eyes, even Kylie's, were on Bernard."

"He'd turned up with a suitcase full of props, just in case, including a rubber chicken. And what an actor. Oh, really though, what a wonderful actor. We once took him to the TV Choice Awards and sent him up on his own to collect the award, and the entire room stood up and cheered him," he added. "That's a lovely memory. He'd phone up and say, 'I've got an idea! What if I attack a Dalek with a paintball gun?!' Okay, Bernard, in it went! He loved Gill with all his heart; he mentioned her in every conversation we ever had. A love story for the ages. I'm so lucky to have known him. Thanks for everything, my old soldier. A legend has left the world."

How to Watch Doctor Who

The Doctor Who 60th-anniversary specials are airing on three consecutive Saturdays. Each special debuts at 6:30 p.m. on the BBC in the United Kingdom, and simulcasts streaming on Disney+ in international markets.

Doctor Who's third and final 60th-anniversary special, "The Giggle," debuts Saturday, December 9th on the BBC and Disney+. The Doctor Who Christmas Special will follow on Christmas Day.

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