David Graham, iconic voice actor of ‘Doctor Who’ and ‘Peppa Pig’, dies at 99

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: David Graham, the voice behind many popular characters, including the evil Daleks in ‘Doctor Who’ and Grandpa Pig in the TV series ‘Peppa Pig’, has died at the age of 99.

Graham, who also gave his voice to Thunderbirds’ Aloysius Parker, breathed his last on September 20, Friday. The cause of death has not been revealed.

‘Thunderbirds’ creator Gerry Anderson confirms David Graham’s death

The official X, formerly Twitter, account of 'Thunderbirds' creator Gerry Anderson, who died aged 83 in 2012, announced David Graham's death.

The post stated, “We’re incredibly sad to confirm the passing of the legendary David Graham. The voice Parker, Gordon Tracy, Brains and so many more.”

“David was always a wonderful friend to us here at Anderson Entertainment. We will miss you dearly, David. Our thoughts are with David’s friends and family,” Anderson added.

People reported that before becoming a voice artist, Graham worked as a radar mechanic during World War II as well as an office clerk.

David Graham worked with another voice actor to create Daleks’ voice

David Graham, who was born in a London family, told the Mirror in 2015, “I was a radar mechanic in Bomber Command, 99 squad­­ron, servicing airborne radar on Halifax bombers.”

Graham also revealed at the time that he developed the voice for Daleks on BBC's iconic sci-fi series 'Doctor Who' by “creating it with Peter Hawkins, another voice actor".

“We adopted this staccato style then they fed it through a synthesiser to make it more sinister,” he added.

About being Aloysius Parker's voice in 'Thunderbirds', Graham said at the time that Gerry Anderson liked his work on his other TV puppet shows, including 'Four Feather Falls', and he was hand-picked for the role of Lady Penelope’s butler.

He said Anderson had helped with the inspiration for Parker's voice.

“Gerry took me to lunch because he wanted me to hear the voice of somebody, a wine waiter,” Graham said. “He had been a butler to the former Prince of Wales.

“He said, ‘Would you like to see the wine list sir?’ and that was the birth of Parker."

"I just made him a bit more villainous. I’m not sure the guy ever knew – he might have demanded a royalty!”

Tributes pour in for David Graham

Meanwhile, people online have paid tribute to David Graham.

A Facebook user said, “May he rest in heavenly peace condolences to his family.”

The second user posted, “Prayers & strength to everyone in this tough time.”

The third user said, “No, not Grandpa Pig! RIP.”

“We don’t own life, definitely we all will be no more one day! But our legacy,” the fourth user stated.

An individual on X wrote, “Rest in peace David I have fond memories of watching thunderbirds as a kid and nosey parker was always a joyful edition to the series ‘you called mlady’ ‘yes mlady’ never got old.”

Another one shared, “His many voices are and will always be part of my childhood. Thank you for being part of such great productions.”

The third one added, “Noooo!!!!!! 1 year shy of the big 100, he will be missed, my condolences to the family.”

“Good bye David Graham. What a talent,” a person named Stephen La Riviere tweeted.

La Riviere added, “David Graham was kind enough to do several recordings for me over 20 years, but his last (when he was 96) was his best. In the gap between lockdowns, he came out to record a voiceover for our lockdown-made series ⁦ @nebula_75 ⁩ and belted this performance out.”

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