Doctor Who star Bernard Cribbins dies at 93

Bernard Cribbins, the English actor perhaps best known in recent years for his role as Wilfred Mott on Doctor Who, has died. He was 93.

Cribbins' death was confirmed Thursday by his agent to BBC News. A cause wasn't specified.

The actor's film and TV career dated back to the 1950s and included his role as narrator on the British children's series The Wombles. He was also known for not one, but two roles in the long-running sci-fi franchise Doctor Who. First, he played Tom Campbell, a companion to the Doctor in the 1966 movie Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.

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But most famously, Cribbins starred as Wilfred, grandfather of the Doctor's companion Donna Noble (Catherine Tate), during the show's 2000s revival. His other credits included the Alfred Hitchcock film Frenzy and the family movie The Railway Children.

Catherine Tate is set to return as Donna Noble on Doctor Who, and set photos previously suggested Cribbins also filmed new scenes for the show.

The official Doctor Who Twitter account honored Cribbins, who "leaves behind a long legacy in film and TV," while former showrunner Russell T Davies shared a tribute to the "wonderful actor" on Instagram.

"I'm so lucky to have known him," Davies said. "Thanks for everything, my old soldier. A legend has left the world."

Doctor Who star Matt Lucas also thanked Cribbins for "delighting us all," remembering him as a "lovely, funny, brilliantly talented man," while Doctor Who writer and actor Mark Gatiss called him a "gifted comic actor with an incredible seam of pathos and real heart."