Caroline John dies, aged 72

Caroline John, the actress who played Liz Shaw in Doctor Who, sadly passed away earlier this month at the age of 72.

Caroline John made her first appearance in Doctor Who as Liz Shaw in Jon Pertwee's debut story, Spearhead from Space, working as a scientific advisor to UNIT. John's character became a regular companion to Pertwee's Doctor in the 1970 series, starring in The Silurians, The Ambassadors of Death and Inferno - a total of 25 episodes. At the time of recording, the actress was pregnant and Inferno was her last regular appearance in Doctor Who.

In 1983, John Nathan-Tuner asked Caroline John to return to Doctor Who for the twentieth anniversary special, The Five Doctors, for a small cameo role alongside Pertwee. Ten years later, Liz Shaw was featured in Dimensions in Time, a special episode for Children in Need marking Doctor Who's thirtieth anniversary.

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, John reprised the role of Liz Shaw on several occasions. She starred in the straight-to-video P.R.O.B.E series and her audio work includes the Big Finish stories The Blue Tooth, Shadow of the Past, The Sentinels of the New Dawn and Binary.

Caroline John was married to Geoffrey Beevers who played The Master in the Doctor Who story The Keeper of Traken.

Following her time on Doctor Who, the actress had an extensive career in film and television, including roles in Doctors, Love Actually, Silent Witness, The Woman in Black, Midsomer Murders, EastEnders, Agatha Christie's Poirot, Casualty and The Bill.

Caroline John (1940 - 5 June 2012)