Gabriel Woolf (born 2 October 1932) is a British film, radio and television actor.

Gabriel Woolf
Born (1932-10-02) 2 October 1932 (age 92)
OccupationActor
Years active1951–present
Notable workDoctor Who (1975, 2006, 2024)
Spouse(s)Zara Green (div.)
Felicity Lott
Children3

Career

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Among Woolf's leading parts was his performance as the Apostle John in a frequently repeated BBC adaptation of The Man Born to Be King where he also introduced each play. His film roles include Sir Percival in the 1953 film, Knights of the Round Table.

In 1975, he played Sutekh in the Doctor Who serial Pyramids of Mars.

Woolf renewed his association with Doctor Who in 1981 by reading three novelisations of Doctor Who stories for the Royal National Institute of Blind People. The books were The Three Doctors, Doctor Who and the Carnival of Monsters and Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster, all written by Terrance Dicks.[citation needed]

He joined up with the Doctor again by performing in the Big Finish Productions audio play Arrangements for War and its sequel, Thicker than Water. He appeared on the Pyramids of Mars DVD in a sketch called Oh Mummy: Sutekh's Story and a documentary piece titled Osiran Gothic.[1]

In 2005, he returned to work with the writers of Oh Mummy, appearing in the Doctor Who DVD extra Eye On Blatchford as the demented Doctor Amadeus Gowel. In the Magic Bullet[2] Faction Paradox audio plays Coming to Dust[3] (2005), The Ship of a Billion Years[4] (2006) and Body Politic[5] (2008), all written by Lawrence Miles, Woolf reprises his role as Sutekh.

In 2008, Woolf played Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins in the third story in the Scarifyers series, For King and Country.[6] The play was broadcast on BBC7 in 2009.[7]

In the 2006 series of Doctor Who, Woolf returned to provide the voice of "The Beast" in the two-part story "The Impossible Planet" and "The Satan Pit".[8] Eighteen years later, he reprised the role of Sutekh in the Series 14 two-part series finale "The Legend of Ruby Sunday" / "Empire of Death".[9][10]

His many parts on BBC Radio include Shakespeare's Romeo and Inspector Charles Parker in the dramatisations of the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries. He toured with the author Colin Dexter, performing readings to accompany Dexter's talks.[citation needed]

Woolf is also a Vice President of the Joyful Company of Singers.[11]

Arthur Ransome

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Woolf has abridged and recorded all of Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. He was also elected President of the Arthur Ransome Society.[12]

Personal life

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He is married to the opera singer Dame Felicity Lott and they have a daughter, Emily (b. 1984).

He also has two children from his earlier marriage to Zara E Green.

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1951 Tom Brown's Schooldays Big Brooke Uncredited
The Boy with a Cart Cuthman TV movie
1953 Knights of the Round Table Percival
1964 Nothing but the Best Man Uncredited
1971–1980 The Boy From Space Peep-Peep's Father Episodes 7-10
1972 The Brothers Priest Episode: End of the Beginning
1975 Doctor Who Sutekh 4 episodes; Pyramids of Mars
1984 The Prisoner of Zenda Cardinal-Archbishop of Strelsau Miniseries
2004 Oh Mummy: Sutekh's Story Sutekh (voice) Short
2006 Doctor Who The Beast (voice) Episodes: "The Impossible Planet" / "The Satan Pit"
2012–2013 Wizards vs. Aliens The Stones (voice) 2 episodes
2015 Transmission from Mars Sutekh (voice) Short
2024 Doctor Who Sutekh (Voice) Episodes: "The Legend of Ruby Sunday" / "Empire of Death"

Audio

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Year Title Role Notes
2004 Doctor Who: Arrangements for War Justice Rossiter
2005 Doctor Who: Thicker than Water Justice Rossiter
2005–2009 The True History of Faction Paradox Sutekh 5 episodes
2015 Bernice Summerfield: The Triumph of Sutekh Sutekh 4 episodes
2018 Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor Adventures Sutekh 2 episodes

References

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  1. ^ "BBC - Cult - Doctor Who - DVD - Pyramids of Mars". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  2. ^ "Magic Bullet Productions: Home of Kaldor City and Faction Paradox Audios". kaldorcity.com. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  3. ^ "The True History of Faction Paradox: Coming to Dust". Kaldorcity.com. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  4. ^ "The True History of Faction Paradox: The Ship of a Billion Years". Kaldorcity.com. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  5. ^ "The True History of Faction Paradox: Body Politic". Kaldorcity.com. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  6. ^ "The Scarifyers: For King And Country". bigfinish.com. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  7. ^ "The Scarifyers". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Doctor Who: The Impossible Planet". IMDb.com. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  9. ^ Mohamed, Stefan (14 June 2024). "The One Who Waits is done waiting. MAJOR SPOILERS for "The Legend of Ruby Sunday"". Den of Geek.
  10. ^ Anderson, Kyle (14 June 2024). "Who is the Villain of Doctor Who Season 1". Nerdist. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  11. ^ "About Us". Joyful Company of Singers. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  12. ^ Gabriel Woolf profile, chichesterliterarysociety.co.uk; accessed 9 April 2016.
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