More sad news for Doctor Who fans: Longtime voice of the Daleks, Roy Skelton, has died of a stroke at the age of 79.

Skelton’s career spanned 50 years and he appeared in 49 separate episodes of Doctor Who between 1967 and 1988, sometimes in the flesh, but usually as the voice of monsters like Krotons and Cybermen, although to many he is best remembered as THE voice of the Daleks. Skelton also did voices for the children’s show Rainbow.

TheList.co.uk has a very nice write up about him where they quote the actor as saying:

“I’ve been very lucky, but I hope I have brought a certain happy energy to my work. I suppose I have a voice that can grab and colour a character in, I hope, an exciting way.

“I have been very lucky because I have always been doing a job that gave me so much pleasure.”

We here at Nerdist offer his family and friends our utmost sympathy and condolences.

Please check out Skelton’s Dalek voice work in the following serials:

“Evil of the Daleks” (mostly lost, but the complete audio still exists)

“Planet of the Daleks”

“Genesis of the Daleks”

“Destiny of the Daleks”

“The Five Doctors”

“Revelation of the Daleks”

“Remembrance of the Daleks”

Here’s a very funny behind-the-scenes clip from the filming of “The Five Doctors” featuring Skelton’s talents.