Bernard Cribbins: A life in pictures

The veteran British actor and comedian Bernard Cribbins has died, aged 93.

Cribbins's career spanned more than seven decades, and saw him appear in Fawlty Towers, Doctor Who and the Railway Children.

Bernard Cribbins (front right) in musical Harmony Close, in 1957, at the Lyric theatre in Hammersmith

Cribbins worked consistently after his professional debut in the mid-1950s. He had become a major star on the London stage by his mid-twenties.

He was adept at musical comedy, appearing in the revue show And Another Thing, and releasing a number from the show called Folksong as a single.

Cribbins in a bathchair, on stage at the Fortune Theatre, during the revue And Another Thing in 1960

His career took off in the 1960s when he released three hit singles, including the comedy classic Right Said Fred.

Around the same time, Cribbins also appeared in a string of films.

Cribbins in a 1961 production of the farce Charley's Aunt, alongside Sir Donald Wolfit - he played a student forced to impersonate a fellow undergraduate's widowed Brazilian aunt

Cribbins balances on a bike while hooked to electric wires in a scene from the 1963 film The Mouse on the Moon

Cribbins emulates an Egyptian belly dancer in a scene from the 1965 film She

But perhaps his most famous film role was as the kindly station porter Albert Perks in British film The Railway Children.

Cribbins in a scene from The Railway Children, 1970, with Sally Thomsett (left) and Jenny Agutter (centre)

He was a master storyteller, narrating BBC programme The Wombles - and voicing every character - between 1973 and 1975.

Like those furry characters who cleaned up Wimbledon Common, Cribbins also did his bit to keep the streets clean.

Cribbins sweeps the streets with Kenneth More (left), Ernie Wise (centre left), Eric Morecambe (centre right) and Jimmy Edwards (right), to support the Keep Britain Tidy campaign in 1972

In the mid-1970s, Cribbins further showcased his gift for comedy with a memorable appearance in the sitcom Fawlty Towers, playing Mr Hutchinson, a guest who Basil Fawlty (John Cleese) mistakes for a hotel inspector.

Cribbins' character caused problems for John Cleese's Basil Fawlty (left) in a 1975 episode of Fawlty Towers

Cribbins was also a regular and prolific performer on the BBC's Jackanory from 1966 to 1991.

Cribbins presents Jackanory, reading Rebecca's World by Terry Nation, in April 1976

Cribbins, Maurice Denham (centre left), Jan Francis (centre right) and David Wood (right) read The Hobbit for Jackanory, 1979

In the 1980s, Cribbins took a starring role as Nathan Detroit in Richard Eyre's revival of the musical Guys and Dolls at the National Theatre.

Cribbins and his Guys and Dolls co-stars in 1984

Having appeared as Tom Campbell, a companion to the Doctor in the 1966 feature film Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 AD, Cribbins also appeared in the Doctor Who TV series four decades later as Wilfred Mott, a companion to David Tennant's Tenth Doctor.

Cribbins as Doctor Who companion Wilfred Mott

He returned to children's TV with his first regular role in 20 years on the CBeebies show Old Jack's Boat.

In Old Jack's Boat, Cribbins played a fisherman who spun tall tales from his boat and was accompanied by his trusty dog Salty