Leonard Fenton: EastEnders actor who played Dr Legg dies aged 95

Leonard Fenton appeared in a total of 267 episodes of EastEnders

Actor Leonard Fenton, who played Dr Harold Legg in EastEnders, has died at the age of 95, his family have announced.

Fenton appeared in the first episode of EastEnders in February 1985 and his last scene came in 2019.

He left the soap but returned in 2018 to help his character's close friend Dot Cotton, played by June Brown.

A statement from his family said he would be "missed beyond words" and that they were "heartbroken."

"We feel incredibly lucky to have been able to be with him as his health worsened towards the end - a privilege denied to so many during these tough times."

'A charming man'

Fenton also worked in film and theatre, with his family noting that his "long stage career included time at the National Theatre and most recently the Royal Shakespeare Company".

"He felt privileged to have worked with some of the greats of the theatre, including Samuel Beckett, Orson Welles and Jonathan Miller," they added, noting how his passion for painting and singing were of equal importance to him.

Dr Legg was one of the original characters in the long-running BBC One soap, created by Tony Holland and Julia Smith, and he served as Walford's local GP until 1997.

He made sporadic appearances after that, with his character bowing out of the Walford soap in 2019 in emotional fashion, when he died of cancer.

He became good friends with the much-loved hypochondriac, Dot Cotton, due to his many visits to check on her.

Dr Harold Legg and Dot Cotton in the Queen Victoria pub in 2000

June Brown paid tribute to the man who played him on Monday. "He was a charming man in all ways, first as a person and then as an actor, extremely polite and kind," she said.

"I enjoyed working with him enormously for many years and missed him when he retired. I was glad that I'd been with him for his last scene with Dot at his bedside and my thoughts are with his devoted family."

Fellow EastEnder Natalie Cassidy said she felt "honoured that our paths crossed".

"I had the pleasure to work with Leonard," she said. "He was utterly charming, continuously joked with me and loved talking about his past."

Another, Gillian Taylforth, also paid tribute, describing him as "a lovely, charming man who was so kind and always told the most wonderful stories".

An EastEnders spokesman said the soap team was "deeply saddened" to hear the news of his death.

"Since appearing in the very first episode of EastEnders, Leonard created a truly iconic character in Dr Legg who will always be remembered," he said.

"Our love and thoughts are with Leonard's family and friends."

Controversy and misdiagnosis

Fenton appeared in a total of 267 episodes of EastEnders and his character was not without his controversial moments.

Dr Legg made the decision not to tell one patient, Colin Russell (Michael Cashman), that he was showing early symptoms of multiple sclerosis as he did not wish to worry him. However, in January 1989, when he finally told him the truth, Colin threatened to report him for behaving in an unethical manner.

Shortly afterwards, his on-screen nephew David Samuels (Christopher Reich) blamed him for not doing more to help Donna Ludlow (Matilda Zeigler), after she died of a heroin overdose.

Fenton was among the original cast of EastEnders from 1985

The character came under increased scrutiny when he misdiagnosed baby Vicki Fowler's meningitis as something less serious. As a result he lost confidence in his own abilities and took early retirement.

He later resumed his role but then retired for good in 1997, subsequently making several brief returns to the show the noughties.

His character also featured in a series of spin-off novels by Hugh Miller in the 1980s, set prior to the launch of the TV show.

The books depicted him as a trainee doctor during World War Two.