We said a final farewell to many famous faces from the world of film, TV, sport and music in 2024.
As the year draws to a close, these are some of the celebrities who died in the last 12 months.
January
Derek Draper
The former lobbyist and political adviser who was married to TV presenter Kate Garraway, died aged 56 after suffering long-lasting damage to his organs from coronavirus.
A prominent figure in New Labour in the 1990s, Mr Draper worked for Blairite Peter Mandelson and set up the Progress organisation with Liam Byrne, who went on to become an MP.
After he was embroiled in the so-called “cash-for-access” scandal, dubbed “lobbygate”, he travelled to the United States, where he retrained as a psychotherapist.
Annie Nightingale
Annie Nightingale, who died at the age of 83, became the first female presenter on BBC Radio 1 when she joined the station in 1970 and went on to become its longest-serving host.
Nightingale, who first broadcast on the BBC in 1963 as a panellist on Juke Box Jury, remained Radio 1’s only female DJ until 1982, when Janice Long joined, and was credited with helping to pave the way for the likes of Sara Cox, Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball.
During her trailblazing career, she was the first woman to present the BBC’s Old Grey Whistle Test music show, which aired on BBC Two.
February
Jonnie Irwin
Jonnie Irwin, who presented Channel 4’s A Place In The Sun and BBC’s Escape To The Country, died aged 50.
Irwin said in November 2022 that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer in 2020 and that it had spread to his brain.
The TV presenter said the first warning sign was while he was filming A Place In The Sun in Italy in August 2020, when his vision became blurry while driving, and within a week of flying home, he was given six months to live.
Steve Wright
Wright joined the BBC in the 1970s, going on to host shows on BBC Radio 1 and 2 for more than four decades, which attracted millions of listeners.
He had also been a long-standing presenter of Top Of The Pops on BBC One.
Robin Windsor
Robin Windsor, the professional dancer who appeared on Strictly Come Dancing between 2010 and 2015, died at the age of 44.
Windsor had been paired with celebrities including Patsy Kensit, Anita Dobson, Lisa Riley and Deborah Meaden and also danced with Alison Hammond in the 2015 Christmas special and with Susanna Reid in 2011’s Children In Need special.
He had most recently appeared in stage show Come What May, a tribute to Moulin Rouge.
Dave Myers
He found fame alongside Si King, his friend of 30 years, as part of the motorcycle-riding cooking duo.
Myers, who first announced he was receiving treatment for cancer in May 2022, reached new fans in 2013 when he took part in Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with Karen Hauer.
March
Karl Wallinger
Karl Wallinger, the World Party frontman who was also a member of The Waterboys, died aged 66.
The Welsh-born frontman formed World Party in 1986, shortly after his departure from The Waterboys, and the group’s debut album Private Revolution spawned popular songs, including Ship Of Fools.
The band released several more albums, with their fourth, Egyptology, including the track She’s The One, which was later covered by British singer Robbie Williams and peaked at number one on the official UK charts in 1999.
George Gilbey
Gogglebox’s George Gilbey died aged 40 following an accident at work.
The reality star, who was best known for appearing on the Channel 4 series alongside his mother Linda McGarry and late stepfather Pete McGarry, also appeared on the 14th series of Celebrity Big Brother in 2014, reaching the final.
Gilbey, of Clacton-on-Sea, had been working on a roof in Shoeburyness, Essex, “when he fell through a plastic skylight, landing on the ground below”, an inquest heard.
April
Lynne Reid Banks
Lynne Reid Banks, known for writing books including children’s story The Indian In The Cupboard, died of cancer at the age of 94.
Reid Banks attended Rada drama school before becoming a secretary and a freelance journalist and, in 1955, became one of the first two female news reporters on British TV, appearing on ITN for six years.
She said during her down-time from journalism she wrote the novel The L-Shaped Room, which was an unexpected hit and was later turned into a film, landing star Leslie Caron an Oscar nomination for best actress, as well as a Bafta and Golden Globe award.
Sir Andrew Davis
Sir Andrew Davis, who was one of the longest-serving chief conductors of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, died at the age of 80.
Sir Andrew was principal conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 1975-88; chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1989-2000; Glyndebourne Festival Opera music director from 1988 to 2000 and held the honorary title of Conductor Emeritus from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
Sir Andrew, who was knighted in the 1999 New Year Honours List, had been suffering from leukaemia.
May
Bernard Hill
Bernard Hill, known for roles in Boys From The Blackstuff, Titanic and Lord Of The Rings, died aged 79.
Hill first made a name for himself as Yosser Hughes in Alan Bleasdale’s acclaimed BBC drama series Boys From The Blackstuff, about five unemployed men, which aired in 1982.
He went on to play Captain Smith in the Oscar-winning 1997 epic romance Titanic and Theoden, King of Rohan, in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy.
Morgan Spurlock
Morgan Spurlock, whose 2004 documentary Super Size Me was nominated for an Oscar, died at the age of 53.
The documentary, which saw the US filmmaker eat McDonald’s for a month to illustrate the dangers of a fast food diet, made Spurlock globally famous.
Spurlock, whose family said he died from complications of cancer, also addressed controversial subject matters including the US war in Afghanistan – titled Where In The World Is Osama Bin Laden – which saw him search for the Al-Qaeda leader who was killed in 2011.
June
Rob Burrow
Since announcing his diagnosis, the Leeds Rhino player campaigned tirelessly to raise awareness of the disease and to raise funds to improve care including spearheading a £6.8 million appeal for Leeds Hospitals Charity.
The Government agreed to make £50 million available for research following pressure from Burrow and others and he was made an MBE in the 2021 New Year’s Honours.
Michael Mosley
Michael Mosley, the TV doctor and columnist, died aged 67 after going missing on the Greek island of Symi.
Mosley appeared as a guest on BBC’s The One Show and ITV’s This Morning many times, hosted programmes including Trust Me, I’m a Doctor and was credited with popularising a form of intermittent fasting called the 5:2 diet through an episode of the BBC documentary series Horizon called Eat, Fast and Live Longer.
In 2002, Mosley was nominated for an Emmy for his executive producer role on BBC science documentary The Human Face, presented by John Cleese and featuring celebrities including Elizabeth Hurley, Pierce Brosnan and Sir David Attenborough.
Donald Sutherland
Donald Sutherland, star of Ordinary People, M*A*S*H, The Hunger Games series and Six Degrees Of Separation, died aged 88.
Sutherland won a Golden Globe for the TV movie Path To War for playing presidential adviser Clark Clifford and another gong along with an Emmy Award for the the mini-series Citizen X.
In 2017, he received an Academy Honorary Award for his acting but failed to get an Oscar nod during his lengthy career.
July
Shannen Doherty
Shannen Doherty, who starred in Beverly Hills, 90210, died at the age of 53 after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015.
The actress shot to fame in the hit 1990s teenage drama alongside co-star Jason Priestley when they played twins Brenda and Brandon Walsh who move to Beverly Hills from middle America.
Doherty went on to feature in a host of other projects, including playing Prue Halliwell in US TV series Charmed.
John Mayall
John Mayall, whose influential band the Bluesbreakers was a launching pad for stars including Eric Clapton and Mick Fleetwood, died at the age of 90.
Among other recruits to the Bluesbreakers were guitarists Peter Green and Mick Taylor, bassists Jack Bruce and John McVie, and drummer Aynsley Dunbar.
Rolling Stones frontman Sir Mick Jagger said Mayall “was a great pioneer of British blues” and had recommended Mick Taylor after Brian Jones died, “ushering in a new era for the Stones”.
August
Sven-Goran Eriksson
Eriksson was the first foreign manager of the English national side, taking charge of 67 matches from 2001 to 2006.
He led England to the quarter-finals of three major tournaments in succession, including the World Cups of 2002 and 2006.
September
Kenneth Cope
Kenneth Cope, known as a star of Carry On films and Coronation Street, died at the age of 93.
Born in Liverpool in 1931, he appeared in the soap as Jed Stone in more than 100 episodes from 1961 to 1963, before briefly returning in 2008 and 2009.
Cope went on to star in two Carry On films, Carry On At Your Convenience (1971) and Carry On Matron (1972), and he also appeared in 1963’s Carry On Jack in an uncredited role.
Geoffrey Hinsliff
Geoffrey Hinsliff, who played Coronation Street’s Donald “Don” Brennan died aged 86.
The taxi driver was a leading character in the ITV soap in the 1980s and 1990s, and was known for his romantic relationship with Ivy Tilsley (Lynne Perrie).
Hinsliff, who graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada) in 1960, also had parts in Doctor Who, Brass, A Bridge Too Far, The Professionals and Z-Cars.
David Graham
David Graham, the voice actor known for his work on Thunderbirds and Peppa Pig, died aged 99.
The London-born star, who also voiced the evil Daleks in Doctor Who, brought to life the Thunderbirds puppet characters aquanaut Gordon Tracy, scientist Brains, and Lady Penelope’s driver, Aloysius “Nosey” Parker, in the series that saw a secret organisation trying to save the world.
Graham played Grandpa Pig in the children’s show Peppa Pig and also provided the voice for characters in Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom while in-person acting roles included Doctor Who, Coronation Street and Casualty.
Dame Maggie Smith
She was an internationally recognised actress for much of her life after playing the fanatical teacher Jean Brodie in The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie, for which she won an Academy Award.
She also won over Harry Potter fans later in life, when she appeared as the quick-witted, kind and formidable Professor McGonagall, and was central to the success of the ITV series Downton Abbey, in her Emmy-award winning role as the acerbic Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham.
Martin Lee
Martin Lee, of Brotherhood Of Man, died at the age of 77.
The pop group’s Save Your Kisses For Me won the Eurovision Song Contest for the UK in 1976, topping the table with 164 points, more than 70 points ahead of second-placed Switzerland.
Save Your Kisses For Me topped the UK singles chart in the same year, and was also number one in more than 30 different countries.
October
Liam Payne
Payne first auditioned for The X Factor in 2008 at the age of 14 and returned two years later when he was put into a group with Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Harry Styles.
After becoming one of the biggest pop groups in the world with five albums and four world tours, One Direction went on indefinite hiatus in 2016 and Payne released his debut solo album LP1 in December 2019, which included the singles Polaroid and Familiar.
Alex Salmond
Alex Salmond, former first minister of Scotland, died suddenly at the age of 69.
Mr Salmond served as first minister from 2007 to 2014, Scotland’s first SNP politician to hold the role, and was leader of the SNP on two occasions, from 1990 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2014.
He resigned as First Minister after the 2014 Scottish independence referendum resulted in a 55% to 45% vote to stay in the UK and launched his rival Scottish independence party, Alba, in 2021 after his relationship with his successor, Nicola Sturgeon, fractured.
November
Janey Godley
Janey Godley, the Scottish comedian known for dubbed parodies of Nicola Sturgeon coronavirus news briefings, died aged 63.
The comedian ended most of her Sturgeon parodies with the catchphrase “Frank, get the door”, which was also the title of her 2020 book.
Godley said Frank was based on a man who read “cowboy books” in the pub she used to work in.
June Spencer
June Spencer, who played matriarch Peggy Woolley in BBC Radio 4’s The Archers, died at the age of 105.
Spencer had played the character since the show’s first episode in 1951, and when she announced her retirement in 2022, aged 103, was credited as being the longest-serving character in the programme.
She first joined The Archers for a pilot episode in 1950 and on-air her storylines saw her character deal with alcoholism, gambling and bereavement.
John Prescott
John Prescott, the former deputy prime minister, died aged 86 following a battle with Alzheimer’s.
Lord Prescott, who served as an MP for Kingston upon Hull East for almost four decades, was a former trade union activist and ex-merchant seaman who served under Labour prime minster Tony Blair.
He was a key figure in the New Labour Project, seen by many as custodian of the party’s traditional values in the face of a modernising leadership.
Timothy West
Timothy West, known for roles in television series including comedy-drama Brass, sitcom Not Going Out and soaps Coronation Street and EastEnders, died aged 90.
He was married to fellow actor Prunella Scales for more than 60 years.
West and Scales, who played Sybil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers, appeared in the documentary series Great Canal Journeys between 2014 and 2021, which saw them travelling on narrowboats together.
December
Terry Griffiths
Terry Griffiths, former world snooker champion, died at the age of 77 after a long battle with dementia.
Griffiths, from south Wales, came through the qualifying rounds to win the 1979 Crucible title as a qualifier, and also won the Masters and the UK Championship to complete the sport’s illustrious “triple crown”.
In later years, Griffiths became an accomplished coach, inspiring the likes of Stephen Hendry, Mark Williams and Mark Allen.
Samantha Lawrence
Singer Samantha Lawrence, who was part of the UK hip-hop duo Wee Papa Girl Rappers, died at the age of 55.
The British female rap duo, comprised of sisters Sandra and Samantha, had hit song Wee Rule, which reached number six in the UK singles chart in 1988.
DJ Dave Pearce, who worked with the duo, said she had been “part of a defining and ground-breaking era of trailblazing British female rappers who, against the odds, conquered the UK charts”.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel