News of her death has brought sadness to those who knew her and viewers who grew up watching her. One former partner remembered her as courageous, charismatic and impossible to forget.
The actress was Cheryl Hall, best known for Citizen Smith and Doctor Who. Hall died at the age of 76, with the news shared by actor Robin Askwith, who dated her for three years in the 1970s.
Askwith remembered Hall as a “force of nature” and a brave, innovative working-class actress who emerged from the late 1960s. His tribute made clear how deeply her death affected him.
Hall began acting in the late 1960s and had a breakthrough in On the Buses in 1971. In 1973, she appeared in Doctor Who as Shirna in Carnival of Monsters.
She became especially familiar to sitcom audiences as Shirley Johnson in Citizen Smith, opposite Robert Lindsay’s Wolfie Smith. Their on-screen romance became real, and the pair married in 1974 before separating in 1980.
Her career extended far beyond those roles. Hall appeared in The Bill, Poirot, Inspector Morse, Grange Hill, Casualty, Silent Witness and EastEnders and other British series.
She also came close to another place in Doctor Who history. Hall was considered for the role of companion Jo Grant before Katy Manning was chosen, and producer Barry Letts later cast her in Carnival of Monsters.
Away from acting, Hall entered politics. She stood as the Labour candidate for Canterbury in the 1997 general election, later served on Kent County Council and became leader of the Labour group.
Her passing closes a chapter in British television. Cheryl Hall leaves behind decades of memorable performances and, for those who knew her, the memory of a bold personality whose presence was impossible to forget.