Overview

• Ray Brooks passed away on Saturday after a brief illness, spending his final years with dementia and surrounded by family.
• He was best known as the narrator of the 1970s children’s series Mr Benn, whose 13 episodes were broadcast twice yearly for over two decades.
• His five-decade career included landmark roles in Ken Loach’s Cathy Come Home, the Palme d’Or-winning film The Knack… and How to Get It, and 1980s TV hits Big Deal and Running Wild.
• Brooks earned the rare distinction of appearing in both Coronation Street in the 1960s and EastEnders in the mid-2000s as Joe Macer, a casting highlighted by an official EastEnders tribute.
• His family remembered him for his devotion to Fulham Football Club and his Brighton roots, and they also mourned daughter Emma, who died in 2003.