Stephen Thorne

Stephen John Thorne 2 March 1935 26 May 2019 was a British actor of radio film stage and television He was best known for his regular BBC Radio 4 work and audiobook recordings and for his portrayals of a few Doctor Who villains including the Time Lord Omega He played several seasons with the Old Vic Company and the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford and London including a tour to Russia He worked extensively in radio with over 2000 broadcasts for the BBC including as Uncle Mort in the Radio 4 comedy series Uncle Morts North Country His television credits included ZCars Crossroads and Doctor Who In Doctor Who he played three major villains Omega Azal and Eldrad as well as an Ogron before later playing the villainous Max in The Ghosts of NSpace a Doctor Who BBC Radio story in the mid1990s Also on the radio Thorne appeared as Aslan in The Magicians Nephew as Treebeard in the Radio 4 adaptation of The Lord of the Rings and also in their adaptation of Terry Pratchetts Guards Guards in which he portrayed Fred Colon and also Death Other television work included Death of an Expert Witness David Copperfield and Last of the Summer Wine He voiced Aslan in the animated version of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe Thorne reprised the character on the BBC radio adaptation of the same name He gave many poetry readings on radio television tape and in venues from Westminster Abbey to various pubs