THE ANGLING world has today joined the rest of the nation in mourning the passing of Bernard Cribbins, who has died at the age of 93.
The celebrated actor enjoyed a remarkable career spanning more than seven decades, appearing in some of Britain’s most cherished TV shows including Doctor Who, Fawlty Towers, The Avengers and Worzel Gummidge, as well as numerous films including The Railway Children and a trio of Carry On productions.
Oldham-born Bernard also had a highly successful stage career, which began in the West End in 1956, and in the 1960s even found time to have several Top 10 hit records, including Right Said Fred and The Hole in the Ground, both of which were produced by George Martin, who would later go on to sign the Beatles.
He was also a dab-hand at narration and voice-over work, and in the 1970s narrated the children’s classic The Wombles, for which he is particularly fondly remembered.
And it’s in this capacity that Bernard left his biggest mark on the angling world. An avid fisherman, he narrated two of the most lauded productions ever to grace the sport - A Passion For Angling, alongside Chris Yates and Bob James (1993), and Catching the Impossible with Martin Bowler (2008).
Bernard was awarded an OBE in 2011 for services to drama, and his many talents were perhaps best summed up by the title of his 2018 autobiography ‘Bernard Who? 75 Years of Doing Absolutely Everything’.
*Angling Times will be publishing a full tribute to Bernard in the 9 August issue of the magazine.