As we wave goodbye to 2011 we also have to wave goodbye to a fair few iconic actors, people I have adored or lusted after from my formative years.
It has been a bad year for Doctor Who. Not only have we lost Roy Skelton (voice of many old Who monsters and other shows such as Rainbow), but we also lost the dearly loved Nicholas Courtney, who so brilliantly portrayed Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Even more shocking was the sudden death of Elisabeth Sladen, whose portrayal of Sarah Jane Smith made for one of the finest companions in the series. The fact she had been able to return to the character both in the new version of the series and in The Sarah Jane Adventures, gave her a fantastic (and deserved) second burst of success, only to be cut short by her sudden death.

Another beautiful actress in the form of Suzannah York died unexpectedly last year, another icon from my youth.

Science Fiction suffered another loss from the Babylon 5 cast, with Jeff Conaway (Zack Allen from the show) going beyond the rim to join Andreas Katsulas and Richard Biggs.