John Leeson, voice of K-9 in Doctor Who, dies aged 83
Actor John Leeson, the voice of K-9 in Doctor Who and Bungle the Bear in Rainbow, has died aged 83 after a summer of illness, according to his son.
How it was covered
- Channel 5 was the only channel found covering it, concentrating on a brief factual obituary of John Leeson's best-known roles.
- BBC News, BBC One, BBC Two, Channel 4, GB News, ITV and Sky News: not found in tracked broadcasts.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
Channel 5 reported that John Leeson, the actor best known for voicing the robot dog K-9 in Doctor Who, has died at the age of 83.
The channel reported that his son announced the death and said his father had passed away after a summer of illness.
It also reported that Leeson played Bungle the Bear in the children's TV series Rainbow.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| John Leeson also played Bungle the Bear in the children's series Rainbow. | |
| John Leeson, known for voicing K-9 in Doctor Who, died at 83; his son announced the death after a summer of illness. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The 5 News at Lunchtime bulletin gave the death a short, factual item at the end of the programme. It led on the K-9 role in Doctor Who, then added Leeson's role as Bungle the Bear in Rainbow and the statement from his son. It offered no archive clips, contributor interviews or wider reflection on his career.
- “the actor John Leeson, best known for voicing robot dog K-9 in Doctor Who, has died at the age of 83.”
- “Well, as well as being in Doctor Who, he also played Bungle the Bear in the children's TV series Rainbow.”
- “His death was announced by his son, who said his father had passed away after a summer of illness.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.