The stars who passed away over the Christmas weekend included actors, musicians and comedians. The Christmas weekend saw the passing of seven notable figures.
Ian Pepperell, who has died after a long illness aged 53, not only played the hotelier Roy Tucker in the long-running Radio 4 sitcom The Archers, but in real life also ran The Star Inn in Ringwood, Hampshire. He was far from unusual in having a second profession away from the series: Graham Blockley, who played Robert Snell, was a village GP in Surrey, while Charlotte Martin, who is Susan Carter, is a research psychologist.