Bernard Kay (who memorably played the role of Sanders in the third series Survivors episode Mad Dog) has died at the age of 86.
Kay was found deceased at his home on 29 December 2014, though details of his passing have only been published today.
In 1977, Kay arrived on location in Derbyshire to record his role in Mad Dog only days after the death of his wife Patricia Haines, who passed away aged 45. Mad Dog director Tristan de Vere Cole later recalled: “She had literally just died the week before shooting. And he arrived.. and I had said to him ‘look Bernard, we can leave your scenes.’ He said ‘no, no — I want to work.’ So we stayed up, when he’d arrived that first night at the hotel, until three o’clock playing backgammon.” Come the next morning: “he did his job, he was so professional.”
Kay enjoyed a long and varied career on the small screen, in film and on stage. On TV, he appeared in Z Cars, Doctor Who, The Professionals, Coronation Street and Foyle’s War amongst many other productions.
Toby Hadoke recalls of Kay’s work: “He was one of those superb understated but versatile actors that we don’t seem to have any more. He never gave a bad performance. He was greatly admired by his peers. His sense of humour was combative but there wasn’t any meanness in him.”
News of Kay’s passing appears in today’s (1 January 2015) The Mirror, Manchester Evening News, The Courier and The Daily Mail.
EDIT – 2 January 2015: Listen to Tony Hadoke’s original podcast interview with Bernard Kay and its sequel on the Big Finish site.
