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BBC Collage - clockwise James Earl Jones, Liam Payne, Steve Wright, Shannen Doherty, Donald Sutherland, Quincy Jones, Dame Maggie Smith, Shelley Duvall

The producer of the world’s bestselling LP, an Oscar-winning British actress who conquered screen and stage, a fearless Russian opposition politician and one of Ireland’s greatest novelists – here are some of the well-known faces no longer with us.

A banner saying "Stage & Screen" in white writing against a black and green background with effect of a sky with many white stars. To the right is the late actress Maggie Smith

Among those we remember are acting legend Dame Maggie Smith, former teen star Shannen Doherty, and “the most beautiful man in cinema”, Alain Delon.

David Soul

As Ken “Hutch” Hutchinson, one half of the cop duo Starsky & Hutch, David Soul became one of the biggest TV stars of the 1970s. The US actor’s fame led to a parallel music career and two UK number one hits, Don’t Give Up On Us Baby and Silver Lady. Later in life, he moved to the UK where he acted in theatre and TV.

Getty Images Shannen Doherty photographed against a marble-effect wall, wearing a low-neck white top.

Shannen Doherty’s first big film role was in the 1988 black comedy Heathers. This was followed by four seasons of the TV show Beverly Hills 90210. Her character, Brenda, was a Midwest girl transplanted with her family to the wealthy Los Angeles suburb. Doherty also appeared in the TV series Charmed and the film Mallrats.

Getty Images Dame Maggie Smith photographed in 2015, aged 80, against a black background. She is smiling and wearing a black top, a simple necklace and a collar-less floral jacket.

Dame Maggie Smith’s acting career spanned stage, cinema and television for more than 70 years. Her best-known film roles include The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (for which she won a best actress Oscar) and A Room with a View. In her later years, she was the imperious Dowager Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey, and Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films.

Getty Images A bespectacled James Earl Jones stares in to the camera with his chin resting on his fists. He is wearing a white shirt and braces.

US actor who starred in dozens of films, but whose most famous role was probably the one in which he did not actually appear – the voice of Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy. James Earl Jones also enjoyed a distinguished stage career, winning two Tony awards.

A still from Dad's Army shows a young Ian Lavender playing Private Pike. He smiles shyly dressed in his uniform and a red and blue scarf.

The youngest member of the Home Guard platoon in Dad’s Army, one of the BBC’s best-loved sitcoms. Ian Lavender played Pike, the guileless young bank clerk and subject of Captain Mainwaring (Arthur Lowe)’s put-down: “You stupid boy!” Later in life, the Birmingham-born actor appeared in EastEnders.

Getty Images Black and white head shot of Shelley Duvall, taken from the 1977 film Three Women. She is looking away from the camera, wearing make-up and touching her hair, which is shoulder-length.

Shelley Duvall’s most famous film role was probably Wendy, the terror-stricken wife of Jack Nicholson in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. She starred in several other critically acclaimed films including Annie Hall, Nashville and Thieves Like Us, as well as appearing as Olive Oyl in the 1980s musical, Popeye.

Getty Images Close-up photo of Donald Sutherland pictured at the premiere of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire in 2013, when he was 78. He is grey-haired and bearded and is smiling. He wears a black jacket and a pink shirt and tie.

Canadian actor who started his long career in British TV and theatre, before achieving film stardom in the war films Kelly’s Heroes and The Dirty Dozen. Among his many notable films were M*A*S*H, Don’t Look Now, Casanova, Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Ordinary People. More recently, he starred in The Hunger Games trilogy as the evil President Snow.

Getty Images Undated 1960s publicity photo of Alain Delon (in colour) when he would have been in his late 20s or early 30s. He has dark, slightly bouffant hair, clear blue eyes and is smiling slightly. He wears a black sweater and is looking straight at the camera.

Reportedly once described as the most beautiful man in cinema, Parisian Alain Delon was one of Europe’s leading film stars in the 1960s and 70s, appearing in Plein Soleil, Le Samourai and The Leopard. Delon’s last major public appearance was to receive an honorary Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2019.

Getty Images 1960s news photo of Anouk Aimée, when she would have been in her early 30s. She is captured close-up and is staring ahead in a very confident manner. She has long dark hair and is wearing something black, which is indistinguishable from the very dark background of the photo.

French actress whose performance in the 1966 film A Man and a Woman earned her a Golden Globe and a Bafta award for best actress, as well as an Oscar nomination – the first time an actor or actress had been nominated for a French language performance.

A still of Bernard Hill in characters as Yosser Hughes - he is facing side-on, sporting a thick black moustache.

Manchester-born, Bernard Hill became a Liverpool icon for the ages as Yosser “Gizza Job” Hughes in Alan Bleasdale’s 1982 TV series, Boys from the Blackstuff. Hill later had major roles in the hit films Titanic and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and most recently appeared in BBC series including Wolf Hall and The Responder.

Getty Images Gena Rowlands photographed against a wall in what appears to be a publicity shot, taken around 1960 when she was 30. She is wearing make-up and staring straight at the camera, she has carefully styled shoulder-length blonde hair and has gold earrings which (from what little is visible) appear to match the colour of her dress.

US actress who was nominated for an Oscar for 1974’s A Woman Under the Influence and 1980’s Gloria. Both films were collaborations with her late husband, the director John Cassavetes. Gena Rowlands also won four Emmys and two Golden Globes before retiring in 2015.

Alamy A photo of Timothy West taken when he was a fairly elderly man, standing against a grey background. He is mostly bald, with some grey hair and is unshaven. He is wearing a greyish jacket, a checked shirt and a floral tie.

Timothy West was known for roles on stage and screen including the TV sitcom Brass, dramas such as Bleak House and Gentleman Jack, and soaps Coronation Street and EastEnders. He was married to the actress Prunella Scales. In recent years, the couple filmed 10 series of Channel 4’s Great Canal Journeys.

Alamy Publicity shot of Janey Godley pointing straight at the camera and smiling. She has long auburn hair, slightly curly and is wearing a black top with silver flecks

Scottish comedian who used details from her extremely tough upbringing for material. She endured poverty, abuse and the murder of a parent before taking to comedy in her 30s. Janey Godley achieved international fame for her stand-up and for her many internet videos. Fittingly, her memoir was titled Nothing Left Unsaid.

Actors and performers who also died in 2024 include:

Including “radio genius” Steve Wright, sex therapist Dr Ruth Westheimer, and one half of the Hairy Bikers, Dave Myers.

Dr Ruth Westheimer

Renowned sex therapist and talk show host, “Dr Ruth” was famous for speaking frankly about sex in her unmistakable German accent. A Holocaust survivor born in Frankfurt, Ruth Westheimer came to fame as the host of a local radio programme in the US, Sexually Speaking, which was nationally syndicated in 1984. She then went on to write Dr Ruth’s Guide To Good Sex, the first of more than 40 books.

Publicity shot of Steve Wright against a white background. He has thinning dark hair, glasses and a moustache and is smiling broadly for the camera. He wears a white buttoned-up collarless shirt and a dark jacket.

Described as a “radio genius” by one former colleague, Steve Wright was a DJ on BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2 for more than four decades. The long-time presenter of the afternoon show on first Radio 1 and then its sister station, he brought his own inimitable style to bear on his programmes. Wright was appointed an MBE for services to radio only weeks before his death.

Getty Images Dave Myers, photographed arriving at the National Television Awards 2015. He is balding but has long hair at the back, square glasses, a greying beard and a waxed moustache. He is wearing a greenish jacket, a white shirt and a spotted tie to match the jacket. He also is wearing a dark red silk scarf.

One half of the TV cooking duo the Hairy Bikers, Myers travelled around the UK and the world with his friend Si King, sampling and cooking food as they went. The Hairy Bikers published more than 30 recipe books, selling more than six million copies, and also documented their weight loss in Hairy Dieters: How To Love Food And Lose Weight.

Annie Nightingale photographed in 1976 when she was 36. She has light shoulder-length hair, and is wearing a black tank top over a gingham shirt. She is in a studio and is looking at the camera with a somewhat fixed grin.

The first female presenter on BBC Radio 1 and the station’s longest-serving DJ, Annie Nightingale joined the station in 1970 and broadcast her last show in December 2023. She was passionate about a wide range of music, championing genres ranging from prog rock and punk to acid house and grime. She was also a long-time presenter of BBC Two’s The Old Grey Whistle Test.

Getty Images Publicity shot of Michael Mosley against a black background. He has glasses, slightly receding greyish hair, and is smiling as he looks to the camera. He wears a dark jacket and a cobalt blue shirt with the top two buttons undone.

Doctor, broadcaster and author famous for popularising the idea of intermittent fasting, Michael Mosley’s books on the 5:2 and Fast 800 diets were international bestsellers. His BBC Radio 4 series Just One Thing, which focused on simple, accessible health tips, attracted 25 million listeners around the world.

Media figures who also died in 2024 include:

Johnnie Irwin – presenter of the Channel 4 show, Escape To The Country
Morgan Spurlock – documentary-maker who made Super Size Me about the fast-food industry
Chris Serle – presenter of BBC TV’s long-running show, That’s Life
Robin Windsor – Strictly Come Dancing professional

Our look back includes record producer Quincy Jones, One Direction star Liam Payne and French singer-songwriter Françoise Hardy.

Liam Payne

Liam Payne was one of five solo contestants in the 2010 series of The X Factor, who were told by the judges to unite and compete as a boy band – the result was One Direction. Although they only came third in the talent show, they went on to become one of the biggest UK bands of the 21st Century, with four UK number one albums and chart-topping singles around the world. Payne also had some solo success before his tragic early death at the age of 31.

Getty Images Françoise Hardy photographed in the 1960s on what looks like a winter's day in Paris. She has long brown hair and wears a thick fur coat. She stares directly and seriously at the camera

French singer-songwriter, known for her melancholy ballads, Françoise Hardy’s most famous songs included All the Girls and Boys (Tous les garçons et les filles), It Hurts to Say Goodbye (Comment te dire adieu) and My Friend the Rose (Mon amie la rose).

Getty Images News photo of Quincy Jones, smartly dressed in a dark suit, purple shirt and black tie, accessorised with a brown abstract-pattern silk scarf. He is quite elderly in this photo, with no hair and a thin moustache.

One of the greatest music producers of the 20th Century, Quincy Jones began his career working with Frank Sinatra. In the 1980s he produced Michael Jackson’s two most successful LPs – Thriller and Bad – as well as co-writing several of the songs. Quincy Jones also masterminded the USA for Africa single, We Are The World.

Getty Images Film still of Kris Kristofferson, taken in the 1970s against a background of sky - he has reddish hair, a greying beard and is wearing a black turtle-neck sweater with epaulettes

An actor and musician, Kris Kristofferson had success as a performer but more impact as a songwriter, penning hits including Help Me Through The Night and Me And Bobby McGee. The Texan also starred in the films Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid, Heaven’s Gate and – drawing on his musical background – the 1977 remake of A Star Is Born, alongside Barbra Streisand.

Musicians who also died in 2024 include:

Steve Harley – Cockney Rebel singer, who reached number one in 1975 with Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)
Melanie – 1960s singer made famous by her appearance at the 1969 Woodstock festival
Herbie Flowers – bass player on Lou Reed’s Walk On The Wild Side, and writer of Clive Dunn’s number one novelty hit, Grandad
Sergio Mendes – Brazilian bossa nova legend remembered internationally for his hit, Mas Que Nada
Mary Weiss – lead singer of 1960s vocal group The Shangri-Las, who sang The Leader of the Pack

This year saw the deaths of Russia’s leading opposition politician, Alexei Navalny, the UK’s former deputy prime minister, John Prescott, and ex-first minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond.

Alexei Navalny

Russia’s most prominent opposition politician, Alexei Navalny campaigned relentlessly against President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of running a corrupt and “feudal” state. After surviving repeated attempts to poison him, Alexei Navalny died in mysterious circumstances in a Russian prison.

Getty Images John Prescott is pictured looking slightly over his shoulder with a wry expression on his face. He has dark hair, slightly greying, and is wearing a navy blue overcoat over a suit. His shirt is light blue and his tie is dark blue.

John Prescott was deputy prime minister in the Blair government and one of the most recognisable politicians of the New Labour era. Renowned as a political scrapper, he gained notoriety in 2001 for punching a protester who had thrown an egg at him. After serving as East Hull’s MP for 40 years, he was made Lord Prescott.

Getty Images Alex Salmond is photographed outside against a blurry background of trees. He is bald and clean-shaven, with distinctively bushy eyebrows, and smiles for the camera. He wears a light blue jacket with an "Alba" badge pinned to it, and a blue-check button-down shirt.

A leading figure in Scotland’s nationalist movement, Alex Salmond was Scottish first minister from 2007-14, and led the unsuccessful pro-independence referendum campaign in 2014. Later in life he attracted controversy after quitting the Scottish National Party and setting up a rival nationalist party, Alba.

Getty Images Lowitja O'Donoghue close up - she has short grey hair and gold earrings and is wearing a stripey top

One of Australia’s most revered Aboriginal leaders, Lowitja O’Donoghue was instrumental in negotiating Australia’s historic Native Title legislation which granted land rights to First Nations people. She received some of the nation’s top honours for her pioneering work and in 1984 was named Australian of the Year.

Jeff Overs/BBC Head and shoulders shot of Frank Field. He has very neatly cut and combed grey hair, and looks into the camera. He is photographed against an anonymous background and is wearing a dark suit with blue shirt and tie.

Former Labour minister and crossbench peer, Lord Field spent 40 years as MP for Birkenhead and was a leading voice on welfare reform for much of his career. He was a minister for a period in the Blair government but was regarded as a maverick within his own party, in no small part because of his close personal friendship with Margaret Thatcher.

Political figures who also died in 2024 include:

Alberto Fujimori – former president of Peru, who was convicted of human rights abuses and corruption
Michael Ancram – served as deputy leader of the Conservative Party for five years
Nguyen Phu Trong – long-serving Vietnamese leader
John Bruton – Irish politician who served as taoiseach from 1994 to 1997
Derek Draper – Former Labour spin doctor whose struggle with Covid was the subject of an ITV documentary

Writers who died this year include the novelists Edna O’Brien and Paul Auster, and the short-story writer Alice Munro.

Paul Auster

US author of The New York Trilogy – a collection of detective stories with a philosophical twist, centred on a shady quartet of private investigators named Blue, Brown, Black and White. His other novels included Timbuktu and The Brooklyn Follies. Paul Auster was praised for his sharp dialogue, and his books have been translated into more than 40 languages.

Getty Images Close up picture of Edna O'Brien taken in 2009. She has shortish hair, smartly styled, and looks straight into the camera with a very intense expression.

Irish novelist whose first book, The Country Girls, remains her most famous. Published in 1960, it tells the story of two convent girls, and its frank portrayal (for its time) of their sex lives resulted in the book being banned in Ireland. Edna O’Brien wrote more than 20 works of fiction and was described by fellow novelist Philip Roth as “the most gifted woman now writing in English”.

Reuters Barbara Taylor Bradford is photographed against what looks like an opulent fireplace. She has blonde hair and her smile reveals very white teeth. She is wearing a cream jacket over a black top and has matching pearl earrings and necklace.

Yorkshire-born writer best known for her first novel, A Woman Of Substance. The 1979 saga of a young woman’s journey from rags to riches stayed on the New York Times’ bestseller list for 43 weeks. It spawned seven sequels and a successful TV adaptation.

Getty Images Alice Munro is photographed close up and laughing, holding one of her own paperbacks open in front of her. She has short grey slightly wild hair.

Author whose fiction focused on rural life in her home country of Canada. In 2013, Alice Munro won the Nobel Prize for Literature – she was the first Canadian to receive the accolade, and the only laureate to be honoured primarily for short-story writing.

Getty Images A black-and-white photo of Nikki Giovanni in a hotel room in Chicago in the mid-70s. She is looking thoughtfully out of a window on an upper floor. She has shortish hair and is wearing a black tank top over a shirt with wing-tip collars

Acclaimed poet at the forefront of the Black Arts Movement in the US, known across the world for her defiant yet endearing writing about race, gender, sex and love. Nikki Giovanni authored more than 30 books, ranging from poetry to children’s books. Her last work, titled The Last Book, is set to be published in 2025.

Writers who also died in 2024 include:

Lynne Reid Banks – British author of The L-Shaped Room
Maryse Condé – Guadeloupe-born author of epic novels tackling the legacy of colonialism in Africa and the Caribbean
John Burnside – award-winning Scottish poet

Our list includes the Nobel prize-winning British physicist Peter Higgs, charity founder Camila Batmanghelidjh and the former head of the British army, Sir Mike Jackson.

Camila Batmanghelidjh

Flamboyant and sometimes controversial founder of Kids Company, a charity set up to provide support to deprived and vulnerable inner-city children and young people. Ms Batmanghelidjh attracted many influential backers, but the charity closed in 2015 because of financial difficulties, and she was forced to step down.

PA Media Peter Higgs is photographed in front of what looks like an image of the inside of the Large Hadron Collider. He is an elderly man, bald with bushy eyebrows and glasses. He wears a black suit and white shirt, with. a dark tie slightly askew.

Nobel prize-winning British physicist, who gave his name to the “Higgs boson”, a particle that helps explain why the basic building blocks of the Universe – atoms – have mass. The particle’s existence was confirmed in 2012 by scientists using the Large Hadron Collider at Cern in Switzerland. Higgs’ reaction? “It’s very nice to be right sometimes.”

Getty Images Kris Hallenga holds a microphone and is wearing a CoppaFeel! T-shirt. She has long blonde hair and is smiling broadly.

The founder of breast cancer awareness charity CoppaFeel!, Kris Hallenga was herself diagnosed with the disease 15 years ago when she was 23. She was also a columnist at The Sun and a bestselling author. In 2014, a documentary about her life and work – Kris: Dying to Live – was aired on BBC Three.

Getty Images Daniel Kahnemann is a smart elderly man wearing glasses, a dark jacket and open-necked light-blue shirt. He has little hair but what little there is seems to be brightly illuminated.

Behavioural psychologist who wrote the best-selling book Thinking, Fast and Slow. This took issue with one of the central ideas underlying economics – that people are rational beings who always act out of self-interest. Daniel Kahnemann suggested that, on the contrary, they often act irrationally, based on instinct. In 2002, he won the Nobel Memorial Prize for Economics.

Getty Images General Sir Mike Jackson is photographed close-up in combat gear against a background of trees. He has a maroon army beret and a camouflage jacket. He is looking intently beyond the camera, his face lined and craggy.

The former head of the British Army, General Sir Mike Jackson was in charge during the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. In Kosovo in 1999, he famously refused an order from his US commander to intercept Russian forces when they entered the country without Nato’s agreement, saying: “I’m not going to start the Third World War for you.”

Public figures who also died in 2024 include:

German footballing legend Franz Beckenbauer, snooker’s first TV star Ray Reardon, and marathon world champion Kevin Kiptum all died in 2024.

Geoff Capes

The UK’s most famous shot putter, Geoff Capes twice won gold at both the Commonwealth Games and the European Indoor Championships. The Lincolnshire-born athlete also twice held the title of World’s Strongest Man. He was a three-time Olympian and came closest to winning a medal with a fifth-place finish at the 1980 Games in Moscow.

Kelvin Kiptum is photographed against a black background - someone is holding a microphone up to him but he is looking away and smiling at something beyond the camera. He wears a lightweight blue zip-up jacket over a high-necked white top with sponsorship branding on it

The life of men’s marathon world record holder Kelvin Kiptum was tragically cut short by a road accident in his home country, Kenya. In October 2023, the 24-year-old long-distance runner bettered the record of his compatriot Eliud Kipchoge, completing the Chicago Marathon in two hours and 35 seconds.

Getty Images Sven-Goran Eriksson looks impassively beyond the camera in front of a crowd of spectators in England replica shirts. He has receding grey hair and wears frameless spectacles, a black suit jacket, white shirt and dark tie.

The first non-British manager of the England football team, Sven-Goran Eriksson led them to quarter-finals at three major tournaments between 2001 and 2006. The Swede also managed 12 clubs including Manchester City, Leicester, Roma and Lazio, winning 18 trophies.

Reuters Rebecca Cheptegei takes part in a race wearing a yellow top with black and red stripes.

Ugandan long-distance runner Rebecca Cheptegei made her marathon debut in 2021 and recorded a personal best of two hours 22 minutes and 47 seconds the following year, making her the second-fastest Ugandan woman of all time. At the Paris Olympics she came 44th. Rebecca Cheptegei was murdered in September this year at the age of 33.

Getty Images A picture of Franz Beckenbauer taken during his days as a coach - he has dark curly hair, is clean-shaven and is wearing a blue and white waterproof jacket with red horizontal stripes. He appears to be outdoors against a blurry green background and is pointing at something with his right hand.

Nicknamed “Der Kaiser”, German footballer Franz Beckenbauer was widely regarded as one of the game’s greatest players. He won the World Cup as captain of West Germany in 1974 and lifted the trophy again as manager in 1990. Franz Beckenbauer also played 582 times for Bayern Munich and won the German top-flight as both player and manager.

Reuters Ray Reardon, pictured in his playing days. He is leaning over the snooker table, getting ready to hit the white ball. He is wearing a white shirt and waistcoat favoured by nearly all snooker players. His hair is very dark and slicked back into a "widow's peak"

Welsh snooker player who dominated the game in the 1970s, claiming six world titles between 1970 and 1978. Ray Reardon became famous among early adopters of colour TV as the main draw on Pot Black, the BBC’s first snooker showcase. He retired in 1991 and later worked as a consultant for Ronnie O’Sullivan, helping him win the world title in 2004.

Getty Images Rob Burrow pictured during the last few years of his life when he was suffering from MND - he has receding straw-coloured hair and he is looking beyond the camera, biting his lip. He seems to be in a wheelchair being pushed by an indistinct figure, whose lower half is visible in the photo. Rob Burrows wears a black sweater, with a blue lanyard around his neck.

Leeds Rhinos and Great Britain rugby league player, Rob Burrow’s 17-year career included winning eight Super League Grand Finals, three World Club Challenges and two Challenge Cups. Two years after his retirement, Rob Burrow was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) and spent the remainder of his life fundraising and raising awareness of the disease while battling it himself.

Getty Images A black and white photo of Lea Pericoli holding a tennis racket behind her shoulders. She is wearing bold earrings and a very frilly tennis top.

Regarded as one of Italy’s top players in the 1950s and 60s, Lea Pericoli reached the last 16 of the French Open twice and the Wimbledon championships three times. On top of her athletic achievements, Ms Pericoli’s contest outfits, adorned with feather and fur, made her a style icon. She later became a popular television presenter and journalist.

Former England and Surrey cricketer, Graham Thorpe played 100 Tests for his country between 1993 and 2005, as well as 82 one-day internationals. A stylish left-handed batter, he scored 6,744 Test runs, including 16 centuries. At county level, Thorpe spent his entire first-class playing career at Surrey, from 1988 to 2005.

Getty Images Black and white photo of JPR Williams as a young man, wearing a Wales rugby shirt, standing in front of a brick wall. His hair is shoulder-length and he has large sideburns.

John Peter Rhys Williams became an icon of Wales’s period of rugby glory in the 1970s, when they won three Five Nations grand slams. The full-back earned 55 caps for his country, and played for London Welsh, Bridgend and Barbarians. JPR Williams also accumulated eight Test caps touring for British and Irish Lions.

Sports personalities who also died in 2024 include:

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