{"id":57684,"date":"2025-08-10T20:23:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-10T20:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/57684\/"},"modified":"2025-08-10T20:23:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T20:23:09","slug":"coronation-street-and-eastenders-actor-ray-brooks-dies-aged-86-as-sons-share-touching-tribute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/57684\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronation Street and EastEnders actor Ray Brooks dies aged 86 as sons share touching tribute"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ray Brooks, who voiced Mr Benn, has died after a short illness\"RayRay Brooks as Joe Macer and Wendy Richard as Pauline Fowler in an episode of EastEnders in 2006(Image: BBC)<\/p>\n

Actor Ray Brooks, known for his roles in both Coronation Street<\/a> and EastEnders<\/a>, has passed away at the age of 86, his family has confirmed.<\/p>\n

Ray died on Saturday (August 9) following a short illness, his family told the BBC.<\/a><\/p>\n

As well as starring in some of Britain’s biggest soaps, Ray also lent his voice to the beloved character Mr Benn in the iconic children’s show from the 1970s.<\/p>\n

His sons, Will and Tom, released a heartfelt statement confirming their father’s passing. They revealed that he had spent the last few years living with dementia but died peacefully with his family beside him.<\/p>\n

Never miss a story with the MEN’s daily Catch Up newsletter – get it in your inbox by signing up here<\/a><\/p>\n

They revealed that their father believed his most recognised role was as Mr Benn, as fans would often request him to recite the catchphrase “as if by magic!'”.<\/p>\n

In the animated series, Mr Benn would embark on a new adventure in each episode, courtesy of a magical costume shop.<\/p>\n

His family told the BBC<\/a>: “Although only 13 episodes were made, they were repeated twice a year for 21 years.”<\/p>\n

Ray Brooks has died aged 86(Image: BBC)<\/p>\n

The family’s poignant statement also read: “His three true loves were family [he also had a daughter Emma, who died in 2003], Fulham Football Club, and spending time in Brighton, where he was born..”.<\/p>\n

Ray first graced the Corrie cobbles in the 1960s, portraying Norman Philips in the ITV<\/a> soap. Nearly four decades later, he crossed over to the BBC’s EastEnders as Joe Macer.<\/p>\n

He is probably best remembered for his character’s shocking act of murdering his wife Pauline Fowler.<\/p>\n

However, Ray’s extensive career in the entertainment industry boasts an impressive list of credits.<\/p>\n

\"RayRay Brooks has died following a short illness, his family has confirmed(Image: BBC)<\/p>\n

After taking the lead in the seminal 1960s BBC drama ‘Cathy Come Home’, Ray Brooks went on to star in the 1980s favourite ‘Big Deal’, captivating audiences as Robbie Box.<\/p>\n

He later showcased his comedic chops in ‘Running Wild’ as Max Wild.<\/p>\n

His acting extended to roles in classic series such as ‘Danger Man’, ‘Dixon of Dock Green’, ‘Emergency-Ward 10’, ‘The Avengers’, ‘Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)’, and ‘Z Cars’.<\/p>\n

Ray’s also featured in films like ‘Carry On Abroad’ in 1972, and the 1966 ‘Dr Who’ movie ‘Daleks’ Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D.’.<\/p>\n

\"RayRay voiced the children’s favourite Mr Benn(Image: Press Association)<\/p>\n

On stage, he starred in Alan Ayckbourn’s ‘Absent Friends’ with Richard Briers, Peter Bowles, and Phyllida Law, and shone in Tom Stoppard’s ‘On The Razzle’.<\/p>\n

Beyond acting, Ray lent his voice to iconic characters and thousands of adverts for major brands, including Guinness, Whiskas, Marmite, and R Whites Lemonade.<\/p>\n

Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ray Brooks, who voiced Mr Benn, has died after a short illnessRay Brooks as Joe Macer and Wendy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57685,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[2525,1078,96,391,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-57684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-coronation-street","tag-eastenders","tag-entertainment","tag-tv","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}