# David Graham (actor)
**David Graham** (11 July 1925 – 20 September 2024) was an English actor and voice artist whose six-decade career produced some of the most recognizable voices in British television: Aloysius "Nosey" Parker, Lady Penelope's cockney butler-chauffeur in *Thunderbirds*; one of the two original voices of the Daleks in *Doctor Who*; and Grandpa Pig in the worldwide children's hit *Peppa Pig*.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name and dates | David Michael Graham, born 11 July 1925 in Hackney, London; died 20 September 2024, aged 99[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0333986) |
| Signature role | Parker, the reformed safe-cracker who drove Lady Penelope's pink Rolls-Royce (number plate FAB 1) in *Thunderbirds* (1965-66), with the catchphrase "Yus, m'lady"[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary) |
| Dalek voices | With Peter Hawkins, provided the first Dalek voices in *Doctor Who* from 1963, on television until 1966 and in the film spin-offs *Dr Who and the Daleks* (1965) and *Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150AD* (1966)[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary) |
| Anderson output | Voiced more than 100 characters across six Gerry Anderson puppet series, including *Supercar*, *Fireball XL5*, *Stingray*, and *Thunderbirds*[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary) |
| *Thunderbirds* roles | Gordon Tracy (pilot of Thunderbird 4), Brains, Parker, and Kyrano, up to seven voices per episode[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary) |
| Later career | Grandpa Pig in *Peppa Pig* from 2004 until 2022; the only original voice cast member to return for the 2015-20 revival *Thunderbirds Are Go*[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/21/david-graham-voice-of-thunderbirds-and-peppa-pig-characters-dies-aged-99) |
## Early life and training
Graham was born in Hackney, London, to Leah (nee Aarons) and Solomon Graham, who sold life insurance[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary). He served in the [Royal Air Force](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-air-force) during the Second World War as a radar mechanic in 99 Squadron[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary). After a short spell as an office clerk, his sister, who had married an American GI, invited him to New York, where he trained as an actor at the [Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre](https://www.edgepedia.org/neighborhood-playhouse-school-of-the-theatre) and picked up an American accent that later proved valuable in voice work; on returning to Britain to act in repertory theater, he was told to lose it[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary).
His London stage debut came as Alec in the C.P. Taylor play *Bread and Butter* (Jeanetta Cochrane theater, 1966). He later appeared alongside [Laurence Olivier](https://www.edgepedia.org/laurence-olivier) in [Franco Zeffirelli](https://www.edgepedia.org/franco-zeffirelli)'s productions of *Saturday, Sunday, Monday* (National Theatre at the Old Vic, 1973-74) and *Filumena* (Lyric theater, 1977-78), and Michael Blakemore directed him in *The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui* (Saville theater, 1969) and *Macbeth* (National Theatre at the Old Vic, 1972-73)[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary).
## The Anderson puppet series
One of Graham's earliest television appearances was as a villain on the run in a 1957 episode of *The New Adventures of Martin Kane*, directed by [Gerry Anderson](https://www.edgepedia.org/gerry-anderson) shortly before Anderson moved into puppet series[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary). Graham was introduced to Anderson in 1959, and his debut puppet roles were Grandpa Twink and Fernando in *Four Feather Falls* (1960), a children's western in which he based the strangulated voice of Grandpa Twink on the US actor [Walter Brennan](https://www.edgepedia.org/walter-brennan)[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary) • [4](https://gerryanderson.com/en-at/blogs/blog/supermarionation-voice-artist-david-graham-has-died).
He then voiced Dr Beaker and Mitch the Monkey, researching the monkey at [London Zoo](https://www.edgepedia.org/london-zoo), in *[Supercar](https://www.edgepedia.org/supercar-tv-series)* (1961-62); Professor Matthew Matic and Zoonie the Lazoon in *Fireball XL5* (1962-63); various villains in *Stingray* (1964-65); and guest characters in *The Secret Service* (1969), the last Anderson-produced series to use Supermarionation, the technique in which pre-recorded dialogue triggered solenoids in the puppets' heads to produce synchronised lip movement[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary). In all he voiced more than 100 characters in six Anderson puppet series[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary).
**Thunderbirds.** The series, which ran for 32 episodes over two series (1965-66), followed the American Jeff Tracy and his five sons on rescue missions from Tracy Island in the Pacific. Graham provided up to seven different voices per episode: Parker, the reformed cockney safe-cracker employed at Creighton-Ward mansion; Gordon Tracy, the aquanaut pilot of Thunderbird 4; Brains, the team's scientist; and Kyrano, the [Tracy family](https://www.edgepedia.org/tracy-family)'s servant[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary). Anderson found the model for Parker's heavy cockney voice at a pub lunch in Cookham, Berkshire, where a waiter who had "worked for 'is majesty at Windsor Castle" dropped his aitches in a way that caught Graham's ear[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary). Graham reprised Gordon, Brains, and Parker in the feature films *Thunderbirds Are GO* (1966) and *Thunderbird 6* (1968), and recorded the song "Parker – Well Done!" with Sylvia Anderson in 1965 as the B-side of the *Thunderbirds* theme[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary).
## The Daleks
In 1963 Graham joined Peter Hawkins, described by the voice actor Nicholas Briggs as perhaps the most in-demand voiceover artist in Britain at the time, in providing the first Dalek voices for *Doctor Who*[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary) • [5](https://hachette-collections.de/medias/en-us/download-center/DALEK_13.pdf). The two developed a harsh, staccato delivery that was processed electronically to give a grating effect; Graham recalled in 2014 that they started from the premise that the Daleks had to be menacing, and the staccato delivery increased the menace[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary) • [5](https://hachette-collections.de/medias/en-us/download-center/DALEK_13.pdf). The partnership continued on television until 1966 and in the two [Peter Cushing](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-cushing) film spin-offs, *Dr Who and the Daleks* (1965) and *Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150AD* (1966)[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary).
Graham also appeared on screen in *Doctor Who* as Charlie the barman in *The Gunfighters* and as Professor Kerensky, killed by Count Scarlioni, in the [Fourth Doctor](https://www.edgepedia.org/fourth-doctor) story *City of Death* (1979)[6](https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/david-graham-1925-2024) • [7](https://thedoctorwhocompanion.com/2024/09/30/david-graham-1925-2024-daleks-rolls-royce-machine-guns-and-a-couple-of-submarines/). In 2023, at the age of 98, he returned to record new Dalek dialogue, alongside Nicholas Briggs, for the re-edited and colourised version of *The Daleks* shown on [BBC Four](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-four) as part of the series' 60th anniversary[4](https://gerryanderson.com/en-at/blogs/blog/supermarionation-voice-artist-david-graham-has-died) • [7](https://thedoctorwhocompanion.com/2024/09/30/david-graham-1925-2024-daleks-rolls-royce-machine-guns-and-a-couple-of-submarines/).
## Later work
From 2004 Graham voiced Grandpa Pig in *Peppa Pig*, a worldwide hit for pre-school children, giving the character a jovial, rather upper-class inflection; he voiced the role until 2022[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary). He was also heard as the Wise Old Elf and Mr Gnome in *Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom* (2009) and as Snork in the English version of *Moomin* (1990-91)[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary).
When ITV and Weta Workshop produced the semi-CGI revival *Thunderbirds Are Go* (2015-20), Graham was the only original voice cast member brought back, again as Parker[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary) • [7](https://thedoctorwhocompanion.com/2024/09/30/david-graham-1925-2024-daleks-rolls-royce-machine-guns-and-a-couple-of-submarines/). He did not appear in the 2004 live-action *Thunderbirds* film, in which [Ron Cook](https://www.edgepedia.org/ron-cook) took the role[3](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/21/david-graham-voice-of-thunderbirds-and-peppa-pig-characters-dies-aged-99). In March 2021 he announced his retirement from the Thunderbirds characters with the audiobook *Thunderbirds: Terror from the Stars*, handing Parker to Jon Culshaw, though he voiced the butler once more in January 2024 for a Scalextric promotional video[8](https://thunderbirds.fandom.com/wiki/David_Graham) • [9](https://gerryanderson.com/en-mq/blogs/blog/a-wonderland-of-voices-remembering-david-graham).
Between voice roles he took live-action parts, including runs as Controller 2957 in the children's science-fiction series *Timeslip* (1970-71) and as Mr Bloom in the sitcom *So Haunt Me* (1992-94), plus bit parts in programs such as *Coronation Street*, *The Bill*, and *Casualty*[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/21/david-graham-voice-of-thunderbirds-and-peppa-pig-characters-dies-aged-99). He was a member of the BBC Radio Drama Company from 1975 to 1977[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary).
## Death and legacy
Graham died on 20 September 2024, aged 99, a few weeks after 2,000 Anderson fans sang him happy birthday at a Gerry Anderson concert in [Birmingham](https://www.edgepedia.org/birmingham)[3](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/21/david-graham-voice-of-thunderbirds-and-peppa-pig-characters-dies-aged-99). He was the last surviving regular voice artist of the original *Thunderbirds*[7](https://thedoctorwhocompanion.com/2024/09/30/david-graham-1925-2024-daleks-rolls-royce-machine-guns-and-a-couple-of-submarines/). Jamie Anderson, son of the series' creator, told PA Media that David had been "always kind and generous with his time and his talent. And what a talent"[3](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/21/david-graham-voice-of-thunderbirds-and-peppa-pig-characters-dies-aged-99). He is survived by his cousin Pete, a niece, Elizabeth, and a nephew, Jonathan[1](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary).
## References
1. [David Graham obituary, The Guardian (Anthony Hayward, 22 September 2024)](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/22/david-graham-obituary)
2. [David Graham, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0333986)
3. [David Graham, voice of Thunderbirds and Peppa Pig characters, dies aged 99, The Guardian / PA Media (21 September 2024)](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/sep/21/david-graham-voice-of-thunderbirds-and-peppa-pig-characters-dies-aged-99)
4. [Supermarionation Voice Artist David Graham Has Died, gerryanderson.com (20 September 2024)](https://gerryanderson.com/en-at/blogs/blog/supermarionation-voice-artist-david-graham-has-died)
5. [Giving Voice to the Daleks, Hachette Collections Dalek partwork](https://hachette-collections.de/medias/en-us/download-center/DALEK_13.pdf)
6. [David Graham 1925-2024, Big Finish Productions](https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/david-graham-1925-2024)
7. [David Graham (1925-2024): Daleks, Rolls Royce Machine Guns, and a Couple of Submarines, The Doctor Who Companion (30 September 2024)](https://thedoctorwhocompanion.com/2024/09/30/david-graham-1925-2024-daleks-rolls-royce-machine-guns-and-a-couple-of-submarines/)
8. [David Graham, Thunderbirds Wiki (Fandom)](https://thunderbirds.fandom.com/wiki/David_Graham)
9. [A Wonderland of Voices: Remembering David Graham, gerryanderson.com (24 September 2024)](https://gerryanderson.com/en-mq/blogs/blog/a-wonderland-of-voices-remembering-david-graham)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Voice performers and animation voice actors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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