Some of you may have heard that one of the Devious family – Anthony Townsend – has died, at the age of just 50.

Anthony (also known as Antoni) has been involved with Devious from the very beginning, when we cast him as “Phillip” – one of the companions to the Doctor. He was always amazing at what he did – exceptionally talented – and was endlessly patient with us as we filmed scenes over many years. He was wonderful when Jon Pertwee came down for the day in 1995. Anthony wasn’t technically needed but it was a delight to have him there – and we all got some wonderful photos and memories of the day which know Anthony cherished.

When all of Anthony’s scenes were “in the can” in the late 90s- we didn’t see much of him as the filming slowed down, but he was always part of the team, and attended screenings and supported Devious right until the end. His final contribution for us was to voice some of the daleks which will feature in the upcoming episodes, so we are delighted that he can still be involved in some way.

We knew that Anthony was ill while we were preparing part 3. Originally, Episode 3 was to have premiered at the DWAS Capitol 5 convention in 2020, but the pandemic meant that it was postponed. This did mean that we were able to spend a lot more time on the complex production line sequence – but equally we wanted to show him the episode (the final part where he was seen on screen) so we arranged a preview screening at his home in Brighton in early 2022. This was the last time we all saw him.

RIP Anthony – or “Phillip” – we will always remember you with great fondness and we are very grateful to you for enriching our lives.

_{The DWM carries an obituary this month in recognition of Anthony’s work with Big Finish.}