John Leeson, Voice of Doctor Who's Robot Dog K9, Dies at 83

John Leeson, the English actor who voiced the robot dog K9 in Doctor Who, has died at the age of 83. Variety reported the death, which came on a Sunday.

His son, Guy Ducker, announced the news in a Facebook post. He identified his father as John Ducker, the name Leeson was born with and also known by as an actor. Guy Ducker said his father died at 3:03 p.m. after a summer of illness, and that the end was peaceful.

Leeson was born John Ducker in Leicester, England, on 16 March 1943. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London from 1962 to 1964, and it was there that he took the stage name Leeson.

He is best known for K9, the metal robot dog who travelled with the Doctor, and for the spin-off shows that followed. Leeson first gave K9 his voice from 1977 to 1981, when Tom Baker was playing the Doctor. He came back to the role many times over the years. He voiced K9 in 1983 alongside Peter Davison, in 1993 for the show's 30th anniversary special, and again in 2006 and 2008 during David Tennant's time as the Doctor.

Those returns stretch across three different Doctors and more than 30 years. Few performers from the show's early years have stayed attached to one character for so long, and K9 became one of its most recognisable figures, even though viewers rarely saw the man behind the voice.

Leeson's death was announced on 2 November 2026. Fans of the show have long known his voice, and his family's announcement has brought his name back to the front of many feeds.