‘Doctor Who’ Actor and Disability Advocate Dies at 72

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Nabil Shaban, a Jordanian-British actor who also championed disability rights, has died at the age of 72. He passed away at his London home on October 18, 2025.

Shaban became famous for playing Sil in the 1985 Doctor Who adventure Vengeance on Varos. He continued to play the character in audio dramas and animated versions made later on.

Shaban was born in Amman, Jordan, on February 12, 1953, and lived with a condition called osteogenesis imperfecta, which made his bones very fragile.

Shaban moved to England when he was three years old to get the medical treatment he needed. Even though he spent a lot of his childhood in hospitals and care homes, he developed a love for telling stories and acting, fueled by his family’s roots in Jordan.

Shaban went to the University of Surrey in the late 1970s. In 1980, he and Richard Tomlinson started Graeae Theatre Company, which provided opportunities for performers with disabilities.

The company gained recognition for popular shows like The Emperor, Hamlet, and Fleshfly. In 2005, Shaban was nominated for Best Actor at the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland for his performance as Mack the Knife in The Threepenny Opera. He also received an honorary doctorate from the University of Surrey in 1997 for his work promoting arts access for people with disabilities.

Besides his work on stage, Shaban was well-loved by fans for playing the villainous Sil in Doctor Who, alongside Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant. He later reprised the role in audio dramas such as Mission to Magnus (2009) and Antidote to Oblivion (2013). His performance remains memorable for fans of the show.

I’m so saddened to hear about the passing of Shaban. He leaves behind his wife, Marcela Krystkova, whom he married in 2016, and his son, Zenyel Shaban-Rogers, from a previous relationship. They’re planning a public memorial early next year at the Graeae Theatre – a beautiful place to remember him and all he did. It’ll be a chance for all of us who admired his work, and those who knew him personally, to come together and celebrate his life.

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2025-10-26 11:44