Remembering just some of the famous faces who left us this year

JULY

Shannen Doherty

The actress, who starred in Beverly Hills, 90210, died at the age of 53 after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. She shot to fame in the hit 1990s teenage drama alongside co-star Jason Priestley when they played twins Brenda and Brandon Walsh who move to Beverly Hills from middle America.

John Mayall

Mayall, whose influential band the Bluesbreakers was a launching pad for stars including Eric Clapton and Mick Fleetwood, died at the age of 90. Among other recruits to the Bluesbreakers were guitarists Peter Green and Mick Taylor, bassists Jack Bruce and John McVie, and drummer Aynsley Dunbar.

Edna O’Brien

The Irish author best known for her portrayal of women’s lives against repressive expectations in Irish society, died at the age of 93. Her first novel, The Country Girls, was published in 1960 and became part of a trilogy that was banned in Ireland for its references to sex and social issues.

Francine Pascal

Known for writing the Sweet Valley High books, Pascal died at the age of 92. She found global success with the hit book series about identical twins Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield, which was formative reading for generations of young girls. The series, set in the fictional Los Angeles suburb of Sweet Valley, debuted in 1983 and consisted of 181 books.

AUGUST

Euan MacDonald

One of Scotland's leading champions for people with disabilities MacDonald died aged 50, 21 years after being diagnosed with motor neuron disease (MND). He created Euan’s Guide, a disability review website and smart phone app for disabled people, their families and their carers. With his father Donald, he also set up an internationally-recognised centre for MND research at Edinburgh University.

Sven-Goran Eriksson

The former England football manager, died aged 76 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Eriksson was the first foreign manager of the English national side, taking charge of 67 matches from 2001 to 2006. He led England to the quarter-finals of three major tournaments in succession.

Nell McCafferty

A renowned author, journalist and feminist activist, McCafferty died at the age of 80. The former Irish Times journalist, originally from Londonderry, was a prominent voice on women’s rights issues across the island of Ireland and in 1970 co-founded the Irish Women’s Liberation Movement (IWLM).

Fatman Scoop

The US hip-hop artist whose real name was Isaac Freeman III died at the age of 56. The rapper died after collapsing on stage during a performance in Connecticut in the US. Scoop had a number-one hit with Be Faithful back in 2003 and appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2015.

SEPTEMBER

Kris Kristofferson

The country music superstar and A-list Hollywood actor, died at the age of 88. Starting in the late 1960s, Kristofferson wrote a number of classic songs including Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down, Help Me Make it Through the Night, For The Good Times and Me And Bobby McGee. He received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for 1976 romantic drama A Star Is Born.

James Earl Jones

Jones, who was best known for being the voice of Star Wars’ Darth Vader, died at the age of 93. His famous voice was also lent to the likes of Mufasa in Disney’s 1994 film The Lion King, various audiobooks and to CNN for its “This is CNN” tagline.

Kenneth Cope

Known as a star of Carry On films and Coronation Street, Cope died at the age of 93. Born in Liverpool in 1931, he appeared in the soap as Jed Stone in more than 100 episodes from 1961 to 1963, before briefly returning in 2008 and 2009.

Cope went on to star in two Carry On films, Carry On At Your Convenience (1971) and Carry On Matron (1972), and he also appeared in 1963’s Carry On Jack in an uncredited role.

Tito Jackson

One of the stars of the Jackson 5, Jackson died at the age of 70. The musician, who was the older brother of late popstar Michael Jackson, was the least-heard member of the group as a background singer who played guitar.

Peter Jay

The former economic journalist and diplomat died at the age of 87. Jay had been one of the country’s foremost economics commentators, with time spent as the economics editor for both the BBC and The Times. He was controversially appointed as the UK’s ambassador to Washington in 1977 by his then father-in-law James Callaghan, who was prime minister, amid Tory protests of “nepotism”.

Dame Maggie Smith

The Oscar-winning actress, known for prominent roles in Harry Potter and Downton Abbey, died aged 89. She was an internationally recognised actress for much of her life after playing the fanatical teacher Jean Brodie in The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie, for which she won an Academy Award. She also won over Harry Potter fans later in life, as Professor McGonagall, and was central to the success of the ITV series Downton Abbey, in her Emmy-award winning role as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham.

Martin Lee

Lee, of Brotherhood Of Man, died at the age of 77. The pop group’s Save Your Kisses For Me won the Eurovision Song Contest for the UK in 1976, topping the table with 164 points, more than 70 points ahead of second-placed Switzerland.

OCTOBER

Alex Salmond

Alex Salmond died of a heart attack aged 69 while attending a conference in North Macedonia. He served as first minister of Scotland from 2007. He stood down from the role after failing to secure independence in the 2014 referendum, handing over to his deputy, Nicola Sturgeon. He was twice leader of the SNP, from 1990 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2014. He resigned from the SNP in 2018 and formed the Alba Party in 2021.

Former first minister Alex Salmond died suddenly at a conference in North Macedonia, aged 69 | Getty Images

Michael Ancram

The former deputy leader of the Conservative Party died aged 79. Ancram, known formally as the 13th Marquess of Lothian, held the role under Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard for five years in the early 2000s. He also served as shadow foreign secretary and had been a member of the House of Lords since 2010, in a political career spanning five decades.

Jim McColl

Beechgrove Garden presenter Jim McColl died at the age of 89. He hosted the BBC Scotland's gardening programme since it began in 1978, retiring after 41 years on screen in 2019.

Ken MacAulay

Former Scotland rugby international Ken MacAulay died aged 67, just the day after completing a 1,000-mile cycle for charity. He had a cardiac arrest after completing a three-week challenge that saw him raise more than £13,000 for four charities. The player who received a cap for Scotland also played for Gala, Heriot’s and North Berwick.

Bill Munro

Bill Munro, the founder of Scotland’s biggest independent chain of travel agents nearly 50 years ago, died aged 80 at his homein South Lanarkshire. He switched from banking to launch Barrhead Travel in 1975 and grew the business until it employed 900 people in 75 locations. His innovations included being one of the first British travel agencies to launch a website, in 1999.

Liam Payne

The former One Direction star, died at the age of 31 after falling from the third floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Payne first auditioned for The X Factor in 2008 at the age of 14 and returned two years later when he was put into a group with Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Harry Styles. After becoming one of the biggest pop groups in the world with five albums and four world tours, One Direction went on indefinite hiatus in 2016.

NOVEMBER

Janey Godley

The Scottish comedian, known for dubbed parodies of Nicola Sturgeon coronavirus news briefings, died aged 63. The comic ended most of her Sturgeon parodies with the catchphrase “Frank, get the door”, which was also the title of her 2020 book. Godley said Frank was based on a man who read “cowboy books” in the pub she used to work in.

Quincy Jones

The jazz musician and record producer died aged 91. Jones, who began studying trumpet while in junior high school and sang in a gospel quartet at the age of 12, later made waves with his 1989 album, Back On The Block, which was named album of the year at the 1990 Grammy Awards. He received seven Oscar nominations for his work on movies that included In Cold Blood (1967) and The Color Purple (1985).

Sir John Nott

The defence secretary during the Falklands War died aged 92. The senior Conservative twice offered his resignation to Margaret Thatcher after the Argentinian invasion of the South Atlantic islands in 1982 but she refused to accept it, instead keeping him in place for the bloody but successful liberation operation.

June Spencer

The actress, who played matriarch Peggy Woolley in BBC Radio 4’s The Archers, died at the age of 105. Spencer had played the character since the show’s first episode in 1951, and when she announced her retirement in 2022, aged 103, was credited as being the longest-serving character in the programme.

Trevor Sorbie

The celebrity hairdresser, who gained fame with the creation of the wedge cut, died aged 75. The award-winning Scottish stylist revealed his bowel cancer had spread to his liver. Alongside styling many famous faces over the years including The Beach Boys and Dame Helen Mirren, he set up a charity that gives advice to patients and NHS staff on wig styling, hair loss and re-growth after treatment.

John Prescott

The former deputy prime minister died aged 86 following a battle with Alzheimer’s. Lord Prescott, who served as an MP for Kingston upon Hull East for almost four decades, was a former trade union activist and ex-merchant seaman who served under Labour prime minster Tony Blair. He was a key figure in the New Labour Project, seen by many as custodian of the party’s traditional values in the face of a modernising leadership.

DECEMBER

Terry Griffiths

The former world snooker champion died at the age of 77 after a long battle with dementia. Griffiths, from south Wales, came through the qualifying rounds to win the 1979 Crucible title as a qualifier, and also won the Masters and the UK Championship to complete the sport’s illustrious “triple crown”. In later years, Griffiths became an accomplished coach, inspiring the likes of Stephen Hendry, Mark Williams and Mark Allen.

Jean Adamson

The children's author, know for the Topsy And Tim series of books, died aged 96. Adamson created the series, which follows the adventures of two twins and spawned more than 150 books, alongside her husband Gareth Adamson, who died in 1982. The two characters first appeared in Topsy And Tim's Monday Book, originally published by Blackie in 1960.

Julie Stevens

The Play School presenter and Carry On actress died aged 87. She was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2019. Stevens was also known for comedy shows Girls About Town and and children's comedy show Cabbages And Kings as well as Play Away, a series for older children, and appeared on Holby City.

Duncan Norvelle

The comedian, known for his trademark "Chase me" catchphrase, died at the age of 66. A familiar face on British TV in the 1980s, Leicestershire-born Norvelle appeared on various TV shows including Surprise Surprise, Wogan and the Keith Harris Show.