The Biography

Peter John Hawkins (3 April 1924 – 8 July 2006) was a British actor whose career spanned from the mid-1940s to the early 1990s. Following his breakthrough in Royal Navy theatre performances subsequent to his survival of the sinking of the HMS Limbourne, he developed into one of the most sought-after voice artists in the United Kingdom. He was best known for his vocal contributions to children's television series; this began with voicing Mr Turnip in the magazine series Whirligig. Hawkins voiced the titular characters in Flower Pot Men, for which he invented their signature "Oddle Poddle" gibberish language, Spotty Dog in The Woodentops, all the characters in Captain Pugwash and The Adventures of Sir Prancelot, the narrator of SuperTed, and many of the characters in The Family-Ness, Jimbo and the Jet-Set and Penny Crayon. He also originated the role of Zippy in Thames Television's Rainbow. Outside of children's programming, he was well known for providing the original voices for the Daleks in Doctor Who, as well as being part of the ensemble cast for the sketch series Dave Allen at Large and voicing characters in commercials, including the Smash Martians and Money in Access's "Your Flexible Friend" campaign.