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Maggie Stables, who played Evelyn Smythe, Big Finish’s first original companion for their Doctor Who range, has died.

Stables passed away on September 26 following a long battle with illness. The former French teacher originally appeared in the range’s first story, The Sirens of Time, and was then cast as history professor Smythe for Jacqueline Rayner’s The Marian Conspiracy which appeared in 2000. She made regular appearances with Colin Baker’s Sixth Doctor, and her storyline was wrapped up in two “final” adventures. However, she returned for a further trilogy set earlier in her travels alongside Baker in 2011, but was already suffering from illness.

“Maggie was such a lovely, warm person who did a fantastic job of playing Evelyn. She was extremely popular with our listeners and always a delight to work with,” Big Finish Executive Producer Nick Briggs said in a tribute which can be read in full here.