| The following article is written from an Out of Universe perspective. |
John Francis Christian Ducker (born on 16 March 1943 better known by his stage name John Leeson, voiced K9 from 1977-1979 and again from 1980-T1981 on Doctor Who and K9 and Company.
Tom Baker detested the character of K9, but got on very well with Leeson. A favourite joke during filming breaks was for Baker to work out crossword puzzles, asking the K9 prop the clues with Leeson giving the answers in character.
Leeson himself became frustrated with the character. He left the programme after the conclusion of the 16th season in 1978. David Brierley took over for four stories (one of which was never completed due to a BBC strike) the following year. When John Nathan-Turner took over as series producer for season 18 in 1980, he tempted Leeson back, with the promise the character would be "killed off" that year. Although the character was, eventually, not killed off, merely written out, Leeson agreed to return, and portrayed all of K9's subsequent return appearances on Doctor Who and its spin-off shows.
Biography
Prior to Doctor Who
RADA trained, Leeson's varied stage and television career spans nearly half a century. It includes work in both repertory and West End productions including Neil Simon's Plaza Suite (1969), Flint (1970) and Don't Start Without Me (1971) and character work across a wide range of television sitcoms and costume dramas from the 1970s onwards, including Dad's Army, Sorry, Rings on Their Fingers, The Barretts of Wimpole Street, Vanity Fair, Shadow of the Noose, Crown Court Longitude, etc. He also embarked on a parallel career in voiceover work, freelancing as a continuity announcer with BFBS Television in Germany, BBC Television, and Channel 4.
Leeson notably starred in children's programmes, ITV's Rainbow from 1972 as the original Bungle.
Work on Doctor Who
Leeson was brought on as the voice of K-9 for 1977's The Invisible Enemy and producer Graham Williams liked the concept so much that the decision was made to retain him as a regular character to appeal to the younger members of the audience. Tom Bakerdetested the character of K-9, but luckily got on very well with Leeson (when Leeson appeared on Tom Baker's edition of This Is Your Life in 2000, Leeson entered on all fours).
Leeson became frustrated with the limitations of the character, and he left the programme after the conclusion of the 16th season in 1979. He was also seen on-screen that season as the character Dugeen during the serial The Power of Kroll (1978–79). David Brierlytook over for four stories (one of which was never completed due to a BBC strike) the following year. When John Nathan-Turner took over as producer of the series for season 18 in 1980, he tempted Leeson back, with the promise that the character would be 'killed off' that year. Although the character was ultimately written out, rather than "killed", Leeson agreed to return.
Leeson's vocal contributions to Doctor Who can also be heard as other characters in the serials The Invisible Enemy and Remembrance of the Daleks.
Leeson also agreed to return to voice K-9 in K-9 and Company (1981), a spin-off from Doctor Who which was not picked up after the airing of its pilot episode. He voiced K-9 for a cameo appearance in the 20th anniversary episode of Doctor Who, The Five Doctors, and has since reprised K-9's voice in the Season 28 story Lungbarrow, two stories in Season 40 and the first Doctor Who movie.
He voiced K-9 for its return as a series regular between Seasons 41-43 and Doctor Who: Revelation. He then voiced K-9 regularly in the first three series of Panopticon.
Leeson also voiced K-9 in the Season 46 story Inquisition and Doctor Who: Vengeance.
After Doctor Who
Leeson's other credits include appearances in Blake's 7 (in the season A episode "Mission to Destiny" and the season B episode "Gambit"). the BBC's Jigsaw in which he voiced Jigg, the show's "mascot" and played the giant Biggum, who was so tall only his feet were seen and his voice heard. He was one of the resident team of actors in stunts for ITV's Game for a Laugh (1981-85), appearing in one memorable stunt involving a car transporter wrecking his car and blaming it on the unsuspecting victim. His film credits are few but included the Hunt Secretary in the film of Tarka the Otter (1979), and a TV interviewer in the film version of Whoops Apocalypse (1986). His radio work includes the comedy serial All That Jazz (1990) in which he played the character of Mike and additionally provided the scripted continuity link at the beginning.
Leeson has read extensively for the audio book charity Calibre Audio Library, and is also the narrator/character voices behind The Space Gypsy Adventures on Children's UK hospital radio. In 2010 John appeared in a character role in the independent film Rebels Without A Clue with actor Rik Barnett.
Away from stage and screen he was regularly heard as continuity announcer on Channel 4 when his warm tones proved a distinct contrast to the K-9 voice. A lively interest in both classical music and particularly wine, led him to develop a longstanding parallel career as a wine educator.[citation needed]
Under his birth name he is an accredited tutor for the Wine & Spirit Education Trust, and he is a member both of the Association of Wine Educators and the Circle of Wine Writers. He is a freelance lecturer in wine both on land and in cruises at sea, and is a regular tutor for The Wine Education Service Ltd.
Leeson's autobiography, entitled Flight of the Budgerigar, was published by Hirst in October 2011. It was superseded by an updated and expanded version entitled Tweaking the Tail which was published in July 2013 by Fantom Films.
A book of favourite recipes collected across the years, Dog's Dinners (the title referencing his work as the voice of K9), also published by Fantom, was published in May 2014.
An enthusiastic cook, he also contributed a chapter on teaching wine tasting (in his birth name of John Ducker) to Educated Tastes: Food, Drink and Connoisseur Culture, edited by Jeremy Strong, and published by the University of Nebraska Press.
Now statutorily retired, he also served as a local Justice of the Peace for over 25 years, having served as Deputy Chairman of his local Bench (Ealing) for six years across the period. In 2002, and 2010 he stood as a candidate for the Liberal Democrats in the district of Perivale in the local council elections for Ealing London Borough Council, but failed to be elected.
Personal Life
In 1969 he married his wife Judy, their having met initially at a party to which neither of them had been invited, and their son Guy Ducker is a film editor and director.