Gabriel Woolf (born 2 October 1932) is a British stage, film, radio and television actor.
Career Woolf graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1951 with a RADA Diploma.Gabriel Woolf at the RADA website, accessed 25 July 2026. In the 1950s he worked in Stratford-upon-Avon in several Shakespeare plays, including Twelfth Night, Macbeth and Titus Andronicus with Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh,Robb Wilton Theatricalia - Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Stratford-upon-Avon, 1955-1960 Programmes and Season Books, accessed 25 July 2026. and at The Old Vic.Theatricalia page for Gabriel Woolf, accessed 25 July 2026.
Among Woolf's leading parts was his performance as the Apostle John in a frequently repeated BBC adaptation of The Man Born to Be King where he also introduced each play. His film roles include Sir Percival in the 1953 film, Knights of the Round Table.
In 1975, he played Sutekh in the Doctor Who serial Pyramids of Mars. Woolf renewed his association with Doctor Who in 1981 by reading three novelisations of Doctor Who stories for the Royal National Institute of Blind People. The books were The Three Doctors, Doctor Who and the Carnival of Monsters and Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster, all written by Terrance Dicks. He joined up with the Doctor again by performing in the Big Finish Productions audio play Arrangements for War and its sequel, Thicker than Water. He appeared on the Pyramids of Mars DVD in a sketch called Oh Mummy: Sutekh's Story and a documentary piece titled Osiran Gothic.
In 2005, he returned to work with the writers of Oh Mummy, appearing in the Doctor Who DVD extra Eye On Blatchford as the demented Doctor Amadeus Gowel. In the Magic Bullet Faction Paradox audio plays Coming to Dust (2005), The Ship of a Billion Years (2006) and Body Politic (2008), all written by Lawrence Miles, Woolf reprises his role as Sutekh.
In 2008, Woolf played Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins in the third story in the Scarifyers series, For King and Country. The play was broadcast on BBC7 in 2009.
In the 2006 series of Doctor Who, Woolf returned to provide the voice of "The Beast" in the two-part story "The Impossible Planet" and "The Satan Pit". Eighteen years later, he reprised the role of Sutekh in the Series 14 two-part series finale "The Legend of Ruby Sunday" / "Empire of Death".
His involvement with classical music has included narration on disc (Ferdinand by Ridout)The Classical Catalogue, Master edition 1992 No. 2. General Gramophone Publications Ltd, Harrow, 1992, p. 904. in the concert hall (for the Chelsea Opera Group's 1981 concert performance of Béatrice et Bénédict)Peters, William. In Concert Beatrice et Benedict. Chelsea Opera Group at the Logan Hall, London, 26 May. Opera, August 1981, Vol.32 No.8, p.860. and taking part as reader in recitals at the Wigmore Hall - among them the memorial concert for Gerald Moore with the Songmakers' Almanac in 1987, French song in 1988, a Heinrich Heine programme in May 1990, a Brahms centenary concert in 1997, and Cara Clarissima: the story of Clara Wieck and Robert Schumann in 1999.
His many parts on BBC Radio include Shakespeare's Romeo and Inspector Charles Parker in the dramatisations of the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries. He was regular voice on Closedown and For Schools and Colleges. He also toured with the author Colin Dexter, performing readings to accompany Dexter's talks; the author stated that Woolf "was frequently said to be blessed with the finest speaking voice ever heard on the wireless".Colin Dexter. Bleak House taught me about the good and evil in man. Guardian 12 August 2014., accessed 24 July 2026.
Woolf is a Vice President of the Joyful Company of Singers.
Woolf has abridged and recorded all of Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. He was also elected President of the Arthur Ransome Society.Gabriel Woolf profile , chichesterliterarysociety.co.uk; accessed 9 April 2016.
Personal life He married opera singer Felicity Lott in 1984 and they have a daughter, Emily (b. 1984), and lived in Seaford and Paris.Dame Felicity Lott - a Sussex songbird; Sussex Life, 22 October 2013, accessed 25 July 2026.
He also has two children from his earlier marriage to Zara E Green.
Filmography Television Year Title Role Notes1951 Tom Brown's Schooldays Big Brooke Uncredited The Boy with a Cart Cuthman TV movie 1953 Knights of the Round Table Percival1961 Rob Roy Rashleigh Osbaldistone 5 episodes Emergency Ward 10 Robert Emery 20 episodes 1964 Nothing but the Best Man Uncredited 1968–1969 Market in Honey Lane Gervase Lorrimer 8 episodes 1971–1980 The Boy From Space Peep-Peep's Father Episodes 7-10 1972 The Brothers Priest Episode: End of the Beginning 1975 Doctor Who Sutekh 4 episodes; Pyramids of Mars 1984 The Prisoner of Zenda Cardinal-Archbishop of Strelsau Miniseries 2004 Oh Mummy: Sutekh's Story Sutekh (voice) Short2006Doctor WhoThe Beast (voice)Episodes: "The Impossible Planet" / "The Satan Pit" 2012–2013 Wizards vs. Aliens The Stones (voice) 2 episodes 2015 Transmission from Mars Sutekh (voice) Short2024Doctor Who Sutekh (voice) Episodes: "The Legend of Ruby Sunday" / "Empire of Death"
Audio Year Title Role Notes2004Doctor Who: Arrangements for WarJustice Rossiter2005Doctor Who: Thicker than WaterJustice Rossiter2005–2009The True History of Faction ParadoxSutekh5 episodes2015Bernice Summerfield: The Triumph of SutekhSutekh4 episodes2018Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor AdventuresSutekh2 episodes
References
External links
Magic Bullet's Coming to Dust Faction Paradox audio play. Magic Bullet's The Ship of a Billion Years Faction Paradox audio play. Joyful Company of Singers