Ian Gelder, who played Kevan Lannister in Game of Thrones, has died at the age of 74 after a battle with cancer. The news was announced by his husband, fellow actor Ben Daniels.
The couple had been together for over 30 years after meeting during a 1993 production of Joe Orton’s Entertaining Mr Sloane. Ben, who played Antony Armstrong-Jones in The Crown, wrote: “It is with huge huge sadness and a heavy heart broken into a million pieces that I’m leaving this post to announce the passing of my darling husband and life partner Ian Gelder.
“Ian was diagnosed with bile duct cancer in December and yesterday he passed at 1.07pm. I’d stopped all work to be his carer but neither of us had any idea that it would all be so fast. He was my absolute rock and we’d been partners for more than 30 years. If we weren’t together we spoke to each other every day.
“He was the kindest, most generous spirited and loving human being. He was a wonderful wonderful actor and everyone who worked with him was touched by his heart and light. I honestly don’t know what I’ll do without him by my side. He coped with his dreadful illness with such bravery, with no self pity. Ever.
“He was remarkable and will be so missed. This pic was taken at Christmas time after I’d got him out of hospital and even though he’d gone through the worst three weeks there you can still see his joy and love shining through,” he penned alongside a picture of the couple. “Rest well my sweet Chianni. Xxxx,” he signed off.
Alongside his theatre work Ian was a well-known face on screen since the 1970s.
Over the decades he had roles in shows such as Rumpole of the Bailey, London’s Burning and Van Der Valk.
He also appeared in Silent Witness, EastEnders, Mr Selfridge and His Dark Materials.
In 2009 he secured his place as a cult TV icon when he played Mr Dekker in the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood: Children of Earth.
Just over 10 years later in 2020 he also appeared in Doctor Who when he guest-starred as a character called Zellin in the episode Can You Hear Me?
This saw him appear opposite Jodie Whittaker’s incarnation of The Doctor and her companions Graham O’Brien (played by Bradley Walsh), Ryan Sinclair (Tosin Cole), and Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill).
However, he is probably best known to contemporary audiences for his role as Kevan Lannister in Game of Thrones.
He first appeared in the fantasy drama in 2011 and after an absence of three years, he reprised his role in the fifth and sixth seasons.
