I don't know of any other man as nice as Simon. Except perhaps Tom Hanks - but I've never met him, so he doesn't count. I met him (Simon, not Tom) back in 1989 at one of the Leeds Doctor Who group gatherings. I noticed then how welcoming he was to 'newbies', and loved his dry sense of humour. We lost touch for a few years, after I drifted away from the group, but in 1995 we met again. I'd gone to my first Doctor Who convention, in Oldham, by myself - no idea why (must've been Lis Sladen on the guest list) - but on my first day there, feeling very alone, out of nowhere Simon appeared, and came straight over. I didnt want to crash his group, even though he invited me to join them, but we sat together at a few panels, shared some drinks and chat, and when at the end of the weekend I'd had a fantastic time, it was mostly down to Simon. And Lis Sladen a bit.

When I reconnected with the group in the 2000s, Simon was one of the first to welcome me back. He still had that dry sense of humour, and had remained the nicest man I'd ever met. That never changed. Thanks for being my friend, Simon. You were worth a million Hollywood film stars. Nx