Buster Merryfield and Horses" in January 1985, as the former seafaring Albert Gladstone Trotter, known as Uncle Albert, who was Grandad Trotter's globetrotting long-lost younger brother, and who was known for Uncle Albert's catchphrase of "During the war..." The character took over the role of senior citizen member of the Trotter family from Lennard Pearce, who played Grandad, after Pearce died unexpectedly in December 1984. Coincidentally, nine months earlier, in March 1984, Merryfield appeared in two episodes of a "Shroud for a Nightingale" alongside Lennard Pearce. He did much work for various charities, notably the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. He wrote his
Doctor Who (2008–2010 specials) "The Next Doctor" was the first special to be accompanied by its own "Confidential" episode, and was considered part of the fourth "Confidential" series. Alongside the accompanying episodes for each of the specials, three additional "Confidential" episodes alongside the specials' episodes: one for the past five Christmas specials, one for the 2008 "Doctor Who" prom, and one for the revealing of Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor. Preliminary figures show that "The Next Doctor" had a viewing audience of 11.71 million during its original airing, with a peak at 12.58 million viewers. It was the second most watched programme of