When I was ten years old I used to pretend Christopher Lee was my dad (still do sometimes – between you and me). Staying up to watch him play Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster and The Mummy in Hammer double bills on telly made quite an impression on me. (and look how well I turned out….)

I’ll never forget meeting Mr Lee years later at a signing – he made a point of standing up because i was with a young lady. What a gentleman (this lovely piece at Brutal As Hell says it all really) and what a phenomenally talented performer. Whether he was playing a Bond villain, the scourge of the Musketeers, a Sith Lord, Dark Wizard, or his inimitable Lord Summerisle – Sir Christopher always gave it his all. He gave so much in his 93 years and the world shall never see his like again.

I close my eyes and hear his voice and to me he is forever The Count.

Rest in Peace, Sir Christopher of Lee x