Doctor Who actor, writer, and disability rights advocate Nabil Shaban dies at 72

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Jordanian-British actor, writer, and disability rights advocate Nabil Shaban, who is best known for playing Sil in the 1985 Doctor Who story Vengeance on Varos, died on 18 October 2025 at his home in London. He was 72.

Born on February 12, 1953, in Amman, Jordan, Shaban was diagnosed with osteogenesis imperfecta, a brittle-bone condition that shaped his life from infancy. At age of three, he was sent to England for specialised medical treatment, embarking on a journey that would transform him from a hospital-bound child into a theatrical force of nature. Spending his formative years in a series of hospitals and residential homes, he discovered solace and power in storytelling, drawing from the rich oral traditions of his Jordanian heritage.

In the late 1970s, Shaban studied at the University of Surrey.

In 1980, alongside the late Richard Tomlinson, Shaban co-founded Graeae Theatre Company — a groundbreaking ensemble dedicated to amplifying disabled performers. Under Shaban’s influence, the company earned acclaim for productions like The Emperor (1987), where he embodied Haile Selassie; Hamlet (1988), and Fleshfly (1996), an adaptation of Volpone.

Shaban played the treacherous Menton trader Sil in Doctor Who, debuting in Vengeance on Varos (1985) alongside Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant. He returned with venomous glee in Mindwarp (1986). He reprised the role in Big Finish audio dramas Mission to Magnus (2009) and Antidote to Oblivion (2013), and later in the animated film Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor.

Beyond Doctor Who, his film credits include Born of Fire (1987), City of Joy (1992), Wittgenstein (1993), and Children of Men (2006).

His 2007 play The First to Go illuminated the horrors faced by disabled people under the Nazi regime, while his Channel 4 special The Strangest Viking (2003) speculated that the legendary Norse warrior Ivar the Boneless may have shared his condition.

Earlier works like Skin Horse (1983), exploring disability and sexuality, and The Fifth Gospel (1990), probing faith’s intersections with impairment, established him as a fearless advocate of identity and exclusion. In 1996’s Without Walls: Supercrips and Rejects, he skewered Hollywood’s sanitised portrayals of disability with wit and incision.

Shaban was nominated for Best Actor at the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS) in 2005 for his portrayal of Mack the Knife in The Threepenny Opera. He also received an honorary doctorate from the University of Surrey in 1997, recognised for his advocacy for the disabled in the arts.

He is survived by his wife, Marcela Krystkova, whom he married in 2016, and his son, Zenyel Shaban-Rogers, from his earlier relationship with Tina Leslie.

A public memorial celebration is planned for early 2026 at the Graeae Theatre, where friends and fans will gather to honour his life. The details are not yet finalised.