John Leeson holding up a picture of K9 at a Doctor Who convention in 2005.Photograph: Shutterstock

John Leeson, the actor best known as the voice of K9, the robot dog in Doctor Who, has died at 83.

Leeson's son, Guy Ducker, shared the news on Facebook. He wrote: "I regret to announce the death of my father … after a summer of illness. The end was peaceful."

In a separate post on social media, Ducker said: "Many thanks to the Whovian community for the love they showed to my father over the decades, it meant a lot to him and me."