The Keys of Marinus

William Russell and Jacqueline Hill as
Ian and Barbara explore the
city of Morphoton

Six episodes (The Sea of Death, The Velvet Web, The Screaming Jungle, The Snows of Terror, Sentence of Death, The Keys of Marinus)
First broadcast Apr 11 to May 16 1964
Average audience for serial: 9.07m

• A pictorial guide to the guest cast can be found at the bottom of this entry. Read an episode-by-episode review of this story at Time Space Visualiser here!

REGULAR CAST

William Hartnell (The Doctor) Jan 8 1908 to Apr 23 1975 (heart failure after a series of strokes) For a full career biography for William Hartnell, click here.

William Russell (Ian Chesterton) Nov 19 1924 to Jun 3 2024 For a full career biography for William Russell (aka Russell Enoch), click here.

Jacqueline Hill (Barbara Wright) Dec 17 1929 to Feb 18 1993 (bone cancer) For a full career biography for Jacqueline Hill, click here.

Carole Ann Ford (Susan) Born Jun 16 1940 For a full career biography for Carole Ann Ford, click here.

CREDITED GUEST CAST

Michael Allaby (Ice Soldier, Larn) Born Sep 18 1933
Career highlights
The Keys of Marinus is Michael's only TV credit, but he went on to be a major specialist author on climate change, the eco-system and the weather, penning many books on the subject. Before becoming an actor, he was a police cadet and an RAF pilot.
In 2013 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Michael, along with other members of the cast of The Keys of Marinus, here.

Heron Carvic (Voice of Morpho) Jan 21 1913 to Feb 9 1980
Career highlights
Heron had started acting uncredited in productions in the 1930s, but started to get bigger roles in A Tale of Two Cities (1957), The Golden Spur (1959), Police Surgeon (1960), The Avengers (1961) and Stranger in the City (1962). His voice work on Doctor Who was his last screen acting credit, but he did provide the voice for Gandalf in a BBC Radio adaptation of The Hobbit (1968).
Facts
Heron - whose real name was Geoffrey Rupert William Harris - was also a writer and penned the first five Miss Emily D Seeton mysteries (1968-75), a gentle parody of Agatha Christie's work. Heron was married to actress Phyllis Neilson-Terry, whose father Fred was co-writer of the music hall classic Any Old Iron, and whose aunt was silent film star Ellen Terry. Phyllis was also acting legend John Gielgud's cousin.

Martin Cort (Voord, Warrior, Aydan) Born Jun 27 1938
Doctor Who credits
Played: Voord in The Keys of Marinus (1964)
Played: Warrior in The Keys of Marinus (1964)
Played: Aydan in The Keys of Marinus (1964)
Played: Locke in The Seeds of Death (1969)
Career highlights
Martin also has credits on No Hiding Place (1963), Crossroads (1964), Judge Dee (1969), Dixon of Dock Green (1972) and Face Value (2010).
Facts
Martin went on to become a prestigious theatre director, and appeared in Patrick Lichfield's 2000 calendar.
In 2013 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Martin, along with other members of the cast of The Keys of Marinus, here.

George Coulouris (Arbitan) Oct 1 1903 to Apr 25 1989 (heart attack following Parkinson's disease)
Career highlights
George was a well respected film actor by the time he appeared in Doctor Who, having started his career in 1933's The Late Christopher Bean, and then appearing in Citizen Kane (1941), Mr Skeffington (1944), Joan of Arc (1948), A Day to Remember (1953), Tarzan and the Lost Safari (1957), Hancock's Half Hour (1960), The Third Man (1962), Haunted (1967), Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971), Papillon (1973), The Doombolt Chase (1978), Jemima Shore Investigates (1983) and Mussolini: The Untold Story (1985). He also had a regular role as Harcourt Brown in the Pathfinders series (1960-61).
Facts
He was working on memoirs of his early life and career in Manchester when he died. George's son George (a renowned computer scientist) has set up a lovely tribute page to his father and his work here. George's daughter Mary Louise was a watercolour artist.

Stephen Dartnell (Yartek) Died 1994
Doctor Who credits
Played: Yartek in The Keys of Marinus (1964)
Played: John in The Sensorites (1964)
Career highlights
His other TV credits include Othello (1955), Oscar Wilde (1960), A Tale of Two Cities (1965) and A Man Like That (1966). He directed a number of stage plays in Glasgow in the 1970s.
Facts
In The Front Legs of a Cow, the 2011 biography of Steptoe and Son star Harry H Corbett written by his daughter Susannah, Harry Greene (later to become a TV DIY expert, and father to Attack of the Cybermen actress Sarah Greene) tells the story of an incident in the early 1950s when Stephen (who was gay) was the target of homophobic abuse and had paint thrown over him by a youth. That youth then went home and told his father that Stephen had propositioned him, so his father went to the police. When it came to court, the judge threw it out for being indefensible and the youth and his father were fined for wasting police time and perjury. However, Stephen was kicked out of Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop, as was Harry Greene for sticking up for him. Throughout this affair, Stephen was also supported by Harry H Corbett.

Raf De La Torre (Senior Judge) Feb 14 1905 to Jul 15 1975
Career highlights
French-born Raf's career began in the early 1950s with Operation Diplomat (1952) and included roles in Epitaph for a Spy (1953), The Trollenberg Terror (1957), Ghost Squad (1963), The Troubleshooters (1969/70), Elizabeth R (1971), Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) and S*P*Y*S (1974). He also had the regular role of Mr Quelch in the 1955 series Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School, and read the news on the radio in Cairo on occasions.

Francis de Wolff (Vasor) Jan 7 1913 to Apr 18 1984
Doctor Who credits
Played: Vasor in The Keys of Marinus (1964)
Played: Agamemnon in The Myth Makers (1965)
Career highlights
Francis's long career began in Flame in the Heather (1935) and took in roles in Fire Over England (1937), Under Capricorn (1949), Treasure Island (1950), Tom Brown's Schooldays (1951), the Spirit of Christmas Present in Alistair Sims' Scrooge (1951), Moby Dick (1956), Corridors of Blood (1958), The Two Faces of Dr Jekyll (1960), From Russia with Love (1963), Carry On Cleo (1964), The Woman in White (1966), Paul Temple (1971), the villainous Jedikiah in The Tomorrow People (1973-75) and Jesus of Nazareth (1977).
Facts
Francis's first wife (he had three wives, and seven children by two of them) was Jean Fairlie, who worked in the wardrobe and costume department on productions such as Alfie (1966), UFO (1970-73), Supergirl (1984) and Brazil (1985). In 1970, Francis appeared in a TV commercial for Birds Eye chicken pie, alongside fellow Doctor Who alumni June Whitfield.

Alan James (Ice Soldier, First Judge, Guard)
Career highlights
Other credits include Redcap (1965) and Howard's End (1992).

Robin Phillips (Altos) Feb 28 1940 to Jul 25 2015
Career highlights
Robin was artistic director of Canada's Stratford Festival between 1975-80. His acting career began with Candidate for Murder (1962) and went on to include The Saint (1965), The Avengers (1966), The Forsyte Saga (1967), David Copperfield (1969) and Tales from the Crypt (1972). He also directed Helen Mirren in Miss Julie (1972) and Brent Carver in The Wars (1983), and later directed for the stage in Canada, on Broadway and in the West End.
Awards
2005: Officer of the order of Canada (OC) for services to drama
Facts
Robin was artistic head of Canada's Stratford Festival (1975-80), and provided acting advice to Maggie Smith and Peter Ustinov. Canadian actress Martha Burns was making a documentary about Robin and his career at the time of his death. When Robin was a child his parents worked as gardener and housemaid for Hollywood star Stewart Granger, and Robin recalled being carried around on the actor's shoulders as a boy. Health problems dogged Robin's latter years, including a quadruple heart bypass and diabetes.

Donald Pickering (Eyesen) Nov 15 1933 to Dec 19 2009
Doctor Who credits
Played: Eyesen in The Keys of Marinus (1964)
Played: Captain Blade in The Faceless Ones (1967)
Played: Beyus in Time and the Rani (1987)
Career highlights
Donald's prolific career began with an appearance in Woman in a Dressing Gown (1956), after which he took roles in Sykes in a ... (1964), Gideon's Way (1965), A Challenge for Robin Hood (1967), Barlow At Large (1971), The Pallisers (1974), Wings (1977-78), Zulu Dawn (1979), Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson (1980, as Watson to Geoffrey Whitehead's Holmes), The Professionals (1982), Yes, Prime Minister (1986), Executive Stress (1986-87), The Camomile Lawn (1992), Lovejoy (1994), The Brittas Empire (1997), Heartbeat (2001) and Holby City (2004).
Facts
Donald once said in an interview that he did not recall ever working on The Keys of Marinus!

Katharine Schofield (Sabetha) Mar 16 1939 to Aug 6 2002 (cancer)
Career highlights
Katherine (accurate spelling) began her career in No Hiding Place (1963), then went on to roles in Love Story (1965), The Saint (1966/67), Nana (1968), Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), The Naked Civil Servant (1975), Out (1978), The Deep Concern (1979), Potter (1983), Lifeforce (1985) and Tom's Midnight Garden (1989).

Peter Stenson (Voord, Second Judge) Oct 19 1934 to Mar 20 2020
Career highlights
Peter went on to enjoy roles in Adam Adamant Lives! (1967), Champion House (1968), Terry and June (1979), Buccaneer (1980), The Prodigal (2002), Lost Existence (2014) and Cold Caller (2015).

Facts

Peter occasionally wrote articles for the gay press, including one for The Pink Paper where he reminisced about being the Voord who trips over his flippers in episode 6.
In 2013, Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Peter, along with other members of the cast of The Keys of Marinus, here.

Henley Thomas (Tarron) Born Dec 3 1930
Career highlights
Henley's other credits include A Quiet Man (1959), How Green Was My Valley (1960), No Hiding Place (1962), Emergency Ward 10 (1961/66) and Love Story (1967).

Anthony Verner (Ice Soldier) Born 1938
Career highlights
Anthony also had roles in Tread Softly (1952), No Hiding Place (1963), The Newcomers (1965-69), The Liver Birds (1972), Sez Les (1972), Who Do You Do (1973/76), At the Earth's Core (1976), See How They Run (1984), The Shouting Men (2010) and Run for Your Wife (2012). He directed Dutch film Den Haag Vandaag: Ofwel Een Avond Lang Lachen (1989).
Facts
Anthony's daughter is also an actor, Katie Verner. To read an in-depth interview with Anthony about his career, click here (he doesn't mention Doctor Who).

Gordon Wales (Voord)
Career highlights
Also appeared in One for the Pot (1968).

Fiona Walker (Kala) Born May 24 1944
Doctor Who credits
Played: Kala in The Keys of Marinus (1964)
Played: Lady Peinforte in Silver Nemesis (1988)
Career highlights
Fiona debuted in Doctor Who, then appeared in The Four Seasons of Rosie Carr (1964), Nursery Tale (1967), Far from the Madding Crowd (1967), Jude the Obscure (1971), The Asphyx (1973), I, Claudius (1976), The Norman Conquests (1978), Bleak House (1985), The Woman in Black (1989), Wish Me Luck (1990), Poirot (1993), Eldorado (1993) and The Chief (1994).
Facts
In 1988, the year Fiona appeared in Silver Nemesis, she married the TV director Herbert Wise (he directed her in I, Claudius in 1976, and they'd lived together since 1971). Their daughter is actress Susannah Wise. Fiona appeared in Doctor Who's first and 25th anniversary seasons. Fiona retired from acting in the 1990s, and became a supporter of the Harington Scheme in London's Highgate, which provides young people with learning difficulties or disabilities with skills and vocational training.

Edmund Warwick (Darrius) Jul 15 1907 to Dec 21 1989
Doctor Who credits
Played: Darrius in The Keys of Marinus (1964)
Played: Dr Who in The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964, uncredited)
Played: Robot Dr Who in The Chase (1965)
Career highlights
Edmund appeared in Sherlock Holmes (1951), numerous times in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1957-60), as well as Z Cars (1963), R3 (1964) and with Joan Collins in The Stud (1978).
Facts
Apparently Edmund complained about not being cast as the First Doctor in The Five Doctors (1983), as the actor often doubled for William Hartnell when the star was on holiday or ill.

UNCREDITED GUEST CAST

Patricia Anne (Citizen of Millennius)

Brian Bates (Citizen of Millennius)

John Beorbohn (Arbitan's double) John played Arbitan in the scenes where he wanders around the complex with his hood up. The spelling of his surname is varied according to where you look. Doctor Who News has it as Beorbohn, IMDB has it as Beerbohm, and TARDIS Wiki has it as Berrbohm. Whatever the truth, John also appeared uncredited in The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve (Parisian man).

Johnny Crawford (Citizen of Millennius) 

Billy Dean (Citizen of Millennius) Sep 3 1921 to Apr 20 2000 (heart attack). Better known in later life as Bill Dean, who played grumpy Harry Cross in 145 episodes of Liverpool soap Brookside between 1983-89. He appeared in many British TV shows, including Oh No, It's Selwyn Froggitt and The Liver Birds. His other uncredited Doctor Who work was The Curse of Peladon (Peladon guard).

Dougie Dean (Eprin) Dougie also appeared uncredited in The Time Meddler (Villager).

Adrian Drotsky (Citizen of Millennius) An Adrian Drotsky married a Jane Bowman in 1962, and the pair had a child, also called Adrian, in 1966. Adrian's other uncredited Doctor Who work includes The Reign of Terror (French peasant and Citizen) and The Dalek Invasion of Earth (Roboman). 

Bob Haddow (Idol) Bob also appeared in An Unearthly Child (Tribesman). It's probable Bob emigrated to Australia circa 1966 as his CV is made up of Antipodean productions from 1967-70.

Tony Hennessey (Citizen of Millennius) Tony also had an uncredited role in The Myth Makers (Greek soldier).

Faith Hines (Lady in waiting)

Jill Howard (Citizen of Millennius) Jill also appeared uncredited in The Reign of Terror (Woman in window). She may well have been related to Yvonne.

Yvonne Howard (Citizen of Millennius) Yvonne may well have been related to Jill.

Cecilia Johnson (Citizen of Millennius)

David Kramer (Citizen of Millennius)

Heidi Laine (Citizen of Millennius)

Monique Lewis (Citizen of Millennius) Monique also appeared in The Chase (Beautiful woman).

Perrin Lewis (Citizen of Millennius) According to Getty Images and Alamy, 1950s/60s singer Vince Taylor (born Brian Maurice Holden) was married to a Perrin Lewis by 1960, but there are no further references to such a coupling in the UK. Whether they are one and the same is unclear, although it is known Vince Taylor lived in Switzerland with his wife Nathalie between 1983 and 1991, when he died. Nathalie may have been a later wife. This Perrin also appeared uncredited in The Underwater Menace (Fish Person). 

Leslie Shannon (Citizen of Millennius) Jun 4 1920 to Sep 6 2012. Les played bit parts throughout the 1960s and 70s, including in the Doctor Who stories The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve (Council member), The Gunfighters (Settler), Doctor Who and the Silurians (London extra) and The Ambassadors of Death (Collinson's man; Cameraman). He was also booked to play a monster in Shada, but his scenes were never recorded.

Valerie Stanton (Citizen of Millennius) Feb 28 1944 to Oct 12 2017 (sepsis). Valerie appeared regularly as an extra in the Carry On films and in The Benny Hill Show, as well as having roles in shows such as The Avengers, Up Pompeii and Highway to Heaven. She was born in Kensington but emigrated to the USA when she married. Her husband pre-deceased her, and she had just found love with a new man when she died while visiting family in the UK. Her other uncredited Doctor Who work included The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve (Parisian woman) and The Space Pirates (Madeleine's secretary). She was also booked, but not used, to play a statue in The Dominators.

Rosina Stewart (Citizen of Millennius) Rosina's other uncredited Doctor Who work includes The Dalek Invasion of Earth (Rebel), The Enemy of the World (Shelterer) and Doctor Who and the Silurians (London extra).

Lynda Taylor (Lady in waiting)

Daphne Thomas (Lady in waiting)

Veronica Thornton (Lady in waiting; Citizen of Millennius)

Leslie Wilkinson (Citizen of Millennius) Feb 1 1934 to Dec 27 1995. Leslie's other uncredited Doctor Who work includes The Dalek Invasion of Earth (Slave) and The Romans (Galley slave).

Sharon Young (Lady in waiting) Sharon also appear in the film Dr Who and the Daleks as a Thal.

CREW

Terry Nation (writer) Aug 6 1930 to Mar 9 1997 (emphysema) Click here for Terry Nation's entry on The Daleks

John Gorrie (director) Born Aug 11 1932
Doctor Who credits
Directed: The Keys of Marinus (1964) and The Reign of Terror (episode 3, 1964)
Career highlights
John's long directing career began in 1963 on Compact, then Thorndyke (1964), Londoners (1965), Out of the Unknown (1965-66), Edward the Seventh (1975), Angels (1975), Within These Walls (1975-78), Couples (1976), The Velvet Glove (1977), Lillie (1978), Tales of the Unexpected (1980-88), The Members for Chelsea (1981), Claire (1982), Shroud for a Nightingale (1984), First Among Equals (1986), Perfect Scoundrels (1991-92), Rumpole of the Bailey (1992), The Famous Five (1995-97), Animal Ark (1997-98) and The Coral Island (2000). John has also written for series such as Edward the Seventh (1975), Lillie (1978) and Marjorie and Men (1985), and even had a crack at acting, appearing in Sat'day While Sunday (1967).
Awards
1976: BAFTA TV Award for Best Drama Series/ Serial (Edward the Seventh)
In 2013 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with John, along with members of the cast of The Keys of Marinus, here.

Verity Lambert (producer) Nov 27 1935 to Nov 22 2007 (cancer) Click here for Verity Lambert's entry on An Unearthly Child

Mervyn Pinfield (associate producer) Feb 28 1912 to May 20 1966 Click here for Mervyn Pinfield's entry on An Unearthly Child

David Whitaker (story editor) Apr 18 1928 to Feb 4 1980 (lymphoma) Click here for David Whitaker's entry on An Unearthly Child

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