Tuesday, December 24, 2013

The Macra Terror

The Controller (Graham Leaman) struggles
with his lobster thermidor
Four episodes (Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4)
First broadcast Mar 11 to Apr 1 1967
Average audience for serial: 8.20m


REGULAR CAST

Patrick Troughton (The Doctor) Mar 25 1920 to Mar 28 1987 (heart attack) See Patrick Troughton's entry on The Power of the Daleks

Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon) Born Sep 22 1944 Click here for Frazer Hines's entry on The Highlanders

Anneke Wills (Polly) Born Oct 20 1941 For a full career biography for Anneke Wills, click here.

Michael Craze (Ben Jackson) Nov 29 1942 to Dec 7 1998 (heart attack) For a full career biography for Michael Craze, click here.

GUEST CAST

Graham Armitage (Barney) Apr 24 1936 to Mar 6 1999
Career highlights
Graham's other appearances include Without the Prince (1952), The Haunted House (1960), A Wedding (1961), Crossroads (1964), Mr Rose (1967-68), The Saint (1968), Six Dates with Barker (1971), The Devils (1971), The Boy Friend (1971), The Dick Emery Show (1969-74), The Naked Civil Servant (1975), Open All Hours (1976), Flashpoint Africa (1984), Shaka Zulu (1987), Oddball Hall (1990), Fleshtone (1994), Kickboxer 5 (1995), Cry, the Beloved Country (1995), Hard to Forget (1998) and Alec to the Rescue (1999).
Facts
Graham moved to South Africa in 1973 and became closely associated with the Natal Performing Arts Council (now the Playhouse Company) in Durban.

Richard Beale (Broadcaster voice) May 13 1920 to Mar 27 2017
Doctor Who credits
Played: Refusian voice in The Ark (1966)
Played: Bat Masterson in The Gunfighters (1966)
Played: Broadcaster in The Macra Terror (1967)
Played: Minister of ecology in The Green Death (1973)
Career highlights
Richard's career began in The Battle of the River Plate (1956), followed by roles in Private Investigator (1958), Madame Bovary (1964), For Whom the Bell Tolls (1965), The Mating Machine (1970), Jude the Obscure (1971), Emmerdale Farm (1972), Special Branch (1974), Treasure Island (1977), Blake's 7 (1978), Secret Army (1979), Camille (1984), CATS Eyes (1985), The Tripods (1985), Return to Treasure Island (1986), Agatha Christie's Poirot (1990), EastEnders (1990-91), Lovejoy (1994), Family Money (1996), Down to Earth (2001) and Afterlife (2005). He also regularly played Edward Derwent in A Horseman Riding By (1978).
Facts
After leaving the Royal Navy, Richard worked for his father's print firm for a decade until becoming an actor. He retired from the profession in 2005, aged 85, but continued this love of sailing and racing single-handedly until he turned 90. In 2015 he released a memoir entitled One Man's War.

Sandra Bryant (Chicki) Born Sep 30 1945
Doctor Who credits
Played: Kitty in The War Machines (1966)
Played: Chicki in The Macra Terror (episode 1, 1967)
Career highlights
After starting out with an uncredited role as a schoolgirl in Carry On Teacher (1959), Sandra's other credits include Suspense (1963), Emergency Ward 10 (1967), Sat'day While Sunday (1967), Coronation Street (1969), Rogues' Gallery (1969), Special Branch (1969-70), Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (1973), On the Buses (1973), Billy Liar (1974), Not on Your Nellie (1975) and Breakaway (1980).
Facts
She played Chicki in episode 1 of The Macra Terror, but was released from her contract before the character's reappearance in episode 4, and replaced by Karol Keyes. In 1970 she married TV production designer and later film art director Terry Gough. This Sandra Bryant is not the same Sandra Bryant who released two pop records in 1967.

John Caesar (Guard) Jan 23 1926 to Jun 11 2000
Doctor Who credits
Played:
 Second man in market in The Romans (1965)
Played: Egyptian warrior in The Daleks' Master Plan (1965-66, uncredited)
Played: Monoid Four in The Ark (1966)
Played: Cowboy in The Gunfighters (1966, uncredited)
Played: Guard in The Macra Terror (1967)
Played: Pirate guard in The Space Pirates (1969, uncredited)
Played: CPO Myers in The Sea Devils (1972)
Played: R/T soldier in Invasion of the Dinosaurs (1974)
Career highlights
John's first credit was in The Escape of RD7 (1961), then Maigret (1963), Bat Out of Hell (1966), No Hiding Place (1967), War and Peace (1972), The Legend of Robin Hood (1975), Janet and Company (1982) and The Bill (1989).

Ralph Carrigan (Cheerleader) Nov 1 1933 to Apr 4 2007
Doctor Who credits
Played: Extra in The Myth Makers (1965, uncredited)
Played: Monoid in The Ark (1966)
Played: Cheerleader in The Macra Terror (1967)
Played: White Robot in The Mind Robber (1968)
Played: Cyberman in The Invasion (1968)
Career highlights
Ralph's only other credit is a Wednesday Play (1965) and The Body Stealers (1969).

Steve Emerson (Guard) Born Oct 31 1934
Doctor Who credits
Played: Guard in The Macra Terror (1967), Revelation of the Daleks (1985, uncredited)
Played: Resistance man in The War Games (1969, uncredited)
Played: UNIT soldier in The Claws of Axos (1971, uncredited)
Played: Retrograde in Frontios (1984, uncredited)
Career highlights
Steve debuted in Taxi! (1964), then Softly Softly (1966), Ransom for a Pretty Girl (1966), Germinal (1970), Man of Violence (1971), The Brothers (1972), Poldark (1975), Follow Me (1977), Robin's Nest (1981), The Nation's Health (1983), The Two Ronnies (1985), The Bill (1986), The Kenny Everett Television Show (1988), Dramarama (1989), Queen of Swords (2001), Shaun of the Dead (2004) and New Tricks (2005).

Jane Enshawe (Sunnaa) Born Oct 23 1941 (?)
Career highlights
Also has credits in Crossroads (1964), Going to Work (1968) and Jamie, on a Flying Visit (1968).
Facts
Records show a woman called Jane E Enshaw marrying American William L Scholz, the latter of whom died in 1989. Records then show a Jane Elizabeth Scholz (maiden name Enshaw) marrying Thomas Eugene Waldrop in 1997, and they currently reside in Virginia, USA.

Ian Fairbairn (Questa) Sep 17 1931 to Dec 2 2014
Doctor Who credits
Played: Questa in The Macra Terror (1967)
Played: Gregory in The Invasion (1968)
Played: Bromley in Inferno (1970)
Played: Dr Chester in The Seeds of Doom (1976)
Career highlights
Ian's career began with a 1960 episode of Scotland Yard, and then appeared in Emergency Ward 10 (1961-62), Adam Adamant Lives! (1966), The Troubleshooters (1969), The Lotus Eaters (1973), The Professionals (1977/80), Dramarama (1986) and Last of the Summer Wine (1991). Self-confessed hoarder Ian, who played Dr Frazer in Timeslip between 1970-71, retained the only original Timeslip scripts known to exist!

Anthony Gardner (Alvis) 1938 to Jun 3 2023
Career highlights
Anthony's earliest appearance was in Hamlet (1961), then Suspense (1962), Mysteries and Miracles (1965), Mister Ten Per Cent (1967), Codename (1970), Orde Wingate (1976), Warship (1977), Secret Army (1979), Blake's 7 (1980) and Twenty-One (1991).

Denis Goacher (Control voice) Jun 9 1925 to Apr 23 1998
Career highlights
Denis's other roles include Daughter of Darkness (1948), Arrow to the Heart (1952), St Ives (1960), playing Kurt Swendler in both City Beath the Sea (1962) and Secret Beneath the Sea (1963), Haunted (1967), Sexton Blake (1968), Special Branch (1970) and Dixon of Dock Green (1975). Denis was credited as Denis Gordon until 1951, and had a regular role as Tony in the sitcom Family Affairs (1949-50).
Facts
Denis was also a writer and poet and worked as secretary to fascist American poet Ezra Pound in the 1950s. In the 1980s Denis was living alone and in chronic health in Pimlico, where his spiritual home was Gordon's Wine Bar off Charing Cross Road. A plaque in his memory can be found in Gordon's on Villiers Street, London. He was married for a time to Margaret Vines, a leading actress in the West End in the 1920s and 30s who left her first husband to run away with Denis.

John Harvey (Officia) Sep 27 1911 to Jul 19 1982
Doctor Who credits
Played: Professor Brett in The War Machines (1966)
Played: Officia in The Macra Terror (1967)
Career highlights
With a career starting in Moscow Nights (1935), John was prolific, and had roles in Dick Barton Strikes Back (1949), Stage Fright (1950), X: The Unknown (1956), Ivanhoe (1958), Invisible Man (1959), The Old Dark House (1963), The Plane Makers (1964-65), They Came from Beyond Space (1967), A Challenge for Robin Hood (1967), The Deadly Bees (1967), The Borderers (1970), Sykes (1972), The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973), Man About the House (1976), George and Mildred (1976), Rentaghost (1976), Edward and Mrs Simpson (1978), Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1978) and The Racing Game (1979).

Peter Jeffrey (Pilot) Apr 18 1929 to Dec 25 1999 (prostate cancer)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Pilot in The Macra Terror (1967)
Played: Count Grendel in The Androids of Tara (1978)
Career highlights
Prolific Peter was a familiar face on British TV, having started out aged just 15 in the short Sports Day (1944). He then went on to appear in The Castiglioni Brothers (1958), The Spread of the Eagle (1963), Becket (1964), The Plane Makers (1964-65), Adam Adamant Lives! (1966), The Avengers (1966/67/68), If... (1968), Goodbye Gemini (1970), Countess Dracula (1971), The Abominable Dr Phibes (1971), Dr Phibes Rises Again (1972), Napoleon and Love (1974), Survivors (1975), Porridge (1975), The New Avengers (1976), Midnight Express (1978), Bognor (1981), One By One (1984-85), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), Chelworth (1989), The Detectives (1993), Lipstick on Your Collar (1993), Middlemarch (1994), Our Friends in the North (1996), The Moonstone (1997) and The Scarlet Pimpernel (1999).
Facts
Peter was one of the actors offered the role of the Doctor when William Hartnell vacated the role. His speech from the film If... ("Britain today is a powerhouse...") was sampled by pop group Dreadzone on their single Little Britain in 1995. His first wife was the actress Yvonne Bonnamy, with whom he had five children, including actor Victoria Jeffrey.

Roger Jerome (Cheerleader) Born Jul 3 1936
Career highlights
Roger's only other screen work was two episodes of Z Cars in 1968. Roger, who was a founder member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, was a college lecturer for 22 years, before moving to Ohio, USA in 1988 to become a theatre director, performer (principally as Charles Dickens) and workshop leader.
In 2019 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Roger here.

Robert Jewell (Macra operator) Jan 20 1920 to May 10 1998 Click here for Robert Jewell's entry on The Daleks

Karol Keyes (Chicki) Jun 11 1946 to Dec 24 2017
Doctor Who credits
Played: Chicki in The Macra Terror (episode 4, 1967)
Played: Sheila in Frontier in Space (1973 - as Luan Peters)
Career highlights
Karol (born Carol Hirsch) also appeared in Dixon of Dock Green (1967), The Caesars (1968) and Strange Report (1969), and after changing her name in 1970 (to Luan Peters, derived from a town in Russia, and the Hollywood actress Jean Peters), made further appearances in Lust for a Vampire (1971), On the Buses (1971), Man of Violence (1971), Coronation Street (1971), Albert! (1971), Twins of Evil (1971), The Flesh and Blood Show (1972), Vampira (1974), The Boys and Mrs B (1977), The Wildcats of St Trinian's (1980) and The Bill (1989/90). She also appeared as a Maid of the Month in several episodes of The Golden Shot (1971), and that same year took the lead role as an adventuring go-go girl in the 13-part series Go Girl aka Give Me a Ring Sometime or Passport to Murder, which was never shown on TV but episode one was later released on video. She also appeared as herself in episodes of Thank Your Lucky Stars (1964), The Beat Room (1964), Musikladen (1977) and Cannon and Ball (1980). She started out leading the band Carol Keyes and the Big Sound (aka The Fat Sound, but Karol made them change it to Big!) in 1964 with the single No One Can Take Your Place, and later appeared on Top of the Pops in 1975 singing I'm on Fire by fronting the band 5,000 Volts (miming to the vocals of Tina Charles!). She recorded various tracks throughout the 1960s and 70s, the last being the song Trouble from the soundtrack to the 1981 Australian sex comedy Pacific Banana (in which she appeared as Candy Bubbles). Luan's appearance in The Psychiatrist episode of Fawlty Towers (1979) has immortalised her as the busty lady Basil mistakes for a light-switch! A comprehensive summary of her career can be found here.

Gertan Klauber (Ola) Mar 5 1932 to Aug 1 2008
Doctor Who credits
Played: Galley master in The Romans (1965)
Played: Ola in The Macra Terror (1967)
Career highlights
Gertan's lengthy career began in Assignment Foreign Legion (1957), then The Adventures of Ben Gunn (1958), The Big Pull (1962), Carry On Cleo (1964), Danger Man (1966), The Avengers (1969), The Goodies (1970), Carry On Henry (1971), Upstairs Downstairs (1974), Poldark (1977), Octopussy (1983), Blackadder the Third (1987), House of Cards (1990), The Famous Five (1997) and Red Cap (2003).
Facts
Czechoslavakian born Gertan was married to actress Gwendolyn Watts (sister of fellow actor Sally Watts), who appeared in three medical-themed Carry On films. They had two children, one of whom - Daniel - died before Gertan.

Maureen Lane (Drum majorette)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Brassy bar girl in The Gunfighters (1966, uncredited)
Played: Drum majorette in The Macra Terror (1967)
Career highlights
Further roles include Here I Come, Whoever I Am (1965), The Worker (1965), The World of Wooster (1966), A Farewell to Arms (1966), Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love You (1970), The Statue (1971) and Are You Being Served? (1975). 

Graham Leaman (Controller) Aug 9 1920 to Jun 14 1985 (multiple sclerosis)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Controller in The Macra Terror (1967)
Played: Price in Fury from the Deep (1968)
Played: Grand Marshall in The Seeds of Death (1969)
Played: Time Lord in Colony in Space (1971), The Three Doctors (1972-73)
Career highlights
His earliest credit was in Where's Charley? (1952), then Before Your Very Eyes (1956), Great Scott, It's Maynard (1956), Hancock's Half Hour (1956-59), The Strange World of Gurney Slade (1960), Deadline Midnight (1961), Kenilworth (1967), The First Churchills (1969), Dead of Night (1972) and Father Brown (1974).
Facts
In 1943 Graham was on the selection panel for the formation of an entertainment troupe for 2 AGRA (Army Group Royal Artillery) in North Africa. Among those selected was comedian Spike Milligan. When the Battery Band held a reunion in 1983, Milligan noticed Graham's absence (due to him suffering from multiple sclerosis) and went to his home to transport him to the reunion. His brother John (Jack) was also an amateur actor.

Terence Lodge (Medok) Born Nov 10 1936
Doctor Who credits
Played: Medok in The Macra Terror (1967)
Played: Orum in Carnival of Monsters (1973)
Played: Moss in Planet of the Spiders (1974)
Career highlights
His CV also includes An Age of Kings (1960), The Avengers (1963/64), The Baron (1966), Germinal (1970), Jason King (1972), Barlow at Large (1975), Angels (1983), David Copperfield (1986), Hands of a Murderer (1990), The Bill (1995) and London's Burning (1995).
Facts
His birthname was Terence Ronald John Michael Stockting (incidentally, a Terence Stockting wrote a few episodes of TV soap Compact in 1964 - could that have been the same man?). Terence, who in 1959 wrote a stage play called Who's Who performed at Birmingham Repertory Theatre, briefly left the acting industry in the mid-1970s, but returned in the early 1980s. He finally retired in the late 1990s, reportedly after a negative experience on the soap Family Affairs.
In 2015 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Terence here.

Danny Rae (Guard)
Career highlights
Further credits include A Tale of Two Cities (1965), David Copperfield (1966), Pianorama (1974), Sweeney 2 (1978) and The Perfect House (1981).

Terry Wright (Cheerleader)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Cheerleader in The Macra Terror (1967)
Played: White Robot in The Mind Robber (1968)
Career highlights
Further credits include An Enemy of the State (1965), Crossroads (1966), Callan (1972), You're On Your Own (1975) and Fox (1980).

CREW

Ian Stuart Black (writer) Mar 21 1915 to Oct 13 1997 Click here for Ian Stuart Black's entry on The Savages

John Davies (director) Born Aug 20 1934
Career highlights
John's earliest directing job was the soap United! (1965-66), while other productions he worked on include The Newcomers (1966-67), Z Cars (1967-68), Germinal (1970), Bel Ami (1971), War & Peace (1972-73), The Brothers (1976), Just William (1977-78), Tales of the Unexpected (1979), The Gentle Touch (1983), Mr Palfrey of Westminster (1985), A Taste for Death (1988), Devices and Desires (1991), Unnatural Causes (1993), CI5: The New Professionals (1999) and The Bill (2000-2002). He also produced Just William, the Saturday and Sunday Night Thriller slots (1981-82), Mitch (1984), The Ruth Rendell Mysteries (1987, which he also developed for television) and The Chief (1995).
In 2014 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with John here.

Innes Lloyd (producer) Dec 24 1925 to Aug 23 1991 Click here for Innes Lloyd's entry on The Celestial Toymaker

Gerry Davis (script editor) Feb 23 1930 to Aug 31 1991 Click here for Gerry Davis's entry on The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve

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