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| It wasn't until the end of the adventure that the Yeti realised he was too big to get into the TARDIS. The Doctor would have to get a different new companion... |
First broadcast Sep 30 to Nov 4 1967
Average audience for serial: 6.85m
An episode by episode review of this story can be read at Time Space Visualiser here.
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
Deborah Watling (Victoria Waterfield) Jan 2 1948 to Jul 21 2017 (lung cancer) Click here for Deborah Watling's entry on The Evil of the Daleks
GUEST CAST
David Baron (Ralpachan) Born Apr 7 1933
Career highlights
David also appeared in The Reptile (1966), The Avengers (1969), Dead of Night (1972), The Tamarind Seed (1974), The Professionals (1978), Minder (1979), Buccaneer (1980), Storyboard (1989) and Foyle's War (2010).
Facts
Acclaimed playwright Harold Pinter was acting under the name David Baron in the 1960s, but this is a different man.
David Grey (Rinchen) Aug 13 1925 to Apr 21 2018
Career highlights
Other credits include Dr Kabil (1959), The Pen of My Aunt (1960), Police Surgeon (1960), two episodes of The Avengers (1961/68), Compact (1965), Virgin of the Secret Service (1968), The Power Game (1966/69), The Main Chance (1969), The Asphyx (1973), Commuter Husbands (1974) and Naughty! (1974).
Facts
David (whose real name was David Gregory) once worked as a publisher in post-independence Pakistan. Writer and historian Tom Holland is his nephew.
Tony Harwood (Yeti) Jun 26 1933 to Dec 9 2020
Doctor Who credits
Played: Cyberman in The Tomb of the Cybermen (1967)
Played: Yeti in The Abominable Snowmen (1967)
Played: Ice Warrior in The Ice Warriors (1967), The Seeds of Death (1969), The War Games (1969, uncredited)
Played: Flynn in The Ambassadors of Death (1970)
Career highlights
Further credits include Billion Dollar Brain (1967), Maigret at Bay (1969) and The Regiment (1972).
Doctor Who credits
Played: Cyberman in The Tomb of the Cybermen (1967)
Played: Yeti in The Abominable Snowmen (1967)
Played: Ice Warrior in The Ice Warriors (1967), The Seeds of Death (1969), The War Games (1969, uncredited)
Played: Flynn in The Ambassadors of Death (1970)
Career highlights
Further credits include Billion Dollar Brain (1967), Maigret at Bay (1969) and The Regiment (1972).
Facts
In 1981, Tony (real name Anthony Hargreaves) opened the Horseshoes Riding School in Kent with his wife.
John Hogan (Yeti) Died January 2022
Doctor Who credits
Played: Cyberman in The Tomb of the Cybermen (1967)
Played: Yeti in The Abominable Snowmen (1967)
Career highlights
John's other work includes Blake's 7 (1978) and Law and Order (1978).
Norman Jones (Khrisong) Jun 16 1932 to Apr 23 2013 (heart attack)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Khrisong in The Abominable Snowmen (1967)
Played: Major Baker in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970)
Played: Hieronymous in The Masque of Mandragora (1976)
Career highlights
Norman's earliest role was in an episode of Out of This World (1962), followed by Crossroads (1964), You Only Live Twice (1967), Oh! What a Lovely War (1969), The Abominable Dr Phibes (1971), All Our Saturdays (1973), South Riding (1974), The XYY Man (1977), Thomas and Sarah (1979), A Tale of Two Cities (1980), The Borgias (1981), Jemima Shore Investigates (1983), Angels (1983), Boon (1986), Inspector Morse (1987) and The Assassinator (1992). He regularly played Adam Charlton in Andy Robson (1982-83).
Richard Kerley (Yeti) Jul 3 1942 to Sep 11 1994
Doctor Who credits
Played: Cyberman in The Tomb of the Cybermen (1967)
Played: Yeti in The Abominable Snowmen (1967)
Career highlights
Richard's CV also includes appearances in The Caesars (1968), Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (1970, as the semi-regular Sergeant Hinds), The Rainbirds (1971) and Colditz (1972).
Raymond Llewellyn (Sapan) Born Aug 15 1928
Career highlights
Raymond's CV includes roles in Under Milk Wood (1957), Starr and Company (1958), Curtain of Fear (1964), The Owl Service (1969-70), The Brothers (1976), Cyrano de Bergerac (1985), The Bill (1990), Cadfael (1994), Heaven on Earth (1998), William and Mary (2003), Doctors (2005) and The Edge of Love (2008).
Charles Morgan (Songsten) Mar 23 1909 to Mar 11 2000
Doctor Who credits
Played: Songsten in The Abominable Snowmen (1967)
Played: Gold Usher in The Invasion of Time (1978)
Career highlights
First appearing in Train of Events (1949), Charles went on to appear in The New Adventures of Charlie Chan (1957), All Aboard (1958), Hell is a City (1960), Maigret (1961), Call Oxbridge 2000 (1962), Softly Softly (1966-67), Sexton Blake (1967), Hadleigh (1969), Ace of Wands (1971), Helen: A Woman of Today (1973), Bless This House (1974), The Howerd Confessions (1976), Within These Walls (1976-78, as Ted Armitage), Tenko (1981), Angels (1983), Cover Her Face (1985) and After Henry (1989). Charles was best known for playing Superintendant Rodway in over 40 episodes of Sergeant Cork (1964-68).
Wolfe Morris (Padmasambhava) Jan 5 1925 to Jul 21 1996
Career highlights
Wolfe's earliest credit was in A Place of Execution (1953), followed by Return to the Lost Planet (1955), The Abominable Snowman (1957), The Camp on Blood Island (1958), Ask for King Billy (1959), The Six Proud Walkers (1962), Orlando (1965), The Rat Catchers (1967), The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970), The House That Dripped Blood (1971), Jason King (1972), The Good Life (1975), Beasts (1976), The Famous Five (1979), Bird of Prey (1982), Dirty Dozen: The Series (1988), Shining Through (1992) and Daisies in December (1995).
Facts
His brother was fellow actor Aubrey Morris, while his daughter Shona is a theatrical movement director (head of movement at Stratford Theatre in Canada) and a creative associate of Watford Palace Theatre.
David Spenser (Thonmi) Mar 12 1934 to Jul 20 2013
Career highlights
Ceylon born David's other credits include Wild Justice (1950), The Bell Family (1951), Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School (1952), Anne of Green Gables (1952), Jesus of Nazareth (1956), Paul of Tarsus (1960), The Stranglers of Bombay (1960), Studio 4 (1962), Secret Beneath the Sea (1963), The Earth Dies Screaming (1965), Battle Beneath the Earth (1967), Carry On Up the Khyber (1968) and Pretenders (1972).
Facts
David's partner since the 1960s was Doctor Who script editor/ writer Victor Pemberton. As a child actor in 1948 David was personally chosen by Just William writer Richmal Crompton to play the character on radio, and he later went on to work for the Children's Television Network in New York and as a director, producer and writer for BBC Radio. In 1991 David directed two TV tributes to comedian Benny Hill, as part of his production company Saffron, and also directed a documentary about Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies which won an international Emmy Award. David's brother is actor Jeremy Spenser.
Jack Watling (Travers) Jan 13 1923 to May 22 2001 (cancer)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Professor Travers in The Abominable Snowmen (1967), The Web of Fear (1968) + fan spin-off Downtime (1995)
Career highlights
Jack was a veteran film actor by the time he appeared in Doctor Who, alongside his daughter Debbie. His first CV credit was in 1943's We Dive at Dawn (although he'd been acting uncredited since before the war), and subsequent credits included The Way Ahead (1944), The Winslow Boy (1948), Under Capricorn (1949), Stryker of the Yard (1953), A Time to Kill (1955), The Admirable Crichton (1957), A Night to Remember (1958), Invisible Man (1959), Sink the Bismarck! (1960), Hancock (1961), The Newcomers (1965), The Nanny (1965), Nearest and Dearest (1969), Paul Temple (1970), The Pathfinders (1972-73), Jason King (1972), Father, Dear Father (1972), Lord Tramp (1977), The Cedar Tree (1977-78), Doctor's Daughters (1981), Family Fortunes (1981), Andy Robson (1982-83), Hot Metal (1986), Fortunes of War (1987), Bergerac (1989-91) and Heartbeat (1994). His last role was reprising Prof Travers in Downtime (1995), which reunited him with his daughter, as well as the Great Intelligence, the Yeti and the Brigadier. Travers was also supposed to appear in the Doctor Who story The Invasion (1968), but Jack was unavailable. One of Jack's other longer-running roles was as Don Henderson in The Plane Makers (1963-65) and The Power Game (1965-69).
Facts
Jack's other children are actors Giles and Dilys and sculptor Nicky Matthews. In the 1940s Jack was pestered by love letters sent to him from Viennese psychiatrist and vocal coach Keith Newman, who Jack was eventually forced to commit to a mental institution. Jack also suffered from acute anxiety neurosis. Jack's widow Patricia Hicks died just three days after the tenth anniversary of his passing.
Reg Whitehead (Yeti) Dec 11 1932 to Mar 11 2016
Doctor Who credits
Played: Krail in The Tenth Planet (1966)
Played: Jarl in The Tenth Planet (1966)
Played: Cyberman in The Moonbase (1967), The Tomb of the Cybermen (1967)
Played: John in The Abominable Snowmen (1967, uncredited)
Played: Yeti in The Abominable Snowmen (1967)
Career highlights
After debuting in Z Cars (1963), Reg went on to appear in The Power Game (1966), Counterstrike (1969), Hardy Heating Company (1970) and Bachelor Father (1971).
Facts
In The Tomb of the Cybermen, a character mentions "Whitehead logic", which could refer to computer logic pioneer Alfred North Whitehead, or indeed Reg! In the 1970s Reg invested in the manufacture of executive toys such as the Newton's Cradle, and made a good living from it, especially when they sold to America. In later years Reg helped found the Finders Keepers Partnership, which owns and breeds race horses.
CREW
Mervyn Haisman (writer) Mar 15 1928 to Oct 29 2010 (heart failure)
Doctor Who credits
Wrote: The Abominable Snowmen (1967), The Web of Fear (1968), The Dominators (1968, as Norman Ashby)
Career highlights
Mervyn's other writing duties have been on Dr Finlay's Casebook (1967), Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968), The Expert (1968-69), It's Tommy Cooper (1969), Ryan International (1970), Hadleigh (1971), The Intruder (1972), Crown Court (1973), Warship (1973-74), Oil Strike North (1975), The Onedin Line (1977-79), Jane (1982-84), Howards' Way (1988-90), Trainer (1992), The Enid Blyton Adventure Series (1996), The Adventures of Swiss Family Robinson (1998) and Revelations (2002-03). Mervyn also acted as script editor on series such as Sutherland's Law (1973), Oil Strike North, Jubilee (1977), The Onedin Line (1976-79), Squadron (1982) and My Brother Jonathan (1985), and dabbled with acting with an appearance in No Hiding Place (1963).
Facts
He, along with co-writer Henry Lincoln, used the name Norman Ashby on The Dominators following a falling-out with the production team over rewrites (they reused the pseudonym for a 1974 episode of Warship too). Prior to becoming a writer, Mervyn worked as an actor, theatre director and in insurance.
Henry Lincoln (writer) Feb 12 1930 to Feb 23 2022
Doctor Who credits
Wrote: The Abominable Snowmen (1967), The Web of Fear (1968), The Dominators (1968, as Norman Ashby)
Career highlights
Henry's earliest writing credit was on Once Aboard the Lugger (1963, as Henry Soskin - his real name), followed by stints on 24-Hour Call (1963), The Barnstormers (1964), Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968), The Expert (1968-69), It's Tommy Cooper (1969), Ryan International (1970) and Hadleigh (1971), but he started out as quite a prolific actor, making appearances in A Man from the Sun (1956), Wideawake (1957), Big Guns (1958), Our Mutual Friend (1958), Love and Mr Lewisham (1959), A Kiss for Cinderella (1959), The Haunted House (1960), The Secret of the Nubian Tomb (1961), Strange Concealments (1962), Ghost Squad (1963), Maigret (1961/63), The Avengers (1961/63), The Villains (1965), The Liars (1966), The Woman in White (1966), The Saint (1967), The Jazz Age (1968), The Champions (1969) and The Man Without a Face (1975).
In the 1970s, Henry became interested in the history of the Knights Templar and wrote several TV documentaries about it, including Chronicle (1971/74) and The Secrets of the Templars (1993).
Facts
In 2003, Henry was awarded an Honorary Knighthood in the Militi Templi Scotia Order in recognition of his work in the fields of sacred geometry and Templar history. In the 1970s, Henry began writing a series of books about the mystery of Rennes-le-Chateau and its supposed hidden treasure, and in 1982 co-wrote the controversial best-selling book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail (with Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh). This book promoted the hypothesis that the true nature of the quest for the Holy Grail was that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had a child together, and founded a blood line which later married into a French royal dynasty, and was all tied together by a society known as the Priory of Sion. These hypotheses were later used as a basis for Dan Brown's international best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code. In 2006, Baigent and Leigh launched a copyright infringement case against Brown (which they lost), but Lincoln was not involved as he claimed the ideas in the book were not original in themselves. Modern historians have widely criticised both The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, and Lincoln's 2000 book The Templar's Secret Island, for being inaccurate and based on flimsy facts. Henry's son Hugo Soskin, author of the 2008 book The Cook, the Rat and the Heretic: Living in the Shadow of Rennes-le-Chateau, died in 2012. When Henry died in 2022, he was the last Doctor Who scriptwriter of the 1960s to pass away.
Gerald Blake (director) Dec 3 1928 to Apr 5 1991
Doctor Who credits
Directed: The Abominable Snowmen (1967), The Invasion of Time (1978)
Career highlights
Gerald's earliest directing work was on Dr Finlay's Casebook (1962), followed by work on Rupert of Hentzau (1964), Curtain of Fear (1964, which he also produced), Compact (1963-65), Legend of Death (1965), Girl in a Black Bikini (1967), The Newcomers (1966-68), Out of the Unknown (1969), The Doctors (1969-71), The Edwardians (1972), Dial M for Murder (1974), Survivors (1975), The Mackinnons (1977), Z Cars (1967-77), The Onedin Line (1972-78), The Omega Factor (1979), Blake's 7 (1980), The Gentle Touch (1982-84), Nanny (1983), Emmerdale Farm (1978-85), Super Gran (1986-87) and Coronation Street (1987-88).
Facts
Young Gerald and his family were bombed out during the London Blitz and evacuated to Wales. In later years Gerald directed corporate videos and held classes in television technique at Bristol University. He suffered two heart attacks and a stroke before passing away at the age of 62.
Doctor Who credits
Played: Krail in The Tenth Planet (1966)
Played: Jarl in The Tenth Planet (1966)
Played: Cyberman in The Moonbase (1967), The Tomb of the Cybermen (1967)
Played: John in The Abominable Snowmen (1967, uncredited)
Played: Yeti in The Abominable Snowmen (1967)
Career highlights
After debuting in Z Cars (1963), Reg went on to appear in The Power Game (1966), Counterstrike (1969), Hardy Heating Company (1970) and Bachelor Father (1971).
Facts
In The Tomb of the Cybermen, a character mentions "Whitehead logic", which could refer to computer logic pioneer Alfred North Whitehead, or indeed Reg! In the 1970s Reg invested in the manufacture of executive toys such as the Newton's Cradle, and made a good living from it, especially when they sold to America. In later years Reg helped found the Finders Keepers Partnership, which owns and breeds race horses.
CREW
Mervyn Haisman (writer) Mar 15 1928 to Oct 29 2010 (heart failure)
Doctor Who credits
Wrote: The Abominable Snowmen (1967), The Web of Fear (1968), The Dominators (1968, as Norman Ashby)
Career highlights
Mervyn's other writing duties have been on Dr Finlay's Casebook (1967), Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968), The Expert (1968-69), It's Tommy Cooper (1969), Ryan International (1970), Hadleigh (1971), The Intruder (1972), Crown Court (1973), Warship (1973-74), Oil Strike North (1975), The Onedin Line (1977-79), Jane (1982-84), Howards' Way (1988-90), Trainer (1992), The Enid Blyton Adventure Series (1996), The Adventures of Swiss Family Robinson (1998) and Revelations (2002-03). Mervyn also acted as script editor on series such as Sutherland's Law (1973), Oil Strike North, Jubilee (1977), The Onedin Line (1976-79), Squadron (1982) and My Brother Jonathan (1985), and dabbled with acting with an appearance in No Hiding Place (1963).
Facts
He, along with co-writer Henry Lincoln, used the name Norman Ashby on The Dominators following a falling-out with the production team over rewrites (they reused the pseudonym for a 1974 episode of Warship too). Prior to becoming a writer, Mervyn worked as an actor, theatre director and in insurance.
Henry Lincoln (writer) Feb 12 1930 to Feb 23 2022
Doctor Who credits
Wrote: The Abominable Snowmen (1967), The Web of Fear (1968), The Dominators (1968, as Norman Ashby)
Career highlights
Henry's earliest writing credit was on Once Aboard the Lugger (1963, as Henry Soskin - his real name), followed by stints on 24-Hour Call (1963), The Barnstormers (1964), Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968), The Expert (1968-69), It's Tommy Cooper (1969), Ryan International (1970) and Hadleigh (1971), but he started out as quite a prolific actor, making appearances in A Man from the Sun (1956), Wideawake (1957), Big Guns (1958), Our Mutual Friend (1958), Love and Mr Lewisham (1959), A Kiss for Cinderella (1959), The Haunted House (1960), The Secret of the Nubian Tomb (1961), Strange Concealments (1962), Ghost Squad (1963), Maigret (1961/63), The Avengers (1961/63), The Villains (1965), The Liars (1966), The Woman in White (1966), The Saint (1967), The Jazz Age (1968), The Champions (1969) and The Man Without a Face (1975).
In the 1970s, Henry became interested in the history of the Knights Templar and wrote several TV documentaries about it, including Chronicle (1971/74) and The Secrets of the Templars (1993).
Facts
In 2003, Henry was awarded an Honorary Knighthood in the Militi Templi Scotia Order in recognition of his work in the fields of sacred geometry and Templar history. In the 1970s, Henry began writing a series of books about the mystery of Rennes-le-Chateau and its supposed hidden treasure, and in 1982 co-wrote the controversial best-selling book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail (with Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh). This book promoted the hypothesis that the true nature of the quest for the Holy Grail was that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had a child together, and founded a blood line which later married into a French royal dynasty, and was all tied together by a society known as the Priory of Sion. These hypotheses were later used as a basis for Dan Brown's international best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code. In 2006, Baigent and Leigh launched a copyright infringement case against Brown (which they lost), but Lincoln was not involved as he claimed the ideas in the book were not original in themselves. Modern historians have widely criticised both The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, and Lincoln's 2000 book The Templar's Secret Island, for being inaccurate and based on flimsy facts. Henry's son Hugo Soskin, author of the 2008 book The Cook, the Rat and the Heretic: Living in the Shadow of Rennes-le-Chateau, died in 2012. When Henry died in 2022, he was the last Doctor Who scriptwriter of the 1960s to pass away.
Gerald Blake (director) Dec 3 1928 to Apr 5 1991
Doctor Who credits
Directed: The Abominable Snowmen (1967), The Invasion of Time (1978)
Career highlights
Gerald's earliest directing work was on Dr Finlay's Casebook (1962), followed by work on Rupert of Hentzau (1964), Curtain of Fear (1964, which he also produced), Compact (1963-65), Legend of Death (1965), Girl in a Black Bikini (1967), The Newcomers (1966-68), Out of the Unknown (1969), The Doctors (1969-71), The Edwardians (1972), Dial M for Murder (1974), Survivors (1975), The Mackinnons (1977), Z Cars (1967-77), The Onedin Line (1972-78), The Omega Factor (1979), Blake's 7 (1980), The Gentle Touch (1982-84), Nanny (1983), Emmerdale Farm (1978-85), Super Gran (1986-87) and Coronation Street (1987-88).
Facts
Young Gerald and his family were bombed out during the London Blitz and evacuated to Wales. In later years Gerald directed corporate videos and held classes in television technique at Bristol University. He suffered two heart attacks and a stroke before passing away at the age of 62.
Innes Lloyd (producer) Dec 24 1925 to Aug 23 1991 Click here for Innes Lloyd's entry on The Celestial Toymaker
Peter Bryant (script editor) Oct 27 1923 to May 19 2006 (cancer) Click here for Peter Bryant's entry on The Faceless Ones
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