The Seeds of Death

"Oh my giddy aunt! It's the
 foam machine again!"

Six episodes (Episode One, Episode Two, Episode Three, Episode Four, Episode Five, Episode Six)
First broadcast Jan 25 to Mar 1 1969
Average audience for serial: 7.22m

An episode by episode review of this serial 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

Wendy Padbury (Zoe Heriot) Born Dec 7 1947 Click here for Wendy Padbury's entry on The Wheel in Space

GUEST CAST

Alan Bennion (Slaar) Apr 18 1930 to Jul 27 2018
Doctor Who credits
Played: Slaar in The Seeds of Death (1969)
Played: Izlyr in The Curse of Peladon (1972)
Played: Azaxyr in The Monster of Peladon (1974)
Career highlights
Alan made his debut in 1967's Send Foster before going on to appear in Sexton Blake (1967, as the Scorpion), The Troubleshooters (1970), Psychomania (1971), Thriller (1974), The Wilde Alliance (1978), Juliet Bravo (1981), Oliver Twist (1985), Sorry! (1986), Spatz (1992), B&B (1992) and Next of Kin (1997).
Facts
A nod to Alan is included in Gary Russell's 1994 Doctor Who novel Legacy, in which it is said Supreme Lord Izlyr retired to the planet Bennion.

Sonny Caldinez (Ice Warrior) Jul 1 1932 to Apr 12 2022
Doctor Who credits
Played: Kemel in The Evil of the Daleks (1967)
Played: Turoc in The Ice Warriors (1967)
Played: Ice Warrior in The Seeds of Death (1969)
Played: Ssorg in The Curse of Peladon (1972)
Played: Sskel in The Monster of Peladon (1974)
Career highlights
Trinidadian Sonny's other appearances include Scott On... (1964), Virgin of the Secret Service (1968), The Spy Killer (1969), White Cargo (1973), The Man With the Golden Gun (1974), Mind Your Language (1978), Sexton Blake and the Demon God (1978), Arabian Adventure (1979), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1988) and The Fifth Element (1997).
Facts
Sonny, who is 6ft 4in, emigrated to the UK in 1952 and started working on the railways and as a wrestler, before moving into stuntwork and acting. He also worked for a time as bodyguard for music legend Michael Jackson. He moved to Spain in 2005.

Christopher Coll (Phipps) Jan 28 1938 to May 29 2021
Doctor Who credits
Played: Phipps in The Seeds of Death (1969)
Played: Stubbs in The Mutants (1972)
Career highlights
Debuting in The Big Pull (1962), Christopher's career saw appearances in Emergency Ward 10 (1962), United! (1965-66, as Dave Rockway), Adam Adamant Lives! (1966), Mr Rose (1968), Follyfoot (1971), Warship (1973), The Naked Civil Servant (1975), Sam and the River (1975), Grange Hill (1978), Shoestring (1979), Strangers (1982), Whoops Apocalypse (1986) and The Bill (1994). His most memorable roles were as Detective Constable Kane in Z Cars (1967-68) and stationery magnate Victor Pendlebury in Coronation Street (1982-92).
Facts
His wife was actress Elizabeth Weaver, who played Dr Anne Tarrant in Doomwatch (1970-72).

Martin Cort (Locke) 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.

Ric Felgate (Brent) Jun 4 1933 to Jul 31 1999
Doctor Who credits
Played: American journalist in The War Machines (1966)
Played: Brent in The Seeds of Death (1969)
Played: Van Lyden in The Ambassadors of Death (1970)
Career highlights
Ric's other credits include Quick Before They Catch Us (1966), Jackanory (1969), Softly Softly (1968-70), The Passenger (1971) and The Sweeney (1976).
Facts
He was married to Cynthia Felgate (1935-91), co-creator and producer of children's programme Play School.

Tony Harwood (Ice Warrior) 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).

Facts

In 1981, Tony (real name Anthony Hargreaves) opened the Horseshoes Riding School in Kent with his wife.

Graham Leaman (Grand Marshall) 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), 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.

Ronald Leigh-Hunt (Radnor) Oct 5 1920* to Sep 12 2005 (broncho-pneumonia)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Commander Radnor in The Seeds of Death (1969)
Played: Commander Stevenson in Revenge of the Cybermen (1975)
Career highlights
Ronald's first credit was in 1950's Blackout, and he subsequently popped up in Three Steps to the Gallows (1953), Sword of Freedom (1957), Cards with Uncle Tom (1959), Oscar Wilde (1960), The Avengers (1961/65), Emergency Ward 10 (1964), Voodoo Blood Death (1965), Khartoum (1966), The Gamblers (1967), Hostile Witness (1968), Department S (1969), General Hospital (1972), Baxter! (1973), The Brothers (1975), The Omen (1976), The Professionals (1978), Blake's 7 (1980), Airline (1982), Remington Steele (1987), Slinger's Day (1987), Frankenstein (1992) and One Foot in the Grave (1995). Ronald, whose cousin was actress Barbara Leigh-Hunt, also had regular roles as King Arthur in The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (1956-57) and Colonel Buchan in Freewheelers (1968-71). * Obituaries claim Ronald was born in 1916, but birth records state 1920.

Hugh Morton (Sir James Gregson) Jun 28 1903 to Jul 11 1984
Career highlights
Hugh first appeared in The Romance of Seville in 1929 (as Hugh Eden), and as Hugh Morton, later appeared in Deadlock (1943), The Golden Arrow (1949), Decameron Nights (1953), Turn It Up! (1953), Life with the Lyons (1954), Living It Up (1957-58), Leave It To Todhunter (1958), Payroll (1961), Swizzlewick (1964, as the town clerk), Orlando (1966), Quatermass and the Pit (1967), Detective (1969), The Darwin Adventure (1972), Pardon My Genie (1972-73), The Black Arrow (1974), The Tomorrow People (1975), The New Avengers (1976), The Stud (1978), Rebecca (1979), The Life and Times of David Lloyd George (1981) and Oxford Blues (1984).
Facts
Hugh (born Hugh Morton Eden) was the first actor to play sleuth Paul Temple in three BBC Radio serials from 1938-39. His first cousin was politician Anthony Eden, who became British Prime Minister between 1955-57.

Louise Pajo (Gia Kelly) Jul 31 1940 to Nov 23 2020
Career highlights
New Zealander Louise first appeared in Romeo and Juliet in 1965, and moved on to The Tyrant King (1968), The Avengers (1968), Strange Report (1970), Sex and the Other Woman (1972), Cop Shop (1977), Prisoner: Cell Block H (1979), Carson's Law (1983), The Riddle of the Stinson (1987), The Flying Doctors (1987-88), A Country Practice (1993) and Big Sky (1999). She also regularly played Margery Carson in over 180 episodes of Carson's Law (1983-84).
Facts
Louise moved to Australia in 1977 to continue her acting career, notably in ongoing soaps and serials.

Steve Peters (Ice Warrior)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Extra in The Romans (1965, uncredited)
Played: Leader Roboman in Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150AD (1966)
Played: Ice Warrior in The Seeds of Death (1969)
Played: Pirate guard in The Space Pirates (1969)
Played: Lefee/ Astronaut in The Ambassadors of Death (1970)
Career highlights
Steve's other appearances include The Mind of the Enemy (1965), Touch of Leather (1968), The Doctors (1969), Out of the Unknown (1969), The Onedin Line (1971), Virgin Witch (1972), Menace (1973) and Moonbase 3 (1973).

Philip Ray (Eldred) Nov 1 1898 to May 11 1978
Career highlights
Philip made his debut uncredited in Old Roses (1935), then turned up in Sexton Blake and the Bearded Doctor (1935), The Perfect Crime (1937), Wanted by Scotland Yard (1939), Send for Paul Temple (1946), The October Man (1947), Night and the City (1950), Worzel Gummidge Turns Detective (1953), The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan (1953), Where There's a Will (1955), Starr and Company (1958), A Night to Remember (1958), Emma (1960), Sons and Lovers (1960), The Old Curiosity Shop (1962-63), Panic (1963), Silas Marner (1964), The Newcomers (1965), Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966), The Forsyte Saga (1967), Frankenstein Created Woman (1967), Hadleigh (1969), Little Women (1970), Little Big Time (1971), Treasure Over the Water (1972), Public Eye (1973) and Thursday's Child (1973).

Terry Scully (Fewsham) May 13 1932 to Apr 17 2001 (stroke)
Career highlights
Terry's earliest credit was in The Case of Private Hamp (1959), followed by roles in An Age of Kings in 1960, and he later acted in The Fast Lady (1962), The Villains (1965), Public Eye (1966), The Forsyte Saga (1967), Triton (1968), Pegasus (1969), Goodbye Gemini (1970), The Flaxton Boys (1971), The Asphyx (1973), Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (1974), Survivors (1975, as Vic Thatcher), The Devil's Crown (1978), Blake's 7 (1980), Angels (1980) and Diamonds (1981).
Facts
Terry, who suffered from ulcers for many years, had a nervous breakdown while filming Survivors, and was replaced by another actor, Hugh Walters.

Derrick Slater (Security guard) Dec 18 1937 to Dec 23 1994
Career highlights
Other shows on Derrick's CV include The Bacchae (1962), Corrigan Blake (1963), The Expert (1969), Z Cars (1970), The Brothers (1972), Treasure Island (1977), Secret Army (1979), A Tale of Two Cities (1980), Nancy Astor (1982), Moonfleet (1984) and Late Starter (1985). He also wrote The Ups and Downs of a Handyman and Take an Easy Ride (both 1976).

Harry Towb (Osgood) Jul 27 1925 to Jul 24 2009 (cancer)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Osgood in The Seeds of Death (1969)
Played: McDermott in Terror of the Autons (1971)
Career highlights
Irishman Harry first appeared in Is Life Worth Living? (1949), followed by The Gentle Gunman (1950), Strictly Personal (1953), Above Us the Waves (1955), Joan and Leslie (1956), The Army Game (1959, as Private Dooley), Jacks and Knaves (1961), The Scarlet Blade (1963), Front Page Story (1965), Orlando (1967), The Avengers (1968), Carry On At Your Convenience (1971), Tottering Towers (1971-72, as Hairy O'Hara), Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World (1973), Marked Personal (1974), Barry Lyndon (1975), The Good Old Days (1976), The Professionals (1980), Pictures (1983), The Comic Strip Presents... (1983), Home, James! (1987-90, as Henry Compton), So You Think You've Got Troubles (1991), Brighton Belles (1993), Moll Flanders (1996), Doctors (2002), Heartbeat (2005), Casualty (1992/2006), EastEnders (2008) and Gardens with Red Roses (2009). Harry also wrote short radio plays for the BBC and RTE, and between 1985-91 presented the children's series You and Me.
Facts
He was married to actress Diana Hoddinott, best known as Annie Hacker in sitcom Yes, Minister/ Prime Minister.

John Witty (Computer voice) Sep 17 1915 to Jan 14 1990
Career highlights
John's debut came in 1946's The Queen's Husband, and he made subsequent appearances in Hangman's Wharf (1950), The Broken Horseshoe (1952), The Teckman Biography (1953-54), The New Adventures of Charlie Chan (1958), The Frightened City (1961), Voodoo Blood Death (1965), The Vault of Horror (1973), Dick Barton, Special Agent (1979) and Q9 (1980). In 1959, John wrote and presented the BBC's Wednesday Magazine, and between 1964-69 narrated the Look at Life series of shorts made by the Rank Organisation for cinema audiences. Perhaps John (whose birth name was Rupert John Blanchflower Featherstone-Witty) became typecast toward the end of his career, as he also voiced computers in a 1969 episode of Out of the Unknown (incidentally, also written by Brian Hayles and directed by Michael Ferguson) and a 1973 episode of Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em.
Facts
John also worked as a DJ for Radio Luxembourg. He was married twice, to actresses Genine Graham and Tita Dane. Tita was a Greek countess who refused to become a princess and escaped from imprisonment by her family to marry John, who was at the time an amateur actor in Athens, and president of the Oxford University Dramatic Society.

CREW

Brian Hayles (writer) Mar 7 1931 to Oct 30 1978 Click here for Brian Hayles's entry on The Celestial Toymaker

Michael Ferguson (director) Jun 14 1937 to Oct 4 2021 Click here for Michael Ferguson's entry on The War Machines

Peter Bryant (producer) Oct 27 1923 to May 19 2006 (cancer) Click here for Peter Bryant's entry on The Faceless Ones

Terrance Dicks (script editor) Apr 14 1935 to Aug 29 2019 Click here for Terrance Dicks's entry on The Invasion