The Claws of Axos

The Doctor (Jon Pertwee) takes a break
in the Axons' disco chamber

Four episodes (Episode One, Episode Two, Episode Three, Episode Four)
First broadcast Mar 13 to Apr 3 1971
Average audience for serial: 7.38m

An episode by episode review of this story can be found at Time Space Visualiser.

REGULAR CAST

Jon Pertwee (The Doctor) Jul 7 1919 to May 20 1996 (heart attack) Click here to see Jon Pertwee's entry on Spearhead from Space

Katy Manning (Jo Grant) Born Oct 14 1946 Click here for Katy Manning's entry on Terror of the Autons

Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart) Dec 16 1929 to Feb 22 2011 (cancer) Click here for Nicholas Courtney's entry on The Daleks' Master Plan

Richard Franklin (Captain Mike Yates) Jan 15 1936 to Dec 25 2023 Click here for Richard Franklin's entry on Terror of the Autons

John Levene (Benton) Born Dec 24 1941 Click here for John Levene's entry on The Web of Fear

Roger Delgado (The Master) Mar 1 1918 to Jun 18 1973 (car accident) Click here for Roger Delgado's entry on Terror of the Autons

GUEST CAST

Peter Bathurst (Chinn) May 4 1912 to Jun 2 1989 (heart attack)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Hensell in The Power of the Daleks (1966)
Played: Chinn in The Claws of Axos (1971)
Career highlights
First appearing in The Passing Show (1951) after working in Australia in the 1940s, Peter's work includes The Bell Family (1951, as narrator), Old Mother Riley Meets the Vampire (1952), Gift Horse (1952), The Quatermass Experiment (1953), John and Julie (1955), Kenilworth (1957), The Army Game (1960), Bootsie and Snudge (1963), R3 (1964), The Murder Game (1965), Adam Adamant Lives! (1967), as Dr Upton in Doctor in the House (1969) and Doctor at Large (1971), War and Peace (1972) and Moonbase 3 (1973).
Facts
In the 1960s Peter (born Apsley Dundas Bathurst) ran a popular coffee bar on London's King's Road, but this business seemed to fall through, as his actress daughter Linda Marlowe said in an interview in 2001: "[It should] have been a goldmine but he was too trusting and was bamboozled by people." Peter's daughter was once married to actor William Marlowe (who appeared in the Doctor Who stories The Mind of Evil and Revenge of the Cybermen). Peter reportedly suffered a heart attack while running to catch a train to Worthing at Liverpool Street Station.

Kenneth Benda (Minister) Jun 3 1902 to Jul 26 1978
Career highlights
Kenneth's career began in a 1963 episode of No Hiding Place, and he continued in The Saint (1964), Bindle (One of Them Days) (1966), Adam Adamant Lives! (1966), The Prisoner (1967), Doctor in the House (1969), Scream and Scream Again (1970), Secrets of Sex (1970), The Search for the Nile (1971), Scoop (1972), Horror Hospital (1973), The Stud (1974), The Pallisers (1974), The Strange Case of the End of Civilisation As We Know It (1977), The Basil Brush Show (1977) and International Velvet (1978).

Royston Farrell (Technician) 1937 to Jan 17 2017
Doctor Who credits
Played: Guardian in The Ark (1966, uncredited)
Played: Elder in The Savages (1966, uncredited)
Played: Technician in The Seeds of Death (1969, uncredited), The Claws of Axos (1971)
Played: Guard in The Curse of Peladon (1972, uncredited)
Career highlights
Royston's other work includes The Avengers (1965/66/67), a 1968 Play of the Month, Crooks and Coronets (1969), The Gentle Touch (1984) and Never the Twain (1986).
In 2015 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Royston, along with stuntmen Derek Martin and Roy Scammell, here.

Patricia Gordino (Axon woman)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Axon woman in The Claws of Axos (1971)
Played: Technic in The Sun Makers (1977, uncredited)
Career highlights
Other work include Pegasus (1969), The Culture Vultures (1970), Engelbert with the Young Generation (1972), The Basil Brush Show (1972), Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1973) and Within These Walls (1975).

Paul Grist (Bill Filer) Born Jan 18 1939
Career highlights
Paul's first credit was in The Avengers (1961), followed by The Valiant Varneys (1964), 199 Park Lane (1965), Triton (1968), Pegasus (1969), New Scotland Yard (1972), Survivors (1976), Kidnapped (1978) and Blake's 7 (1979).
Facts
Paul left the acting profession to become a racer and restorer of vintage cars, including Alfa-Romeos and Maseratis, setting up the company Traction-Seabert in 1976. Here's an interesting article about Paul's post-acting career from February 2015 (not sure why he claims he was in two series of Doctor Who though!). Here's Paul with his son Matt pictured in July 2015.

Donald Hewlett (Hardiman) Aug 30 1920 to Jun 4 2011 (pneumonia)
Career highlights
Debuting in Orders Are Orders (1954), character actor Donald went on to appear in Dead Giveaway (1957), The Adventures of Brigadier Wellington-Bull (1959), Bottoms Up (1960), Compact (1962, which he also wrote for), Hancock (1963), HMS Paradise (1964), Coronation Street (1965), You Can't Win (1966), The Ronnie Barker Playhouse (1968), The Very Merry Widow and How (1969), And Mother Makes Three (1971), Now Look Here (1971-73), Ooh La La! (1973), Carry On Behind (1975), Rogues' Rock (1976), Confessions of a Driving Instructor (1977), Come Back Mrs Noah (1977-78), The Dick Emery Show (1981), Andy Robson (1982), Lovejoy (1986), Pulaski (1987), The Russ Abbot Show (1989) and The Upper Hand (1995). Donald's most famous roles were as Colonel Charles Reynolds in 56 episodes of It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974-81) and Lord George Meldrum in 26 episodes of You Rang, M'Lord? (1988-93).
Facts
Donald's daughter is actress Siobhan Hewlett, who for a time was dating X-Factor contender Ben Mills, of whom Donald's third wife, actor Therese McMurray, said: "Ben's gorgeous, a real catch. If he hadn't dated my daughter I'd have asked him to go out with me." Donald's first of three wives was actress Christine Pollon (who provided the Oracle's voice in Underworld (1978)), while his father was Thomas Hewlett, the Conservative MP for Manchester Exchange during World War Two and who also owned the Anchor Chemical Company in the city. Donald's brother, the Conservative politician Thomas Clyde Hewlett, was made Baron Hewlett of Swettenham in 1972, but died in unexplained circumstances aged 56 in 1979. During World War Two Donald served with the Royal Navy as a meteorologist. Donald's last acting turn was on stage with Ronnie Corbett in pantomime Mother Goose in Bromley in 1996, after which he had to retire due to epilepsy, caused by a damaged heart valve, and eventually developed Alzheimer's Disease.

John Hicks (Axon boy) Born 1955
Doctor Who credits
Played: Quark in The Dominators (1968)
Played: Axon boy in The Claws of Axos (1971)
Career highlights
His only other credits include Dixon of Dock Green (1968), Out of the Unknown (1969) and Whack-O! (1972).
Facts
John and fellow Quark actors Gary Smith and Freddie Wilson were school friends. When he was 13, John played the title role in Oliver! at London's Piccadilly Theatre. As an adult, John moved to live in New Zealand and worked for a commercial cleaning company. In an interview in 2000 regarding The Dominators, John said: "In England at the time, Doctor Who was the 'in thing', the ultimate in science fiction. We used to play with the TV cameras [in our lunch breaks] until one day a voice came from nowhere - the control room, I guess - telling us not to move them!"

Bernard Holley (Axon man) Aug 9 1940 to Nov 22 2021
Doctor Who credits
Played: Peter Haydon in The Tomb of the Cybermen (1967)
Played: Axon man in The Claws of Axos (1971)
Career highlights
His CV included The Newcomers (1966), Elizabeth R (1971), Please Sir! (1971-2), General Hospital (1974), Carry on Laughing (1975), Rocky O'Rourke (1976), Clayhanger (1976), A Question of Guilt (1980), Mackenzie (1980), The Deceivers (1981), Now and Then (1983-84), The Tripods (1985), Eureka (1982-86), After Henry (1988-89), Surgical Spirit (1990), Taggart (1990), Thatcher: The Final Days (1991), The Knock (1994), Birds of a Feather (1998), Hollyoaks (2001), Sweet Medicine (2003), The Courtroom (2004), Tanner (2007), That's English (2011), A Voice to Die For (2013), Extended Rest (2014), By Lethe Betrayed (2016) and Acting Anecdotes with Jeremy Olivier (2019). Bernard is best known as PC Bill Newcombe in over 270 episodes of Z Cars (1967-71) and A Lot of Fuss About Light (2010), and Mike Turnbull in The Gentle Touch (1982-84) and CATS Eyes (1985).
In 2014 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Bernard here.

Debbie Lee London (Axon girl) Born Jul 5 1957
Career highlights
Along with Jeffrey Dobinson, Debbie Lee was the 1976 World Amateur Latin Dance champion for England. Now known as Debbie-Lee Bailey, she has become a qualified dance and fitness and Pilates instructor (having previously dabbled in West End performances in the musical Cats). See what she's up to now on Twitter!

Fernanda Marlowe (Corporal Bell) Born Sep 7 1942
Doctor Who credits
Played: Corporal Bell in The Mind of Evil, The Claws of Axos (both 1971)
Career highlights
Fernanda's other credits include Ghost Squad (1963), My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen (1963) and Dixon of Dock Green (1965).

Facts

Her father was the actor Anthony Marlowe, best known for his regular role in the series Ghost Squad. He tragically took his own life in 1975 after being involved in a motoring accident. Fernanda quit acting in 1972 to become a mother and retrained as a painter. Fernanda was also a victim of the Lloyds Names Scandal and ran into debt of almost £1m. She became secretary of Gooda Walker Direct Names Association to help others affected by this fiasco.

David G Marsh (Second radar operator) Feb 18 1925 to Aug 25 1999
Career highlights
David (sometimes credited as David March) also took roles in As You Like It (1946), A Bullet in the Ballet (1947), A Man for All Seasons (1957), The Adventures of Alice (1960), The Power Game (1966), Seeing and Believing (1966-67), The Benny Hill Show (1968), The First Churchills (1969), Eric Robinson Presents (1969-70), The Expert (1971), The Basil Brush Show (1973), Warship (1974), Survivors (1975), Captain Zep: Space Detective (1983) and Zig Zag (1987/93).
Awards
1985: Sony Award for Best Radio Actor (Mr Norris Changes Trains)
Facts
David nursed his partner Derek Lewis, who suffered from Parkinson's Disease, in the final years of his life.

Tim Pigott-Smith (Captain Harker) May 13 1946 to Apr 7 2017 (heart attack)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Captain Harker in The Claws of Axos (1971)
Played: Marco in The Masque of Mandragora (1976)
Career highlights
Doctor Who was Tim's first TV job (he was paid £60). Further credits include Boswell's Life of Johnson (1971), The Regiment (1972), North and South (1975), The Lost Boys (1978), Hannah (1980), Clash of the Titans (1981), I Remember Nelson (1982), Struggle (1983-84), The Jewel in the Crown (1984, as Ronald Merrick), The Challenge (1986), The Remains of the Day (1993), Dr Terrible's House of Horrible (2001), Kavanagh QC (2001), Spooks (2002), Gangs of New York (2002), Johnny English (2003), Alexander (2004), V for Vendetta (2005), Normal for Norfolk (2006), Holby Blue (2007), Quantum of Solace (2008), Alice in Wonderland (2010), The Suspicions of Mr Whicher (2011/13), The Hour (2011), Downton Abbey (2012), The Bletchley Circle (2014), 37 Days (2014), Houdini (2014), Jupiter Ascending (2015), Lewis (2015), Decline and Fall (2017), King Charles III (2017) and Victoria and Abdul (2017). He regularly played John Stafford in The Chief (1990-93) and Frank Vickers in The Vice (2001-03).
Awards
1985: BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor (The Jewel in the Crown)
2017: Officer of the order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama
Facts
Tim graduated from the University of Bristol and frequently lectured at its drama department. Tim's voice was often heard on programme voiceovers and audiobooks. His wife was actress Pamela Miles, while his son Tom is a concert solo violinist. Spookily, Tim died on the very same day as Christopher Morahan, who directed him in The Jewel in the Crown, for which they each won a BAFTA.

David Savile (Winser) Born Nov 3 1936
Doctor Who credits
Played: Lieutenant Carstairs in The War Games (1969)
Played: Winser in The Claws of Axos (1971)
Played: Crichton in The Five Doctors (1983)
Career highlights
David's career has been busy since he made his first appearance in a 1965 episode of Out of the Unknown, including Pride and Prejudice (1967), The Power Game (1969), Hell Boats (1970), The Man Who Was Hunting Himself (1972), The Big Sleep (1978), Out (1978), Kinvig (1981), Dempsey and Makepeace (1985), Shine On Harvey Moon (1985), Howards' Way (1988), Anglo Saxon Attitudes (1992), The Young Poisoner's Handbook (1995), Peak Practice (1999), Cambridge Spies (2003), New Tricks (2004) and Tan Lines (2005). He also regularly played Lieutenant Commander Beaumont in over 30 episodes of Warship (1973-76) and Max Barker in Kinsey (1991-92).
Facts
He was once married to actress Lois Baxter, who appeared in The Androids of Tara (1978).

Michael Walker (First radar operator)
Doctor Who credits
Played: First radar operator in The Claws of Axos (1971)
Played: Miseus in The Time Monster (1972)
Career highlights
Starting out as a child actor, Michael's other credits include Bob's Your Uncle (1949), Chu Chin Chow On Ice (1953), Family Portrait  (1955), Dead Giveaway (1957), Crossroads (1973), Target (1977), The Onedin Line (1979), Terry and June (1981), Cold Warrior (1984), Howards' Way (1988), Coronation Street (1997) and Jericho (2000).

Derek Ware (Pigbin Josh) Feb 27 1938 to Sep 22 2015 (cancer) Click here for Derek Ware's entry on The Crusade

CREW

Bob Baker (writer) Jul 26 1939 to Nov 3 2021
Doctor Who credits
Wrote: The Claws of Axos (1971), The Mutants (1972), The Three Doctors (1972-73), The Sontaran Experiment (1975), The Hand of Fear (1976), The Invisible Enemy (1977), Underworld (1978), The Armageddon Factor (1979), Nightmare of Eden (1979)
Career highlights
With writing partner Dave Martin, Bob wrote eight Doctor Who serials, and a ninth on his own. Bob's writing career began with Doctor Who, followed by stints on Thick as Thieves (1971), Pretenders (1972), Arthur of the Britons (1972), Z Cars (1974), Public Eye (1975), Sky (1976), Machinegunner (1976), King of the Castle (1977), Follow Me (1977), Scorpion Tales (1978), Target (1977-78), Shoestring (1979), Into the Labyrinth (1981-82), Jangles (1982), Bergerac (1981/83), Call Me Mister (1986), Succubus (1987), The Jazz Detective (1992), Kipper (1997) and The Mysti Show (2004). As co-creator of the Doctor's robot dog K9, Bob was also series producer and one of the writers of the 2009 spin-off series K9. In recent years he has enjoyed international success as writer of the Wallace and Gromit Aardman animations, including The Wrong Trousers (1993), A Close Shave (1995), The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005), A Matter of Loaf and Death (2008) and Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention (2010, which he also produced). Bob also acted as script editor on Pretenders, Shoestring, Jangles, Into the Labyrinth, Call Me Mister and Peace One Day (2004), and was producer on Function Room (2004).
Awards
2009: BAFTA Film Award for Best Short Animation (A Matter of Loaf and Death) - shared with Steve Pegram and Nick Park
Facts
The character of Baker Bob in A Matter of Loaf and Death is named after Bob. Bob also helped create some of the animations for the BBC children's series Vision On in the late 1960s.
In 2017 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Bob here.

Dave Martin (writer) Jan 1 1935 to Mar 30 2007 (lung cancer)
Doctor Who credits
Wrote: The Claws of Axos (1971), The Mutants (1972), The Three Doctors (1972-73), The Sontaran Experiment (1975), The Hand of Fear (1976), The Invisible Enemy (1977), Underworld (1978), The Armageddon Factor (1979)
Career highlights
With writing partner Bob Baker, Dave wrote eight Doctor Who serials. Dave's writing career began with Doctor Who, followed by stints on Thick as Thieves (1971), Pretenders (1972), Arthur of the Britons (1972), Z Cars (1974), Late Night Drama (1974), Public Eye (1975), Sky (1976), Machinegunner (1976), King of the Castle (1977), Follow Me (1977), Scorpion Tales (1978), Target (1977-78), Into the Labyrinth (1981-82) and Succubus (1987). He was also story editor, along with Bob Baker, on Pretenders. Dave also wrote a 1986 Doctor Who 'choose your own adventure' book, entitled Search for the Doctor, featuring several of his previous inventions, including K9, Omega and Drax.
Facts
Dave and co-writer Bob were inspired to create K9 by the death of Dave's pet dog in a road accident. His second wife Celia was the daughter of prolific TV script writer Denis Constanduros.

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

Barry Letts (producer) Mar 26 1925 to Oct 9 2009 (cancer) Click here for Barry Letts's entry on The Enemy of the World

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

The Mind of Evil

The Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and
Jo (Katy Manning) wave to the camera

Six episodes (Episode One, Episode Two, Episode Three, Episode Four, Episode Five, Episode Six)
First broadcast Jan 30 to Mar 6 1971
Average audience for serial: 7.45m

An episode by episode review of this story can be found at Time Space Visualiser.

REGULAR CAST

Jon Pertwee (The Doctor) Jul 7 1919 to May 20 1996 (heart attack) Click here to see Jon Pertwee's entry on Spearhead from Space

Katy Manning (Jo Grant) Born Oct 14 1946 Click here for Katy Manning's entry on Terror of the Autons

Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart) Dec 16 1929 to Feb 22 2011 (cancer) Click here for Nicholas Courtney's entry on The Daleks' Master Plan

Richard Franklin (Captain Mike Yates) Jan 15 1936 to Dec 25 2023 Click here for Richard Franklin's entry on Terror of the Autons

John Levene (Benton) Born Dec 24 1941 Click here for John Levene's entry on The Web of Fear

Roger Delgado (The Master) Mar 1 1918 to Jun 18 1973 (car accident) Click here for Roger Delgado's entry on Terror of the Autons

GUEST CAST

Johnny Barrs (Fuller) Mar 1 1933 to Aug 31 2018
Career highlights
Further work includes In Loving Memory (1986), Red Dwarf (1988), Chris Cross (1993) and Girl from Rio (2001).
Facts
Johnny's professional career as a comedy actor began when he was employed as a comedian at Warner's holiday camp on the Isle of Wight in 1963. In the 1990s he wrote, staged and starred in a musical called The Flanagan and Allen Story (playing Bud Flanagan). In 2011 he published his memoirs, From Rags to Riches.

David Calderisi (Charlie) Born Jun 21 1940
Career highlights
Canadian David's career began with Suspense (1962) and includes The Big Noise (1964), Mrs Thursday (1967), The Baron (1967), The Protectors (1972), The New Avengers (1977), The Great Detective (1980), The Littlest Hobo (1979/80/82), Skullduggery (1983), Seeing Things (1982/85), The Cuckoo Bird (1985), War of the Worlds (1989), Matrix (1993), Forever Knight (1995), Due South (1994-95), Tommy Boy (1995), TekWar (1995, as Alessandro Rossi), Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (1995), La Femme Nikita (1997), Earth: Final Conflict (1997-99, as Barry Calvert), The Associates (2001-02, as Arthur Harris), Shake Hands with the Devil (2007), The Firm (2012) and Havana 57 (2012).

Dave Carter (Prison officer) Click here for Dave Carter's entry on Doctor Who and the Silurians

Tommy Duggan (Senator Alcott) Jul 22 1909 to Nov 2 1998
Career highlights
Tommy's first credit was in Dangerous Moonlight (1941), then Thunder Rock (1942), Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948), The Elusive Pimpernel (1950), Lady Godiva Rides Again (1951), The Belles of St Trinian's (1954), The Buccaneers (1957), OSS (1957), And the Same to You (1960), Gorgo (1961), Don't Bother to Knock (1961), No Cloak - No Dagger (1963), Let's Not Get Angry (1966), The Adding Machine (1969), The Revolutionary (1970), The Omen (1976), Beryl's Lot (1977), Superman II (1980), One By One (1984), The Lady and the Highwayman (1989) and Father Ted (1995).

Patrick Godfrey (Major Cosworth) Born Feb 13 1933
Doctor Who credits
Played: Tor in The Savages (1966)
Played: Major Cosworth in The Mind of Evil (1971)
Career highlights
Debuting in Tales from Dickens (1958), Patrick's CV includes roles in Gert and Daisy (1959), No Hiding Place (1963), Dixon of Dock Green (1966), The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970), A Family at War (1971), Ballet Shoes (1975), Enemy at the Door (1980), Edge of Darkness (1985), Blott on the Landscape (1985), Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1986), Maurice (1987), Sleepers (1991), The Remains of the Day (1993), Bramwell (1995), Ever After (1998), Casualty (2000), My Family (2003), Oliver Twist (2005), The History Boys (2006), Fallen Angel (2007), The Duchess (2008), Les Miserables (2012), Da Vinci's Demons (2013), Mr Turner (2014) and In Memory (2016).
Facts
Patrick is married to actress Amanda Walker, whose mother was actress Madeleine Christie. Their daughter is vocal coach Kate Godfrey.

Martin Gordon (Prison officer) 1928 to Feb 1 2025
Career highlights
Martin debuted in Good Wives (1958), then Sweet Beat (1959), The Big Pull (1962), Redcap (1965), Doctor in the House (1969), Upstairs, Downstairs (1972), The Adventures of Black Beauty (1972), Barlow (1973), Law and Order (1978), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Miss Julie (1999), Dr Terrible's House of Horrible (2001), Parson and Son (2013), Going Forward (2016), Rogue One (2016) and PAWNS (2017).

Haydn Jones (Vosper) Aug 15 1924 to Nov 6 1984
Doctor Who credits
Played: Auton voice in Terror of the Autons (1971)
Played: Vosper in The Mind of Evil (1971)
Career highlights
Hadyn's debut came in Touch Wood (1958), then Dancers in Mourning (1959), Out of This World (1962), The Avengers (1963), The Villains (1964), United! (1965), Counterstrike (1969), Elizabeth R (1971), War and Peace (1972), The Pallisers (1974) and Bergerac (1983). He also enjoyed regular roles as Professor Westfield in City Beneath the Sea (1962) and Ernest Carter in Swizzlewick (1964).
Facts
Haydn was the voice of Joe Grundy in BBC radio soap The Archers until his death. Ironically, when Haydn met his acting friend Edward Kelsey (also a Doctor Who alumni) in 1984, he suggested Kelsey would be ideal for a role in The Archers. When Jones passed away soon after, Kelsey auditioned to replace him, and made his debut as Joe Grundy in February 1985.

Kristopher Kum (Fu Peng) Jun 23 1929 to Mar 15 2013
Career highlights
Debuting in The River Flows East (1962), Singapore-born Kristopher also appeared in Crossroads (1964), The Brides of Fu Manchu (1966), The Avengers (1969), Rentadick (1972), Reg Varney (1974), Gangsters (1976-78, as Mr Yang), The New Avengers (1977), Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978), The Professionals (1980), Tenko (1982), Are You Being Served? (1983), Edge of Darkness (1985) and Rockcliffe's Babies (1988).
Facts
Kristopher also ran a casting agency for actors of south-east Asian backgrounds.

Simon Lack (Professor Kettering) Dec 19 1913 to Aug 8 1980*
Doctor Who credits
Played: Professor Kettering in The Mind of Evil (1971)
Played: Zadek in The Androids of Tara (1978)
Career highlights
Born Alexander MacAlpine, Simon's earliest credit was in Ah, Wilderness! (1938), and he later took roles in Just William (1940), Silver Darlings (1947), The Creature (1955), Clue of the Twisted Candle (1960), On the Fiddle (1961), The Durant Affair (1962), R3 (1964-65, as Dr Jack Morton), City 68 (1967-68), The Avengers (1968), The Borderers (1970), Trog (1970), Jason King (1971-72), Weir of Hermiston (1973), The Fortunes of Nigel (1974), South Riding (1974), Killers (1976), Enemy at the Door (1978-80, as Major Freidel), Telford's Change (1979), Love in a Cold Climate (1980) and The Borgias (1981).
Facts
*A report on Simon's death appeared in The Times on August 12th, 1980 which gave his birth year as 1917 and the day he died as August 6th. The dates given here are more commonly reported, however.

Pik-Sen Lim (Captain Chin Lee) Sep 15 1944 to Jun 9 2025
Career highlights
Malaysia born Pik-Sen (which translates as "pure jade") made her debut in Emergency Ward 10 (1964) as Nurse Kwei, then Sorry I'm Single (1967, as Suzy), The Flaxton Boys (1970), Madame Sin (1972), Within These Walls (1974-75, as Sister Ling), The New Avengers (1976), Shoestring (1980), Albion Market (1985-86, as Ly Nhu Chan), Medics (1990), Cracker (1996), London's Burning (1998), Miranda (2002), Night & Day (2003), Little Britain (2004), The Ruby in the Smoke (2006), Granny's Ghost (2008), Psychoville (2010), Johnny English Reborn (2011), Holby City (2013) and Fortune Cookies (2014). She regularly played Chung Su-Lee in the sitcom Mind Your Language (1977-79) and Tsai Adams in Spearhead (1978-81).
Facts
Pik-Sen (the daughter of Malaysian coconut and palm oil millionaire Lim Cheng-Taik) was married to writer Don Houghton, who wrote Inferno (1970) and The Mind of Evil, with whom she had a daughter, actress Sara Houghton (who appeared in The Sarah Jane Adventures in 2011).

Fernanda Marlowe (Corporal Bell) Born Sep 7 1942
Doctor Who credits
Played: Corporal Bell in The Mind of Evil, The Claws of Axos (both 1971)
Career highlights
Fernanda's other credits include Ghost Squad (1963), My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen (1963) and Dixon of Dock Green (1965).

Facts

Her father was the actor Anthony Marlowe, best known for his regular role in the series Ghost Squad. He tragically took his own life in 1975 after being involved in a motoring accident. Fernanda quit acting in 1972 to become a mother and retrained as a painter. Fernanda was also a victim of the Lloyds Names Scandal and ran into debt of almost £1m. She became secretary of Gooda Walker Direct Names Association to help others affected by this fiasco.

William Marlowe (Mailer) Jul 25 1930 to Jan 31 2003
Doctor Who credits
Played: Mailer in The Mind of Evil (1971)
Played: Lester in Revenge of the Cybermen (1975)
Career highlights
Debuting in Tunes of Glory (1960), William's other credits include The Amazing Dr Clitterhouse (1962), Emergency Ward 10 (1963), Crane (1964), The Heroes of Telemark (1965), Wuthering Heights (1967), The Avengers (1969), Zeppelin (1971), Villains (1972), The Legend of Robin Hood (1975), Breakaway (1980), Revolution (1985), Cry Freedom (1987) and EastEnders (1991). William also had a regular role as Brian Kettle in Rooms (1977) and DCI Bill Russell in The Gentle Touch (1980-84).
Facts
William had two wives, both of them Doctor Who actresses - Catherine Schell between 1968-77 (who was in 1979's City of Death) and Kismet Delgado from 1979 (who was in Planet of the Spiders (1974) and was also Master actor Roger's widow). Many sources claim he was also married to actress Fernanda Marlowe (who played Corporal Bell in The Mind of Evil and The Claws of Axos in 1971), but this is incorrect.

Eric Mason (Senior prison officer Green) Died Jun 7 2010
Doctor Who credits
Played: Senior prison officer Green in The Mind of Evil (1971)
Played: CPO Smedley in The Sea Devils (1972)
Career highlights
Eric's first credit was in They Met in the Dark (1943), and other work includes Dual Alibi (1948), Suspense (1963), The Baron (1967), The Limbo Line (1968), Arthur of the Britons (1973), The Hanged Man (1975), Accident (1978), Dick Turpin (1979), Fox (1980), Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1986), Perfect Scoundrels (1990), London's Burning (1992), Pie in the Sky (1997), Grafters (1998), Shiner (2000), Sea of Souls (2004), The Calcium Kid (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007).

Bill Matthews (Prison officer)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Davis in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970)
Played: Prison officer in The Mind of Evil (1971)
Played: Draconian in Frontier in Space (1973, uncredited)
Played: Extra in Planet of the Spiders (1974, uncredited)
Career highlights
Other work includes Quatermass and the Pit (1958-59), A for Andromeda (1961), Adam Adamant Lives! (1967), Doomwatch (1970) and Spy Trap (1975).

Neil McCarthy (Barnham) Jul 26 1932 to Feb 6 1985 (motor neurone disease)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Barnham in The Mind of Evil (1971)
Played: Thawn in The Power of Kroll (1978-79)
Career highlights
Neil's career had been prolific since his debut in 1959's Dial 999, after which he appeared in Sands of the Desert (1960), Barnaby Rudge (1960), The Pot Carriers (1962), The Young Detectives (1963), The Cracksman (1963), Zulu (1964), Great Expectations (1967), Where Eagles Dare (1968), Department S (1970), Albert and Victoria (1971), The Hole in the Wall (1972), Freewheelers (1973), Steptoe and Son Ride Again (1973), The Nine Tailors (1974), A Little Bit of Wisdom (1976), The Ghosts of Motley Hall (1976), Who Pays the Ferryman? (1977), The Boy Merlin (1979), The Monster Club (1980), George and Mildred (1980), Clash of the Titans (1981), The Gentle Touch (1981) and Only When I Laugh (1982). Neil also had a regular role as Sam Woodyard in Catweazle (1970).
Facts
Neil had studied languages and was qualified to teach both French and Latin. Neil suffered from acromegaly, the disease that causes gigantism.

Roy Purcell (Chief prison officer Powers) Jan 26 1919 to Jul 31 2000 (complications from an operation)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Chief prison officer Powers in The Mind of Evil (1971)
Played: President of the Council in The Three Doctors (1972-73)
Career highlights
Roy made his first appearance in The Man Who Watched the Trains Go By (1952), then The Secret of the Forest (1956), Beyond Mombasa (1956), William Tell (1958), House of Mystery (1961), Emergency Ward 10 (1961), The Avengers (1963), R3 (1965), The Three Musketeers (1966), That's Your Funeral (1971), Doomwatch (1971), The Dragon's Opponent (1973), I, Claudius (1976), The New Avengers (1977), Angels (1979), The Cleopatras (1983), The Collectors (1986) and Casualty (1987). He also had various roles in 23 episodes of The Buccaneers (1956-57).

Clive Scott (Linwood) Jul 4 1937 to Jul 28 2021
Career highlights
South African Clive made his uncredited debut in Battle of Britain (1969), then The Last of the Baskets (1971), My Way (1972), Bait (1974), Sell a Million (1975), The Diamond Mercenaries (1976), The Villagers (1976-78, as regular character Ted Dixon), Skelms (1980), Oh George! (1981), River Horse Lake (1984), Magic is Alive, My Friends (1985), Blind Justice (1988), Barney Barnato (1989), The Rutanga Tapes (1990), Tropical Heat (1993), Where Angels Tread (1994), Rhodes (1996), The Adventures of Sinbad (1997), the Operation Delta Force franchise (1997-2000, as Sunland), Citizen Verdict (2003), Red Water (2003), Isidingo: The Need (2005), Duma (2005), The Devil's Whore (2008), Winnie Mandela (2011) and Liberty (2018).
Facts
Clive also lectured in esoteric studies, and practiced as a masseur and healer.

Michael Sheard (Dr Summers) Jun 18 1938 to Aug 31 2005 (cancer)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Rhos in The Ark (1966)
Played: Dr Summers in The Mind of Evil (1971)
Played: Laurence Scarman in Pyramids of Mars (1975)
Played: Lowe in The Invisible Enemy (1977)
Played: Mergrave in Castrovalva (1982)
Played: Headmaster in Remembrance of the Daleks (1988)
Career highlights
Michael was a prolific character actor, appearing in over 120 productions, starting in a 1962 episode of Suspense. Further roles included The Likely Lads (1965), Adam Adamant Lives! (1966), The Borderers (1969), Albert! (1969), Paul Temple (1971), The Onedin Line (1972), On the Buses (1973), The Sweeney (1975), Space: 1999 (1975), The Tomorrow People (1978), Blake's 7 (1980), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), The Outsider (1983), Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1983-84), The Invisible Man (1984), Hannay (1988), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), 'Allo 'Allo (1992), Takin' Over the Asylum (1994), Another Life (2001), The Green Door (2005) and Shadows in the Woods (2006). Michael had a regular role as Mr Bronson in children's school series Grange Hill (1985-89).
Facts
During his career, he played Adolf Hitler five times, and Heinrich Himmler three times. He acted alongside five Doctors in the TV series, and a sixth (Paul McGann) in audio story The Stones of Venice (2001). Michael was the one to formally identify actor Declan Mulholland at the police mortuary after he was found dead on a train (as well as being the original actor to play Jabba the Hutt in a scene deleted from Star Wars, Declan also appeared in the Doctor Who stories The Sea Devils and The Androids of Tara).

Barry Wade (Prison officer) Nov 20 1922 to Jan 10 2011 (dementia)
Career highlights
Barry also took roles in Imperial Palace (1969), The First Churchills (1969) and Minder (1980).

Facts

"Barry Wade" was a pen name for Philip Beresford, who served in the Australian army in World War Two.

Matthew Walters (Main gate prisoner)
Career highlights
Matthew also appeared in This Man Craig (1966), The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967), Champion House (1967) and Poldark (1975).

Raymond Westwell (Prison governor) Jan 6 1919 to Nov 23 1982
Career highlights
Debuting in They Flew Through Sand (1946), Raymond's other work includes a 1955 adaptation of The Merchant of Venice, Othello (1965, which he also adapted for the screen), Homicide (1967), Hunter (1968), Softly Softly (1972), Antony and Cleopatra (1974), Killers (1976) and a BBC2 Playhouse: The Enigma (1980).

CREW

Don Houghton (writer) Feb 2 1930 to Jul 2 1991
Doctor Who credits
Wrote: Inferno (1970), The Mind of Evil (1971)
Career highlights
Paris-born Don's other writing work included 38 episodes of Emergency Ward 10 (1965-67), Ace of Wands (1970), The Flaxton Boys (1969-70, which he also script edited), Dracula AD 1972 (1972), New Scotland Yard (1972-73), The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973, which he also produced), The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974, also a producer), Shatter (1974), The Doombolt Chase (1978), The Professionals (1978-79), Sapphire & Steel (1981), Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense (1984, which he also script edited) and CATS Eyes (1985). He also created the Scottish soap Take the High Road (1980-2003), and wrote five scripts for it (1980).
Facts
Don was married to actress Pik-Sen Lim, who appeared in The Mind of Evil, while their daughter is actress Sara Houghton (who appeared in The Sarah Jane Adventures in 2011). He also wrote novels, including Column of Thieves and Blood Brigade, and the Take the High Road spin-off Summer's Gloaming.

Timothy Combe (director) Born Oct 17 1936
Doctor Who credits
Assistant floor manager: The Keys of Marinus (1964)
Production assistant: The Reign of Terror (1964), The Evil of the Daleks (1967, uncredited)
Directed: The Reign of Terror (1964, episode 6, uncredited), The Evil of the Daleks (1967, fight sequence in episode 7), Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970), The Mind of Evil (1971)
Played: Prisoner in The Mind of Evil (1971, uncredited)
Career highlights
Timothy later directed for Z Cars (1968-73), Ballet Shoes (1975), The Brothers (1976) and Angels (1979). He subsequently became an actors' agent.

Barry Letts (producer) Mar 26 1925 to Oct 9 2009 (cancer) Click here for Barry Letts's entry on The Enemy of the World

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

Terror of the Autons

The Autons get jobs at
Maplins' holiday camp

Four episodes (Episode One, Episode Two, Episode Three, Episode Four)
First broadcast Jan 2 to 23 1971
Average audience for serial: 7.95m

An episode by episode review of this story can be found at Time Space Visualiser.

REGULAR CAST

Jon Pertwee (The Doctor) Jul 7 1919 to May 20 1996 (heart attack) Click here to see Jon Pertwee's entry on Spearhead from Space

Katy Manning (Jo Grant) Born Oct 14 1946
Doctor Who credits
Played: Jo Grant in Terror of the Autons, The Mind of Evil, The Claws of Axos, Colony in Space, The Daemons, Day of the Daleks, The Curse of Peladon, The Sea Devils, The Mutants, The Time Monster, The Three Doctors, Carnival of Monsters, Frontier in Space, Planet of the Daleks, The Green Death (1971-73). Return appearances in The Sarah Jane Adventures: Death of the Doctor (2010), The Power of the Doctor (2022) and Tales of the TARDIS (2023), as well as three special dramatic trailers for the Collection bluray series (2019/21/23). Archive footage in Resurrection of the Daleks (1984) and Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS (2014).
Career highlights
Katy made her debut in two episodes of the series Man At the Top (1971), followed by roles in The Golden Road (1973), Serendipity (1973, as presenter), Whodunnit? (1975), Target (1977), All Saints (2002), Oakie's Outback Adventures (2011), Evil Never Dies (2014) and Casualty (2015). Katy has voiced numerous cartoons and won several awards including Best Supporting Actress at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival and several European awards as the voice of the ten-year-old Gloria in the animated cartoon Gloria’s House. On Australian TV, Katy even had her own chat show, interviewing the likes of Lenny Henry, Robson Green and Basil Brush! Since 2002, Katy has also played scatty Time Lady Iris Wildthyme in Big Finish audio plays.
Facts
Since the age of 12, Katy (who was offered, but turned down, a five-year contract with MGM in the early 1960s) has been a lifelong friend of actress and singer Liza Minnelli, who is one of 12 godparents to her two children - along with the actor Derek Fowlds, director Douglas Camfield, actor Derek Nimmo, entertainer Lionel Blair and actor Jimmy Edwards. Her partner is the actor/ singer Barry Crocker (the man who wrote the theme tune to Australian soap Neighbours) and in 1977 Katy appeared in the Australian magazine Girl Illustrated, posing nude with a Dalek (Katy says: "The Dalek pics in the Australian mag were never approved and in those days there was no comeback, so I live with and accept my responsibility (or lack of) but always hope that my career has been a little more than that!"). In 1962 Katy was involved in a car accident ("We went over a roundabout and into a garage. There were no seatbelts in those days. I was thrown through the windscreen and a plate-glass window") which left her with broken ribs and legs, an injured back and facial injuries which required reconstructive surgery. Katy's father was journalist James L Manning OBE, whose most notable journalistic achievement may be his expose of the use of performance-enhancing drugs in the 1967 Tour de France, specifically by British cyclist Tom Simpson, who died during the race. He also fought to have a doctor at the side of the ring in professional boxing matches, fought against apartheid in schools in Africa, for pensions for journalists' families and for the rights of female journalists, and was carried through the streets of Wales after fighting for miners' rights.
Note: This biog has been put together with the kind personal involvement of Katy herself, who was determined to make sure the facts were present - even down to her birth year! Any professional work listed on other websites which does not appear here may well be inaccurate, or indeed the work of another person (ie, Kate Manning). Thanks Katy!

Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart) Dec 16 1929 to Feb 22 2011 (cancer) Click here for Nicholas Courtney's entry on The Daleks' Master Plan

Richard Franklin (Captain Mike Yates) Jan 15 1936 to Dec 25 2023
Doctor Who credits
Played: Captain Mike Yates in Terror of the Autons, The Mind of Evil, The Claws of Axos, The Daemons, Day of the Daleks, The Time Monster, The Green Death, Invasion of the Dinosaurs, Planet of the Spiders (1971-74). Return appearances in The Five Doctors (1983) and Dimensions in Time (1993).
Career highlights
Richard debuted in Dixon of Dock Green (1966), then appeared in The Saint (1968), Crossroads (1969), Little Women (1970), From a Bird's Eye View (1971), The Pathfinders (1973), Blake's 7 (1980), Waving to a Train (1984), Harry (1993), Heartbeat (1997), Feedback (2004), Chemical Wedding (2008), Twilight of the Gods (2013) and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), although he was in advertising before he went into acting. He also had a recurring role as Denis Rigg in soap Emmerdale (1988-89). Richard also wrote, directed and performed in a stage play called Recall UNIT - The Great T-Bag Mystery at the 1984 Edinburgh Festival.
Facts
Richard (middle name Kimber) was a fiercely political man and stood as a candidate in four UK General Elections - in 1992 he stood for the Liberal Democrats in Sheffield Brightside, receiving 12.5% of the vote (placing third); in 1997 he stood for the Referendum Party in Hackney South and Shoreditch, garnering 1.8% of the vote (placing fifth); in 2001 he stood for the UK Independence Party in Hove, attracting 0.9% (placing sixth); and in 2005 he represented the Silent Majority Party in Hove, securing 0.2% (placing eighth). In 1993 he gave a speech at the Liberal Democrat conference. In 2009 he appeared in music videos by band Noah and the Whale. In October 2021, Richard underwent major surgery, and suffered with his health until he passed. Towards the end of his life, Richard was resident at the Charterhouse almshouse, a former monastery in central London, now a housing charity that provides a home and care for single people over 60 who are in financial and social need, and unable to live independently. He was visited regularly by his Doctor Who co-star and friend Katy Manning, right up until the Friday before he died.

John Levene (Benton) Born Dec 24 1941 Click here for John Levene's entry on The Web of Fear

Roger Delgado (The Master) Mar 1 1918 to Jun 18 1973 (car accident)
Doctor Who credits
Played: The Master in Terror of the Autons, The Mind of Evil, The Claws of Axos, Colony in Space, The Daemons, The Sea Devils, The Time Monster, Frontier in Space (1971-73). Archive footage in Utopia (2007) and The Sarah Jane Adventures: Death of the Doctor (2010).
Career highlights
Born Roger Caesar Marius Bernard de Delgado Torres Castillo Roberto in London to a Spanish father and Belgian mother, Roger made his first appearance in Distinguished Gathering (1948), then Operation Diplomat (1952), Murder at Scotland Yard (1952), The Broken Horseshoe (1953), The Belles of St Trinian's (1954), The Three Musketeers (1954), Quatermass II (1955), The Alien Sky (1956), Pursuit of the Graf Spee (1956), Stowaway Girl (1957), O.S.S (1957), The Silver Sword (1957), Sea Fury (1958), First Man Into Space (1959), The Splendid Spur (1960), Sands of the Desert (1960), Biggles (1960), The Singer Not the Song (1961), Danger Man (1961), The Terror of the Tongs (1961), Sir Francis Drake (1961-62), The Road to Hong Kong (1962), The Running Man (1963), Sergeant Cork (1964), Sherlock Holmes (1965), The Sandwich Man (1966), The Mummy's Shroud (1967), The Man in the Iron Mask (1968), Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (1969), The Avengers (1961/69), Seeing and Believing (1964-70), Underground (1970), The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (1971), Antony and Cleopatra (1972), Aquarius (1972), Jason King (1972), The Adventures of Don Quixote (1973), The Zoo Gang (1974) and La cloche tibetaine (1974).
Facts
Roger was fluent in English, Spanish and French. He had been a Major in the Royal Signals in India during World War Two. Roger, whose wife Kismet provided the voice of the Queen Spider in Planet of the Spiders, also appeared in the 1966 radio play The Slide, upon which writer Victor Pemberton based his Doctor Who story Fury from the Deep (1968). For years it was reported that Roger died when the car he was travelling in on the way to film the never-completed comedy movie Bell of Tibet in Turkey plunged into a ravine outside Nevsehir. However, in 2015 it came to light that Roger in fact did do Bell of Tibet. In actual fact, it was a French TV series called La cloche tibétaine. Roger appears in episode 4 (transmitted December 23rd, 1974). The story goes that his plane had to be diverted to another airport due to bad weather, and so he was running late. Roger called for a taxi to take him to the shoot. However, to save time, the driver took a mountain path. There, the car collided with another and plunged down a ravine, killing Delgado and a technician. It was Delgado's death which contributed to Jon Pertwee's decision to leave Doctor Who in 1974. Roger's body was cremated at Mortlake, London. Roger's widow Kismet received no compensation from the film production company for his death, and found herself deprived of financial security. Pertwee and his wife Ingeborg looked after her until she got herself together.

Note: Very special thanks to Tom Lingwood for the information regarding La cloche tibétaine.

GUEST CAST

John Baskcomb (Rossini) Feb 7 1916 to Mar 29 2000
Career highlights
John debuted in 1957's The Railway Children, then took roles in Sergeant Cork (1964), Fire Crackers (1965), The Devil in the Fog (1968), Oliver! (1968), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), Battle of Britain (1969), The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970), Dad's Army (1971), I Want What I Want (1972), Quiller (1975), Victorian Scandals (1976), The Final Conflict (1981), The Lady and the Highwayman (1989) and Memento Mori (1992). He might be best remembered as Petty Officer Woodward in Tell It to the Marines (1959-60), Timothy Forsyte in The Forsyte Saga (1967) or Nat Pearce in Poldark (1975-77).

Christopher Burgess (Professor Philips) Dec 15 1926 to Aug 25 2013
Doctor Who credits
Played: Swann in The Enemy of the World (1967-68)
Played: Professor Philips in Terror of the Autons (1971)
Played: Barnes in Planet of the Spiders (1974)
Career highlights
Christopher's first credited role was in In a Backward Country (1958), followed by Who Killed Menna Lorraine? (1960), Suspense (1963), This Man Craig (1966), Sherlock Holmes (1968), Menace (1970), Crown Court (1973), The Growing Pains of PC Penrose (1975, as Inspector Fox), Treasure Island (1977), Danger UXB (1979), Together (1980), Jane Eyre (1983), Jossy's Giants (1986-87, as Albert Hanson), Shadow of the Noose (1989) and Can You Hear Me Thinking? (1990).
Facts
Christopher spent his final years as one of 40 male pensioners (or "Brothers") living at the London Charterhouse almshouse.

Dave Carter (Museum attendant) Click here for Dave Carter's entry on Doctor Who and the Silurians

David Garth (Time Lord) Apr 15 1921 to May 3 1988
Doctor Who credits
Played: Solicitor Grey in The Highlanders (1966-67)
Played: Time Lord in Terror of the Autons (1971)
Career highlights
Indian born David first appeared in George and Margaret (1946), then Busman's Honeymoon (1947) The Strange World of Planet X (1956), Emergency Ward 10 (1964, as Leon Dorsey), Detective (1964), The Baron (1967), Adam Adamant Lives! (1966-67), Special Branch (1969-70), The Avengers (1962/66/68), Nearest and Dearest (1971), General Hospital (1972-76, as Dr Matthew Armstrong), The Flaxton Boys (1973), Return of the Saint (1979), To the Manor Born (1980), Shine on Harvey Moon (1984-85) and A Month in the Country (1987).
Facts
David was married to actress Geraldine Newman, better known as Hilda in sitcom Ever Decreasing Circles. He was also a writer, having penned a handful of screenplays in the 1930s and 40s; his novel Fury at Furnace Creek was made into a film starring Victor Mature in 1948, and ten years earlier his story Four Men and a Prayer was made into a film by director John Ford and starring David Niven.

Pat Gorman (Auton leader) May 10 1933 to Oct 9 2018 Click here for Pat Gorman's entry on The Invasion

Stephen Jack (Farrel Senior) Jan 20 1902 to Sep 17 1987 (natural causes)
Career highlights
Stephen's other work includes R.U.R (1938), Gallows Glorious (1938), Treasure Island (1950), Dr Finlay's Casebook (1963), Danger Man (1965), Hine (1971), The Tomorrow People (1974), Poldark (1975) and Disraeli: Portrait of a Romantic (1978).
Facts
Stephen's son was dialect coach Andrew Jack, who advised on countless blockbuster films, including the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings films (he even coached Amy Pond actress Karen Gillan on Guardians of the Galaxy!). Andrew, who also played an uncredited Aztec warrior in The Aztecs, died of coronavirus in 2020. Stephen, who was himself a skilled expert on British regional accents, was highly prolific as a broadcaster for BBC Radio's Children's Hour and was made an honorary Fellow of the Royal Society for his services to language, accent and dialect.

Haydn Jones (Auton voice) Aug 15 1924 to Nov 6 1984
Doctor Who credits
Played: Auton voice in Terror of the Autons (1971)
Played: Vosper in The Mind of Evil (1971)
Career highlights
Hadyn's debut came in Touch Wood (1958), then Dancers in Mourning (1959), Out of This World (1962), The Avengers (1963), The Villains (1964), United! (1965), Counterstrike (1969), Elizabeth R (1971), War and Peace (1972), The Pallisers (1974) and Bergerac (1983). He also enjoyed regular roles as Professor Westfield in City Beneath the Sea (1962) and Ernest Carter in Swizzlewick (1964).
Facts
Haydn was the voice of Joe Grundy in BBC radio soap The Archers until his death. Ironically, when Haydn met his acting friend Edward Kelsey (also a Doctor Who alumni) in 1984, he suggested Kelsey would be ideal for a role in The Archers. When Jones passed away soon after, Kelsey auditioned to replace him, and made his debut as Joe Grundy in February 1985.

Barbara Leake (Mrs Farrel) May 14 1903 to Aug 18 1991
Career highlights
Barbara debuted in the horror portmanteau film Dead of Night (1945), then appeared in Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), Vanity Fair (1957), Murder She Said (1961), The Eyes of Annie Jones (1964), Danger Man (1965), A Study in Terror (1965), Vanity Fair (1967), Budgie (1972) and The Pearcross Girls (1973).
Facts
Barbara began her acting career at the Old Vic in the 1920s and went on to work with the company of R. Meadow White, and with the David Garrick Players. After the Second World War she appeared regularly in the West End. She married the actor, dramatist and director Stafford Byrne in 1949 (she is described in one biography of Byrne's as "a woman of charm and distinction"!).

Frank Mills (Radio telescope operator) Apr 11 1927 to Feb 11 2021
Career highlights
Frank's earliest screen appearance came in The Avengers (1964), after which he popped up in Undermind (1965), A Handful of Thieves (1969), Hardy Heating Company Ltd (1970), Away from It All (1973), Bedtime Stories (1974), The treasure of Abbot Thomas (1974), North and South (1975), Rentaghost (1976), The Crezz (1976), Jubilee (1977), Sally Ann (1979), Strangers (1981), Bergerac (1984), Hannay (1988), Campion (1990), Love Hurts (1992), Harry (1993), The Tribe (1998), Mrs Caldicott's Cabbage War (2002), The Brief (2004), The Palace (2008), Minder (2009) and Heartbeat (1997/2009). Frank has also enjoyed several running roles in series over the years, including Toby Wilson in Sam (1973-74), Fowler in Flambards (1979), Jimmy Nunn in The Good Companions (1980-81), Frank Rudd in Nanny (1981-82), Matthew Saltmarsh in By the Sword Divided (1983), Gil Roach in Big Deal (1984-86), Fig Newton in Rumpole of the Bailey (1983-91) and Frank Wainthropp in Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (1998). His most successful role was playing Billy Williams, who married Betty Turpin in soap Coronation Street (1995-97).
Facts
Before breaking into acting in his 30s, Frank had been employed variously as a golf caddy, a page boy at the Savoy Hotel, for London Civil Defence, at a holiday camp, as an under-butler at a large country house, and as a commis waiter at the House of Commons.

Andrew Staines (Goodge) Feb 11 1937 to Sep 16 2016
Doctor Who credits
Played: Sergeant to Benik in The Enemy of the World (1967-68)
Played: Goodge in Terror of the Autons (1971)
Played: Captain in Carnival of Monsters (1973)
Played: Keaver in Planet of the Spiders (1974)
Career highlights
Andrew's only other screen credits are on Justice (1971) and The Woman in White (1982), although he worked extensively in theatre.
Facts
Andrew was Doctor Who producer Barry Letts' nephew. In 2008 Andrew was interviewed for the British Library's Theatre Archive Project, and had this to say about his time on Doctor Who: "I was in one - Pertwee had been the Doctor for several episodes then - but he had a change of personnel and had Katy Manning as his female sidekick and Roger Delgado as the Master, and then I was in two or three others after that, and then there I was in Jon's final one. They got Tom Baker in on the last day of rehearsal so that he could be transformed from Jon Pertwee - I was very interested, standing on the sidelines and watching them do it. I rather regret that I never went on to do an episode with Tom Baker." A transcript of the full interview can be found here.
In 2016 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Andrew here.

Norman Stanley (Telephone mechanic) Aug 19 1916 to Sep 12 1973
Career highlights
Norman's other roles included Girl Gang (1954), The Plane Makers (1964), Carry on Cowboy (1966) and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1967).
Facts
Norman played the Master while he was disguised as a telephone mechanic, which means that, technically, he counts as the second actor to play the renegade Time Lord!

Roy Stewart (Strongman) May 15 1925 to Oct 27 2008 (heart disease)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Saracen warrior in The Crusade (1965, uncredited)
Played: Toberman in The Tomb of the Cybermen (1967)
Played: Strongman in Terror of the Autons (1971)
Career highlights
Jamaican Roy made his screen debut in The Mummy (1959), then On the Fiddle (1961), The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964), She (1965), Slave Girls (1967), The Avengers (1968), Carry On Up the Jungle (1970), Up Pompeii (1970), Twins of Evil (1971), Live and Let Die (1973), I, Claudius (1976), Rentaghost (1978), Arabian Adventure (1979) and Dangerous Davies: The Last Detective (1981).
Facts
Roy - 6ft 4in - arrived in the UK in the 1940s intent on becoming a doctor, but had his head turned by acting when he got into stuntwork. In 1954 he opened his own gym in North Kensington, London, one of the first to allow mixed race training and which boasted among its customers Darth Vader actor Dave Prowse (the gym also doubled as a late night drinking club, and by 1964 Roy had been convicted four times of operating without a liquor licence). In the 1960s he opened the Globe, a Caribbean restaurant and bar in Notting Hill, frequented by the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley. It was Roy who gave vital tips and encouragement to bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger to enter the Mr Universe title in London in 1969. There's a nice pictorial tribute to Roy here.

Harry Towb (McDermott) 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.

Dermot Tuohy (Brownrose) Aug 12 1921 to Dec 14 1986
Career highlights
Dermot's debut came in Freedom to Die (1961), followed by Young Cassidy (1965), Undermind (1965), The Violent Enemy (1967), Middlemarch (1968), Ours is a Nice House (1970), Ace of Wands (1971), The Life and Times of David Lloyd George (1981) and The End of the World Man (1986).

Terry Walsh (Auton policeman) May 5 1939 to Apr 21 2002 (cancer)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Militiaman in The Smugglers (1966, uncredited)
Played: Soldier in The Web of Fear (1968, uncredited), The Invasion (1968, uncredited), The Ambassadors of Death (1970, uncredited), Inferno (1970, uncredited)
Fight arranger/ stunts: Terror of the Autons (1971, uncredited), Day of the Daleks (1972, uncredited), The Curse of Peladon (1972, uncredited), The Green Death (1973), The Time Warrior (1973-74), Death to the Daleks (1974), The Monster of Peladon (1974), Planet of the Spiders (1974), The Sontaran Experiment (1975), The Android Invasion (1975), The Seeds of Doom (1976), The Masque of Mandragora (1976, uncredited), The Deadly Assassin (1976), The Face of Evil (1977), The Androids of Tara (1978), The Creature from the Pit (1979), Dimensions in Time (1993)
Played: Auton policeman in Terror of the Autons (1971)
Played: Stangmoor man in The Mind of Evil (1971, uncredited)
Played: UNIT motorcyclist in The Mind of Evil (1971, uncredited)
Played: IMC Guard Rogers in Colony in Space (1971, uncredited)
Played: Castle Guard Barclay in The Sea Devils (1972)
Played: Guard in The Mutants (1972, uncredited), The Green Death (1973), Genesis of the Daleks (1975, uncredited), The Face of Evil (1977, uncredited)
Played: Window cleaner in The Time Monster (1972)
Played: Warehouse looter in Invasion of the Dinosaurs (1974)
Played: Jack in Death to the Daleks (1974, uncredited)
Played: Burning Exxilon in Death to the Daleks (1974, uncredited)
Played: Zombie in Death to the Daleks (1974, uncredited)
Played: Guard Captain in The Monster of Peladon (1974)
Played: Man with boat in Planet of the Spiders (1974)
Played: SRS meeting security in Robot (1974-75, uncredited)
Played: Wirrn operator in The Ark in Space (1975, uncredited)
Played: Zake in The Sontaran Experiment (1975)
Played: Muto in Genesis of the Daleks (1975, uncredited)
Played: Kaled scientist in Genesis of the Daleks (1975, uncredited)
Played: Crewmember in Planet of Evil (1975, uncredited)
Played: Executioner in The Masque of Mandragora (1976, uncredited)
Played: Mensch in The Power of Kroll (1978-79)
Played: Doran in The Creature from the Pit (1979)
Career highlights
Prolific stuntman Terry first appeared in The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961) and went on to both act and perform stunts in Alfie (1966), Adam Adamant Lives! (1966-67), The Saint (1968), The Italian Job (1969), Ace of Wands (1970), Paul Temple (1970-71), The Persuaders! (1971), The Hole in the Wall (1972), Diversions (1976), Space: 1999 (1976-77), Star Wars (1977), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978), Superman (1978), Dracula (1979), Tales of the Unexpected (1980), To Serve Them All My Days (1980), Superman II (1980), The Nightmare Man (1981), An American Werewolf in London (1981), Dragonslayer (1981), Never Say Never Again (1983), Superman III (1983), Krull (1983), Robin of Sherwood (1984-86), Biggles: Adventures in Time (1986), Tucker's Luck (1985), Superman IV (1987), Willow (1988), Bergerac (1988), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), Bullseye! (1990), Jekyll and Hyde (1990), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), First Knight (1995), Pie in the Sky (1997), Spice World: The Movie (1997), Merlin (1998), Alice in Wonderland (1999), The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns (1999) and The Abduction Club (2002).
Facts
Terry saved actress Elisabeth Sladen from drowning during filming for Revenge of the Cybermen in 1975 when an action scene went wrong, after which Terry fell ill. He also came up with some of the Third Doctor's more ambitious Venusian aikido moves. When Terry wasn't stunting, he drove a black cab from Edgware station taxi rank in London.

Michael Wisher (Rex Farrel) May 19 1935 to Jul 21 1995 (heart attack) Click here for Michael Wisher's entry on The Ambassadors of Death

Note: Actor Bill McGuirk (who had previously appeared in The Enemy of the World) was credited on episode 3 as playing a policeman, but did not appear due to his scenes being cut.

CREW

Robert Holmes (writer) Apr 2 1926 to May 24 1986 (chronic liver ailment) Click here to see Robert Holmes's entry on The Krotons

Barry Letts (director (uncredited) and producer) Mar 26 1925 to Oct 9 2009 (cancer) Click here for Barry Letts's entry on The Enemy of the World

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

Inferno

A Primord, yesterday.

Seven episodes (Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7)
First broadcast May 9 to Jun 20 1970
Average audience for serial: 5.57m

An episode-by-episode review of this story can be found at Time Space Visualiser.

REGULAR CAST

Jon Pertwee (The Doctor) Jul 7 1919 to May 20 1996 (heart attack) Click here to see Jon Pertwee's entry on Spearhead from Space

Caroline John (Liz Shaw / Section Leader Elizabeth Shaw) Sep 19 1940 to Jun 5 2012 (cancer) Click here to see Caroline John's entry on Spearhead from Space

Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart / Brigade Leader Lethbridge Stewart) Dec 16 1929 to Feb 22 2011 (cancer) Click here for Nicholas Courtney's entry on The Daleks' Master Plan

GUEST CAST

Christopher Benjamin (Sir Keith Gold) Dec 27 1934 to Jan 10 2025 (following a fall)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Sir Keith Gold in Inferno (1970)
Played: Henry Gordon Jago in The Talons of Weng-Chiang (1977)
Played: Colonel Hugh Curbishley in The Unicorn and the Wasp (2008)
Career highlights
Prolific character actor Christopher first appeared in Suspense (1962), and then popped up in The Man in Room 17 (1965), Orlando (1966), The Forsyte Saga (1967), Late Night Horror (1968), Ring of Bright Water (1969), Ace of Wands (1970), Jason King (1971), The Strauss Family (1972), Baffled! (1973), Father Brown (1974), Poldark (1975-76, as Sir Hugh Bodrugan), When the Boat Comes In (1976), Rooms (1977), Dick Turpin (1979-80, as Sir John Glutton), Shoestring (1980), Chintz (1981), Holding the Fort (1980/82, as Colonel Aubrey Sanderson), It Takes a Worried Man (1981/83, as the Old Man), Minder (1984), Dempsey and Makepeace (1986), The Diary of Anne Frank (1987), Young Charlie Chaplin (1989), Anything More Would Be Greedy (1989), Campion (1990), Maigret (1992), The Tomorrow People (1994), Hard Times (1994), Pride and Prejudice (1995), Treasure Island (1999), Judge John Deed (2003/06, as Steve Gaydon), Angel (2007), The Merry Wives of Windsor (2011) and The Legend of Tarzan (2016).
Facts
Christopher reprised the role of Jago in 2009 for Big Finish audios, and played him for many years after.

Dave Carter (Primord) Click here for Dave Carter's entry on Doctor Who and the Silurians

Sheila Dunn (Petra Williams) Apr 11 1940 to Mar 3 2004
Doctor Who credits
Played: Blossom Lefevre in The Daleks' Master Plan (1965-66)
Played: Computer voice/ telephone operator in The Invasion (1968)
Played: Petra Williams in Inferno (1970)
Played: Dr Petra Williams in Inferno (1970)
Career highlights
Sheila's other credits include R3 (1965), Z Cars (1967), Mistress of Hardwick (1972), The Treasure of Abbot Thomas (1974), Accident (1978), Kessler (1981), The Bill (1997) and Harry Hill (1997-2000, in which she played Harry's mother).
Facts
Sheila was married to director Douglas Camfield, who cast her in three of his Doctor Who stories, and her father was Bill Dunn, inventor of the bullet-proof Spitfire engine and chairman of ICI. In the 1980s and 90s Sheila was a leading light in the Richmond Shakespeare Society (as Sheila Camfield), and popped up on TV in the oddest of places - including playing an old and obese Baby Spice in An Audience with the Spice Girls (1997)!

Ian Fairbairn (Bromley) 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!

Pat Gorman (Primord) May 10 1933 to Oct 9 2018 Click here for Pat Gorman's entry on The Invasion

Walter Henry (Primord) Oct 24 1921 to Feb 21 2005 (heart attack in his sleep)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Extra in The Myth Makers (1965, uncredited), Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970, uncredited)
Played: Primord in Inferno (1970)
Played: Brother in The Masque of Mandragora (1976, uncredited)
Career highlights
Walter's other appearances include Emma (1960), Public Eye (1965), The Goodies (1971), The Troubleshooters (1971), Rumpole of the Bailey (1979), Blake's 7 (1981), Father's Day (1984) and The Whistle Blower (1986).
Facts
Before World War Two, Walter (birthname Israel W Nagelkop!) was employed by the Max Factor cosmetics company, and soon after the war he worked as a film publicist and began to do occasional extra work on films such as 1948's The First Gentleman and 1949's I Was a Male War Bride.

Keith James (Patterson) Dec 10 1937 to Dec 5 1996
Career highlights
Keith first appeared in Maupassant (1963), then The Villains (1964), Dutchman (1967), Coronation Street (1967), Mr Rose (1968), Castle Haven (1969), Paul Temple (1971), Holly (1972), North and South (1975), The Battle of Billy's Pond (1976), Bernie (1978/80), Graham's Gang (1979), Dick Turpin (1979-80, as Davy) and The Chinese Detective (1982). He also wrote a 1968 episode of Coronation Street (as S Keith James), making him one of seven people to both appear in and write for the soap.

John Levene (Benton / Platoon Under Leader Benton) Born Dec 24 1941 Click here for John Levene's entry on The Web of Fear

Derek Newark (Greg Sutton) Jun 8 1933 to Aug 11 1998 (heart attack)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Za in An Unearthly Child (1963)
Played: Greg Sutton in Inferno (1970)
Career highlights
Derek made his screen debut in Out of This World (1962), followed by roles in Redcap (1964), Front Page Story (1965), The Baron (1967), The Caesars (1968), three episodes of The Avengers (1964-68), Fragment of Fear (1970), Dad's Army (1971), Budgie (1971-72), Private Schulz (1981), Travelling Man (1984), Dempsey and Makepeace (1986), War and Remembrance (1988), The Nineteenth Hole (1989) and 99-1 (1994). Derek is fondly remembered as DI Tucker in Barlow at Large (1974-75), and Detective Chief Superintendent Sullivan in Travelling Man (1984), while he had the memorable role of wrestler tenant Spooner in two episodes of sitcom Rising Damp (1974-75).
Facts
Derek served in the Merchant Navy and Coldstream Guards before becoming a Services DJ in Singapore.

Olaf Pooley (Professor / Director Stahlman) Mar 13 1914 to Jul 14 2015 DOCTOR WHO CENTENARIAN!
Career highlights
Olaf made his acting debut in Penny and the Pownall Case (1948), and then appeared in She Shall Have Murder (1950), The Woman's Angle (1952), Gravelhanger (1954), Leave It to Todhunter (1958), Deadline Midnight (1961), The Password is Courage (1962), The Master (1966), The Assassination Bureau (1969), Doomwatch (1971), Fall of Eagles (1974), Killers (1976), A Horseman Riding By (1978), The Sandbaggers (1978), Scarecrow and Mrs King (1984), MacGyver (1985), Nightmare Classics (1989), LA Law (1992), Dr Quinn: Medicine Woman (1996), Star Trek: Voyager (2000) and Fellini's Donut (2005). Olaf has also written screenplays for The Corpse (1971), The Johnstown Monster (1971, which he also appeared in and directed), The Godsend (1980), Falcon's Gold (1982) and Lifeforce (1985, uncredited).
Facts
Olaf's uncle was Sir Ernest Pooley, who was made a baronet of Westbrook House in 1953 and served as chairman of the Arts Council of Great Britain between 1946-53. Ernest was also a professional tennis player, having played two matches at the 1914 Wimbledon Gentlemen's Singles and two in the Gentlemen's Doubles (partnered with H S Milford). Olaf and his first wife, the actress Irlin Hall, had two children - the actress Kirstie Pooley and the one-time comedian Seyton Pooley. Olaf's second wife Gabrielle Beaumont directed numerous episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager. He was a lifetime professionally trained painter, having studied under Marcel Grommaire in Paris, and had an art studio at Santa Monica Airport. Olaf became Doctor Who's second centenarian when she turned 100 years old in 2014. Three months before Olaf died, a crowdfunding campaign was launched to raise money to buy him new dentures. After his death, it became a memorial fund and raised $1,850. Read an interview with Olaf published just weeks before he died on StarTrek.com.

Walter Randall (Harry Slocum) Jun 26 1929 to May 5 2006
Doctor Who credits
Played: Tonila in The Aztecs (1964)
Played: El Akir in The Crusade (1965)
Played: Hyksos in The Daleks' Master Plan (1965-66)
Played: Patrolman in The Invasion (1968)
Played: Harry Slocum in Inferno (1970)
Played: Guard captain in Planet of the Spiders (1974)
Career highlights
Dancer/ actor Walter's long career began in Rock You Sinners (1958), then Nudist Paradise (1959), Man from Interpol (1960), The Hands of Orlac (1961), Ghost Squad (1963), Danger Man (1964), All Gas and Gaiters (1967), Trial (1971), Follyfoot (1973), The Double Dealers (1974), Target (1977), The Professionals (1980) and Yes, Minister (1982).
Facts
Former dancer Walter went into partnership with Jon Pertwee in the 1970s, owning a hamburger diner called Pertwee's Takeaway for five years. In the late 60s and early 70s, Walter also ran nightclubs and restaurants in London, including the Fiasco Club, Davina's Place, CW's, the 606 Club and Tweedledum.

Philip Ryan (Primord) 1921 to 2009
Doctor Who credits
Played: Soldier in The Web of Fear (1968, uncredited)
Played: Redcoat in The Mind Robber (1968)
Played: Primord in Inferno (1970)
Career highlights
Philip's first credit was in The Hands of Orlac (1960), followed by Adam Adamant Lives! (1966), Paul Temple (1971), North and South (1975), Shoestring (1979), Sorry! (1985), Dempsey and Makepeace (1986), The Life and Loves of a She-Devil (1986) and Me and My Girl (1987).

Roy Scammell (RSF sentry) Jul 28 1932 to May 15 2021
Doctor Who credits
Played: Soldier in The Ambassadors of Death (1970, uncredited)
Played: Technician in The Ambassadors of Death (1970)
Played: RSF sentry in Inferno (1970)
Stunt arranger: Terror of the Autons (1971, uncredited), Delta and the Bannermen (1987, uncredited)
Played: Prison officer in The Mind of Evil (1971, uncredited)
Played: UNIT motorcyclist in The Mind of Evil (1971, uncredited)
Career highlights
Debuting in Circus of Fear (1966), stuntman Roy's other credits include The Dirty Dozen (1967), A Clockwork Orange (1971), The Onedin Line (1971-72), The Benny Hill Show (1972), Psychomania (1973), The Sexplorer (1975), Rollerball (1975), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Midnight Express (1978), The World is Full of Married Men (1979), Alien (1979), Flash Gordon (1980), For Your Eyes Only (1981), Into the Labyrinth (1981-82), Nuns on the Run (1990), Goldeneye (1995), Do Not Disturb (1999), Ultra Obscura (2008), Tell Him Next Year (2010) and Seize the Night (2015).
Facts
Roy's extensive daredevil career has taken in acting, stuntwork, ice skating (which he did for the Festival of Britain in 1951), roller skating, hockey, gymnastics - and lithographic printing.
In 2015 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Roy, along with stuntmen Royston Farrell and Derek Martin, here.

David Simeon (Private Latimer) Born May 17 1943
Doctor Who credits
Played: Private Latimer in Inferno (1970)
Played: Alastair Fergus in The Daemons (1971)
Career highlights
Debuting in Sexton Blake (1967), David went on to appear in Paul Temple (1970), The Liver Birds (1972/76), Casanova (1973), Fawlty Towers (1975), The Dick Emery Show (1976), The Other One (1977), Sykes (1979), End of Part One (1979-80, as a celebrity impersonator), Vice Versa (1981), The New Adventures of Lucky Jim (1982), Angels (1978-80/83), The Lenny Henry Show (1984), Ever Decreasing Circles (1986), A Fish Called Wanda (1988), Moon and Son (1992), Woof! (1994), An Independent Man (1995), The Grand (1997), Silent Witness (2000), Tipping the Velvet (2002), Eat Yourself Slim (2005) and Doctors (2005). He also had regular roles as Detective Constable Mickey Finn in Hunter's Walk (1973-76), Richard Woodford in The Many Wives of Patrick (1976-78) and David Farrell in Jury (1983) and Ken Kennedy in Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married (1999-2000).
Facts
His wife in the 1970s was actress Elizabeth Counsell, best known for playing Veronica Bainbridge in sitcom Brush Strokes. You can listen to an audio interview conducted with David in 2006 for the British Library's Theatre Archive Project.

Peter Thompson (Primord) 1925 to 1999
Doctor Who credits
Played: Workman in The Invasion (1968)
Played: Primord in Inferno (1970)
Career highlights
Peter made his debut in Stranger on the Shore (1961), and then popped up in Z Cars (1964), Six Shades of Black (1965), Frankie Howerd (1966), Ollie and Fred's Five O'Clock Club (1966), Freewheelers (1968), Kemek (1970), Twins of Evil (1971), Plugg (1975), High Rolling (1977), Prisoner: Cell Block H (1979/80), The Other Woman (1981), Channel Chaos (1984) and Neighbours (1986).

Derek Ware (Private Wyatt) Feb 27 1938 to Sep 22 2015 (cancer) Click here for Derek Ware's entry on The Crusade

CREW

Don Houghton (writer) Feb 2 1930 to Jul 2 1991
Doctor Who credits
Wrote: Inferno (1970), The Mind of Evil (1971)
Career highlights
Paris-born Don's other writing work included 38 episodes of Emergency Ward 10 (1965-67), Ace of Wands (1970), The Flaxton Boys (1969-70, which he also script edited), Dracula AD 1972 (1972), New Scotland Yard (1972-73), The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973, which he also produced), The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974, also a producer), Shatter (1974), The Doombolt Chase (1978), The Professionals (1978-79), Sapphire & Steel (1981), Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense (1984, which he also script edited) and CATS Eyes (1985). He also created the Scottish soap Take the High Road (1980-2003), and wrote five scripts for it (1980).
Facts
Don was married to actress Pik-Sen Lim, who appeared in The Mind of Evil, while their daughter is actress Sara Houghton (who appeared in The Sarah Jane Adventures in 2011). He also wrote novels, including Column of Thieves and Blood Brigade, and the Take the High Road spin-off Summer's Gloaming.

Douglas Camfield (director) May 8 1931 to Jan 27 1984 (heart attack) Click here for Douglas Camfield's entry on Planet of Giants

Barry Letts (director (uncredited) and producer) Mar 26 1925 to Oct 9 2009 (cancer) Click here for Barry Letts's entry on The Enemy of the World

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

The Ambassadors of Death

Martian ambassador?
Or Vashta Nerada?

Seven episodes (Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7)
First broadcast Mar 21 to May 2 1970
Average audience for serial: 7.34m

An episode-by-episode review of this story can be found at Time Space Visualiser.

REGULAR CAST

Jon Pertwee (The Doctor) Jul 7 1919 to May 20 1996 (heart attack) Click here to see Jon Pertwee's entry on Spearhead from Space

Caroline John (Liz Shaw) Sep 19 1940 to Jun 5 2012 (cancer) Click here to see Caroline John's entry on Spearhead from Space

Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart) Dec 16 1929 to Feb 22 2011 (cancer) Click here for Nicholas Courtney's entry on The Daleks' Master Plan

GUEST CAST

John Abineri (General Carrington) May 18 1928 to Jun 29 2000 (motor-neurone disease)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Van Lutyens in Fury from the Deep (1968)
Played: General Carrington in The Ambassadors of Death (1970)
Played: Richard Railton in Death to the Daleks (1974)
Played: Ranquin in The Power of Kroll (1978-79)
Career highlights
John's first credit was in The Children of the New Forest (1955), and later appeared in The Third Man (1959), Formula for Danger (1960), The Odd Man (1962), Redcap (1965), Funeral in Berlin (1966), The Witch's Daughter (1971), The Last of the Mohicans (1971), General Hospital (1972), The Legend of Robin Hood (1975), The Moon Stallion (1978), Blake's 7 (1979), A Tale of Two Cities (1980), Jamaica Inn (1983), Maelstrom (1985), Red Dwarf (1988, as Rimmer's father), The Godfather Part III (1990), Seaforth (1994), Wycliffe (1995) and The Window Bed (1999). John also had regular roles as Hubert Goss in Survivors (1976-77) and Herne the Hunter in Robin of Sherwood (1984-86); he was also the butler in the original series of Ferrero Rocher advertisements.
Facts
John's son Daniel is an actor and voiceover artist who claims to have discovered Russell Crowe (Daniel is married to TV producer Claudia Rosencrantz). John's other son Sebastian is also an actor. When actor Duncan Lamont died during the film of the 1979 Blake's 7 episode Hostage, John took over the role (both had co-starred in the Doctor Who story Death to the Daleks (1974)). In 1973 John was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for playing Chingachgook in Last of the Mohicans and Hawkeye, the Pathfinder (he lost to Anthony Murphy).

Ronald Allen (Ralph Cornish) Dec 16 1930 to Jun 18 1991 (lung cancer)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Rago in The Dominators (1968)
Played: Ralph Cornish in The Ambassadors of Death (1970)
Career highlights
Ronald's earliest credit was on Romeo and Juliet (1957), and further credits included A Night to Remember (1958), The Four Just Men (1960), The Avengers (1964), Hell Boats (1970), The Liver Birds (1971), The Fiend (1972), Eat the Rich (1987), Generations (1989), Bergerac (1990), five of the Comic Strip Presents... strand (1982-90) and The Happening (1991). Ronald's most famous role was as David Hunter in 195 episodes of the soap opera Crossroads (1972-83), but he also played recurring characters in two other soaps - Ian Harmon in 223 episodes of Compact (1962-65) and Mark Wilson in 53 episodes of United! (1966-67).
Facts
Ronald lived for many years with Crossroads co-star Brian Hankins before Brian's death from cancer, after which Ronald wed his Crossroads co-star Sue Lloyd when he learnt he himself had terminal cancer. Ronald died within three months of their marriage. Ronald had been dogged my rumours he was gay for years, which he referred to in a 1985 interview: "I'm not going to deny the gay rumours. What I will say is that my relationship with Sue is fulfilled and fulfilling in every way, a very passionate sexual relationship. The constant rumours do not upset me any more. People are free to interpret things however they like. The simple truth is that I've never found a woman I've wanted to share my life with until Sue came along."

Ray Armstrong (Grey)
Career highlights
Ray's career began as an uncredited extra in Around the World in 80 Days (1956), and later took in Where Has Poor Mickey Gone? (1964), Department S (1969), The Regiment (1972), The Venturers (1972), The New Avengers (1976), The Famous Five (1978), Harry's Game (1982), Tucker's Luck (1983), A Dorothy L Sayers Mystery (1987), Shirley Valentine (1989), Lovejoy (1992), Oasis (1993), Chef! (1996) and Casualty (2001). He regularly played Colin Wade in Freewheelers (1972).
Facts
In the 1950s, Ray worked for the Forestry Commission, and after becoming an actor, was a member of the Children's Theatre Company in the 1960s, driving a bus around the UK to perform in different communities. Ray now lives in the Findhorn spiritual eco-village in north-east Scotland.

Geoffrey Beevers (Private Johnson) Born Jan 9 1941
Doctor Who credits
Played: Private Johnson in The Ambassadors of Death (1970)
Played: The Master in The Keeper of Traken (1981)
Career highlights
Geoffrey made his debut in a 1970 edition of Sentimental Education, and then appeared in The Jensen Code (1973), Edward the King (1975), Anna Karenina (1977), Breakaway (1980), The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1981), Stalky & Co (1982), Curse of the Pink Panther (1983), The Jewel in the Crown (1984), Bust (1988), A Very British Coup (1988), Grange Hill (1989), Spatz (1990), Taggart (1992), The Buddha of Suburbia (1993), Seaforth (1994), Medics (1995), Bramwell (1996), Bodyguards (1996-97), Shooting the Past (1999), Boyz Unlimited (1999), Red Dwarf (1999), The Queen's Nose (1998/2000), Jeffrey Archer: The Truth (2002), Down to Earth (2004), Miss Potter (2006), The Edge of Love (2008), Cass (2008), Clash of the Titans (2010), Reggie Perrin (2010), Bad Education (2013) and Legend (2015).
Facts
Geoffrey's wife was Doctor Who actress Caroline John. After playing the Master in The Keeper of Traken, he has reprised the role several times in a number of Big Finish audio dramas.
In 2015 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Geoffrey here.

Dallas Cavell (Quinlan) Sep 19 1925 to Feb 15 1993 (heart attack)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Roadworks overseer in The Reign of Terror (1964)
Played: Bors in The Daleks' Master Plan (1965-66)
Played: Captain Jebb Trask in The Highlanders (1966)
Played: Quinlan in The Ambassadors of Death (1970)
Played: Head of security in Castrovalva (1982)
Career highlights
Dallas (real first name Norman) debuted in The Voodoo Factor (1960), then Maigret (1961), The Avengers (1963), Crossroads (1964), The Caesars (1968), Brett (1971), The New Avengers (1976) and The Pickwick Papers (1985).
Facts
Dallas also worked as a bingo caller in London for a time.

Robert Cawdron (Taltalian) Dec 29 1921 to Sep 14 1997
Career highlights
French born Robert made his uncredited debut in Night Beat (1947), then appeared in A Christmas Carol (1950), Treasure Island (1951), The Railway Children (1951), Goonreel (1952), The Scarlet Pimpernel (1956), The Count of Monte Cristo (1956), Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960), The Massingham Affair (1964), Triton (1968), The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970), From a Bird's Eye View (1971), Doomwatch (1971), The Death of Adolf Hitler (1973) and Days of Hope (1975). His last TV work was in The Dick Emery Show in 1981. Robert also had regular roles as Detective Inspector Cherry in Z Cars (1956-65) and Sergeant Luduc in The Saint (1962-67).
Facts
Robert's nephew is actor/ director Nick Cawdron.

James Clayton (Private Parker)
Career highlights
James had previously appeared in Softly Softly (1968) and various episodes of Z Cars (1968-69) as PC Foley.

Carl Conway (Control room assistant) Feb 6 1922 to Feb 10 2017
Doctor Who credits
Played: US correspondent in The War Machines (1966)
Played: Control room assistant in The Ambassadors of Death (1970)
Career highlights
Carl's acting CV takes in The Counterfeit Plan (1957), Nudist Paradise (1959), Man from Interpol (1960), Watch Your Stern (1961), The Saint (1966), Pegasus (1969) and Out of the Unknown (1969). In 1964 Carl joined the unlicensed off-shore Radio Caroline at its launch but did not care for life at sea and mainly took part in the advertisements and interviews conducted on dry land (the pirate radio station transmitted from a former passenger ferry anchored off Felixstowe). In the 1980s Carl worked for BBC Radio Kent, and later kept himself busy organising film shows in old people's homes and community centres.

Peter Noel Cook (Alien space captain)
Career highlights
Peter's other credits include The Strong are Lonely (1956), Shadow of Heroes (1959), Cards with Uncle Tom (1959), Maigret (1963), Z Cars (1964) and Out of the Unknown (1966).

William Dysart (Reegan) Nov 26 1929 to Oct 2002
Doctor Who credits
Played: Alexander in The Highlanders (1966-67)
Played: Reegan in The Ambassadors of Death (1970)
Career highlights
William's other credits include Emergency Ward 10 (1962), The Verdict (1964), Crossroads (1964), Submarine X-1 (1968), Strange Report (1970), The Massacre of Glencoe (1971), Edward the Seventh (1975), Survivors (1977) and New York Nights (1984).
Facts
William's grandson Steven Macfadyen said in 2013: "I only ever met him once as a boy, he was a wonderfully warm and captivating man from what I remember. He was very much into poetry and if I remember right he was working as an orthopaedic surgeon or something along those lines when I met him for the first time. We spoke only in phone calls after that meeting, but I remember him encouraging me to pursue my artistic side because at the time I was very much interested in writing stories and poems as well as drawing. I've never known much about my granddad's life other than very vague things like TV and movie parts. I was also was told his cousin was Richard Dysart who was an actor in the US series LA Law." Additionally, William's nephew named his daughter Reegan (the name of the character Dysart played in The Ambassadors of Death!).

Max Faulkner (UNIT soldier) 1931 to Feb 13 2010
Doctor Who credits
Played: UNIT soldier in The Ambassadors of Death (1970)
Played: Exxilon in Death to the Daleks (1974, uncredited)
Played: Miner in The Monster of Peladon (1974)
Played: Second guard captain in Planet of the Spiders (1974)
Played: Guard in Genesis of the Daleks (1975), The Face of Evil (1977, uncredited)
Played: Crewmember in Planet of Evil (1975, uncredited)
Played: Corporal Adams in The Android Invasion (1975)
Fight/ stunt arranger: The Hand of Fear (1976)
Played: Rebel in The Sun Makers (1977, uncredited)
Played: Nesbin in The Invasion of Time (1978)
Career highlights
Prolific stuntman Max debuted in Potts in Parovia (1956), then The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (1957), Private Investigator (1959), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1957-60), From Russia with Love (1963), The Ipcress File (1965), The Prisoner (1968), Poldark (1976), The Goodies (1977), Blake's 7 (1980), The Day of the Triffids (1981), Krull (1983), Robin of Sherwood (1984-86), Willow (1988), Nightbreed (1990), Far and Away (1992) and Goldeneye (1995).

Ric Felgate (Van Lyden) 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.

Peter Halliday (Alien voices) Jun 2 1924 to Feb 18 2012
Doctor Who credits
Played: Packer in The Invasion (1968)
Played: Silurian voices in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970)
Played: Alien voices in The Ambassadors of Death (1970)
Played: Pletrac in Carnival of Monsters (1973)
Played: Soldier in City of Death (1979)
Played: Vicar in Remembrance of the Daleks (1988)
Career highlights
Peter's career began with 1954's Fatal Journey and he then took roles in The Count of Monte Cristo (1956), Dunkirk (1958), The Citadel (1960), Garry Halliday (1962), Sierra Nine (1963), Danger Man (1965), Write a Play (1965), The Avengers (1968), UFO (1970-71), Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), The Befrienders (1972), Bowler (1973), The Boy with Two Heads (1974), The Sweeney (1975), Keep It Up Downstairs (1976), Beasts (1976), Angels (1982), The Tripods (1984), Hannay (1989), The Remains of the Day (1993), Our Friends in the North (1996), Goodnight Sweetheart (1997), Esther (1999), Micawber (2001) and Lassie (2005). He also played Dr John Fleming in A for Andromeda (1961) and The Andromeda Breakthrough (1962).
Facts
Peter was for a time married to the actress Simone Lovell, daughter of the actors Raymond Lovell and Margot Collis (who had an affair with the poet W B Yeats during her marriage to Lovell).

Tony Harwood (Flynn) 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.

James Haswell (Corporal Champion)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Guard in The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve (1966, uncredited)
Played: Pirate in The Space Pirates (1969, uncredited)
Played: Prisoner in The War Games (1969, uncredited)
Played: Corporal Champion in The Ambassadors of Death (1970)
Played: Policeman in The Talons of Weng-Chiang (1977, uncredited)
Career highlights
After debuting in the 1965 play Up the Junction, James went on to appear in various episodes of Z Cars (1967-70), Wuthering Heights (1967), Pegasus (1969), And Mother Makes Three (1971), Mathshow (1976) and Blake's 7 (1980).

John Levene (Benton) Born Dec 24 1941 Click here for John Levene's entry on The Web of Fear

John Lord (Masters)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Yeti in The Web of Fear (1968)
Played: Masters in The Ambassadors of Death (1970)
Career highlights
His other credits include Doomwatch (1970), No, That's Me Over Here! (1970) and The Man Outside (1972).

Bernard Martin (Control room assistant) Oct 29 1927 to Oct 25 1993
Career highlights
First appeared in Bat Out of Hell (1966), then The Big M (1967), Owen, MD (1972), The Regiment (1972), Warship (1976), Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1986) and The Bill (1989).

Cheryl Molineaux (Miss Rutherford) Mar 19 1946 to Mar 8 2012 (lung cancer)
Career highlights
Doctor Who was Cheryl's final TV credit, after having appeared in Eight O'Clock Walk (1954), O.S.S. (1957), The Skewbald (1961), Dixon of Dock Green (1963), No Hiding Place (1964), Carry On Doctor (1967) and Z Cars (1969).
Facts
Cheryl was married to Canadian actor Bob Howay, with whom she had a daughter, artist Juliette Milner. She later married again. As well as being an actress, Cheryl was also a dancer, having performed alongside the Beatles.

Juan Moreno (Dobson) Born Mar 4 1939
Career highlights
After debuting in Nathaniel Titlark (1957), Frenchman Juan made appearances in Cupido Contrabandista (1962), The Troubleshooters (1968), Dombey and Son (1969), Hine (1971, as Frank the chauffeur), Pretenders (1972), Moonbase 3 (1973), Knots (1975), My Brother's Keeper (1976), The Onedin Line (1977), The Sweeney (1978), The Talisman (1980-81), For Your Eyes Only (1981), Kessler (1981), Only Fools and Horses (1982), One By One (1985), Stay Lucky (1989), Eldorado (1992), Lovejoy (1993), Touching Evil (1998), Heartbeat (2004) and Balls (2011).
Facts
Juan changed his professional name to John in 1976.
In 2014 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with John here.

Steve Peters (Lefee)
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).

Robert Robertson (Collinson) Jul 3 1930 to Jan 17 2001 (heart attack)
Career highlights
Robert's CV also includes roles in Scott On... (1969), Rumour (1970), Paul Temple (1971), The Man Outside (1972), Murder Not Proven? (1984), First Sight (1987), High Road (1993) and Breaking the Waves (1996), while he also enjoyed a long-running role as pipe-smoking pathologist Dr Stephen Andrews in more than 50 episodes of crime series Taggart (1983-2001).
Facts
Robert, who was artistic director of Dundee Repertory Theatre between 1976-92, suffered a heart attack on stage in Perth while reciting the Robert Burns poem Holy Willie's Prayer.

Joanna Ross (Control room assistant)
Career highlights
Debuting in 1961's Bus Stop, Joanna's other credits include Z Cars (1970), Up Pompeii (1970), My Wife Next Door (1972), Moonbase 3 (1973), Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter (1974), The Brothers (1974), Second Time Around (1975), Doctor on the Go (1975) and Under Arrest (1983).

Roy Scammell (Technician) Jul 28 1932 to May 15 2021
Doctor Who credits
Played: Soldier in The Ambassadors of Death (1970, uncredited)
Played: Technician in The Ambassadors of Death (1970)
Played: RSF sentry in Inferno (1970)
Stunt arranger: Terror of the Autons (1971, uncredited), Delta and the Bannermen (1987, uncredited)
Played: Prison officer in The Mind of Evil (1971, uncredited)
Played: UNIT motorcyclist in The Mind of Evil (1971, uncredited)
Career highlights
Debuting in Circus of Fear (1966), stuntman Roy's other credits include The Dirty Dozen (1967), A Clockwork Orange (1971), The Onedin Line (1971-72), The Benny Hill Show (1972), Psychomania (1973), The Sexplorer (1975), Rollerball (1975), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Midnight Express (1978), The World is Full of Married Men (1979), Alien (1979), Flash Gordon (1980), For Your Eyes Only (1981), Into the Labyrinth (1981-82), Nuns on the Run (1990), Goldeneye (1995), Do Not Disturb (1999), Ultra Obscura (2008), Tell Him Next Year (2010) and Seize the Night (2015).
Facts
Roy's extensive daredevil career has taken in acting, stuntwork, ice skating (which he did for the Festival of Britain in 1951), roller skating, hockey, gymnastics - and lithographic printing.
In 2015 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Roy, along with stuntmen Royston Farrell and Derek Martin, here.

Cyril Shaps (Lennox) Oct 13 1923 to Jan 1 2003
Doctor Who credits
Played: John Viner in The Tomb of the Cybermen (1967)
Played: Lennox in The Ambassadors of Death (1970)
Played: Professor Clegg in Planet of the Spiders (1974)
Played: Archimandrite in The Androids of Tara (1978)
Career highlights
Prolific character actor Cyril's first credit was in 1955's The Vale of Shadows, followed by Quatermass II (1955), Miracle in Soho (1957), Follow That Horse! (1960), Supercar (1961-62, as the voices of Professor Popkiss and Masterspy), The Third Man (1965), Man in a Suitcase (1967), Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width (1967-70), Please Sir! (1971), The Liver Birds (1971-72), The Onedin Line (1971/73), Freewheelers (1973), Porridge (1975), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Holocaust (1978), Private Schulz (1981), The Young Ones (1982), Running Scared (1986), Dark Season (1991), The Madness of King George (1994), Our Mutual Friend (1998), Doctors (2000), Murder Rooms (2001), The Importance of Being Earnest (2002) and The Pianist (2002).
Facts
Starting out as a child radio broadcaster at the age of 12, Cyril was also one of the voices of Mr Kipling in those "exceedingly good" cake commercials. One of Cyril's children was Simon Shaps, a sometime director of programmes for London Weekend Television and Granada.

Neville Simons (Michaels) Jul 2 1936 to Dec 20 1987 (murdered)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Space Corps technician in The Space Pirates (1969, uncredited)
Played: Soldier [German and Roman] in The War Games (1969, uncredited)
Played: Alien student in The War Games (1969, uncredited)
Played: Michaels in The Ambassadors of Death (1970)
Career highlights
Neville's only other credits were in The Tyrant King (1968) and Whoops Baghdad (1973).
Facts
Neville was killed after being beaten with a glass ash tray and a vase by steel worker Paul Cratchley, 23, who had been visiting Neville's flat in Camberwell, London, along with a female friend late one night. After the woman left, Neville apparently made advances towards Cratchley, who later claimed he did not recall the attack and subsequently called the police and waited for them outside. Neville was still alive at that time, but died later: two head wounds had pierced his brain. Cratchley, who pleaded not guilty to murder, was given a life sentence for manslaughter in June 1988 and imprisoned at HMP Blakenhurst (with thanks to Craig Buntin).

Gordon Sterne (Heldorf) Jan 16 1923 to Apr 4 2017
Career highlights
Gordon's first credit was in I Spy (1955), then O.S.S (1958), The Battle of the V1 (1958), Hancock's Half Hour (1960), Zero One (1962/65), The Prisoner (1968), UFO (1971), Sex Play (1974), Anne of Avonlea (1975), The New Avengers (1976), An American Werewolf in London (1981), Highlander (1986), Jeeves and Wooster (1992), Melissa (1997), Little Britain (2005), Screaming Blue Murder (2006) and The Tudors (2007-09, as Bishop Tunstall).
Facts
Gordon was originally going to play a Cyberman in The Moonbase (1967) but was replaced by Peter Greene.
In 2013 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Gordon here.

Derek Ware (UNIT Sergeant) Feb 27 1938 to Sep 22 2015 (cancer) Click here for Derek Ware's entry on The Crusade

Michael Wisher (John Wakefield) May 19 1935 to Jul 21 1995 (heart attack)
Doctor Who credits
Played: John Wakefield in The Ambassadors of Death (1970)
Played: Rex Farrel in Terror of the Autons (1971)
Played: Kalik in Carnival of Monsters (1973)
Played: Dalek voice in Frontier in Space (1973), Planet of the Daleks (1973), Death to the Daleks (1974), Genesis of the Daleks (1975, uncredited)
Played: Davros in Genesis of the Daleks (1975)
Played: Magrik in Revenge of the Cybermen (1975)
Played: Morelli in Planet of Evil (1975)
Career highlights
Michael made his acting debut in a 1963 edition of Suspense, and also appeared in Your World (1963), No Hiding Place (1963), The Newcomers (1968), Adventure Weekly (1968-69, as PC Cullis), Colditz (1972), Moonbase 3 (1973), Beryl's Lot (1974), Z Cars (1963/68/74), Dixon of Dock Green (1975), The Prince and the Pauper (1976), Airline (1982), Cover Her Face (1985), Alice in Wonderland (1986), Vanity Fair (1987), Tales of the Unexpected (1988), Blind Justice (1988), Rules of Engagement (1989), The Bill (1989) and EastEnders (1991).
Facts
Michael also appeared in a number of Doctor Who spin-off videos, such as Wartime (1987), Summoned by Shadows (1992), The Airzone Solution (1993) and Shakedown (1994), and also briefly appeared in the 1995 documentary Dalekmania. He also voiced Daleks for their guest appearances on Blue Peter (1973) and Jim'll Fix It (1975). Michael was asked to reprise his iconic role of Davros in both 1979 and 1984, but stage tours restricted his availability. However, he did play Davros again in the 1993 stage play The Trial of Davros. Michael's son Andrew is also an actor.

CREW

David Whitaker (writer, episodes 1-3) Apr 18 1928 to Feb 4 1980 (lymphoma) Click here for David Whitaker's entry on An Unearthly Child

Malcolm Hulke (writer) Nov 21 1924 to Jul 6 1979 Click here for Malcolm Hulke's entry on The Faceless Ones

Trevor Ray (writer, episode 1, uncredited) Died Dec 24 2019
Doctor Who credits
Associate script editor: The Invasion (1968, episode 1, uncredited), The Krotons (1968, episode 1, uncredited), The Seeds of Death (1969, episode 1, uncredited), The Space Pirates (1969, episode 1, uncredited), The War Games (1969, episode 1, uncredited), Spearhead from Space (1970, episode 1, uncredited), Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970, episode 2, uncredited)
Played: Ticket collector in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970, uncredited)
Produced: Doctor Who and the Silurians (location filming) (1970, uncredited)
Wrote: The Ambassadors of Death (1970, episode 1, uncredited)
Career highlights
Trevor's connections to Doctor Who have sadly always been uncredited on-screen, having written the final version of episode 1 of this story, and also acting as an associate script editor on seven serials between 1968-70. He also assumed producer duties for the location filming of Doctor Who and the Silurians while Barry Letts was working elsewhere. Work on other series includes writing the scripts for Raven and Children of the Stones (both 1977), and script editing Paul Temple (1970). His on-screen career also includes appearances in Lock Up Your Daughters! (1969), Z Cars (1967/71), Rentadick (1972), The Perils of Pendragon (1974), Sky (1975), Raffles (1977), Edward and Mrs Simpson (1978), The Flipside of Dominick Hyde (1980), Travelling Man (1984), Dempsey and Makepeace (1985), Buddy (1986), The Oldest Goose in the Business (1986), A Killing on the Exchange (1987), The Sicilian (1987), Shadow of the Noose (1989), London's Burning (1993), Aristocrats (1999), Heartbeat (1997/2003-04) and Ladies in Lavender (2004). He also had two recurring roles in soap Emmerdale, as Bart Ansett in 1972-73, and Robin Parr in 1986.

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

Barry Letts (producer) Mar 26 1925 to Oct 9 2009 (cancer) Click here for Barry Letts's entry on The Enemy of the World

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