Wednesday, May 07, 2014

The Dæmons

The Doctor (Jon Pertwee) found
 the May Day ribbons soft, strong
 and very long
Five episodes (Episode One, Episode Two, Episode Three, Episode Four, Episode Five)
First broadcast May 22 to Jun 19 1971
Average audience for serial: 8.34m

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

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

Matthew Corbett (Jones) Born Mar 28 1948
Career highlights
Born as Peter, Matthew's acting CV is brief, as his career was soon dominated by becoming presenter of The Sooty Show between 1976-92 and Sooty & Co (which he also produced and wrote) between 1993-98, following in the footsteps of his father Harry Corbett, who was Sooty's human sidekick between 1952-76. Other non-puppet related acting includes Pardon My Genie (1972), Budgie (1972) and the role of Matt (as in Rod, Jane and Matt) in 147 episodes of children's series Rainbow between 1974-76.
Facts
In 1997, Matthew sold the rights to Sooty for £1.4m, and is now retired, although he did present the series Locks and Quays (2008). Since retiring from television he has taken up gigging in and around Manchester under his birth name. Matthew's great uncle was the fish and chip shop giant Harry Ramsden.

Jon Croft (Tom Girton) Jul 30 1935 to Sep 27 2016 (possible kidney failure)
Career highlights
Jon made his first appearance in Kidnapped (1963), and forged a career in productions such as Public Eye (1966), Callan (1969), Z Cars (1970), Jason King (1972), Marked Personal (1974), Enemy at the Door (1978), Matilda's England (1979), The Enigma Files (1980), The Nightmare Man (1981), Gandhi (1982), Minder (1984), Bread (1987), Jack the Ripper (1988), Forever Green (1992, as John Hasty), The Chief (1993), Hamish Macbeth (1995), The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1996), Kavanagh QC (1999), The Gathering (2003), Powers (2004) and Florence Nightingale (2008).

Rollo Gamble (Winstanley) Jun 24 1910 to Sep 11 1973
Career highlights
Rollo had a few strings to his bow, debuting as an actor in 1938's Cast Up By the Sea, and also appearing in The Deacon and the Jewess (1939), The Secret People (1952), The Onedin Line (1971), Tightrope (1972), War and Peace (1972) and Arthur of the Britons (1973). He also wrote Love on the Dole (1941), produced and directed Stars and Garters (1965), and directed Banff (1955), Keeping in Step (1958), Living for Kicks (1960), Here and Now (1962), London Wall (1963), Ready, Steady, Go! (1964-66), The British Song Festival (1965), Dionne in London (1965) and Crossroads (1968/69).
Facts
Rollo's brother was silent era actor Warburton (Charles) Gamble. Rollo was also founder of South Africa's Theatre Club in 1938. A 1964 edition of pop show Ready, Steady, Go! directed by Rollo featured the first ever TV performance by David Bowie (as Davie Jones and the King Bees) performing Liza-Jane.

Damaris Hayman (Olive Hawthorne) Jun 16 1929 to Jun 3 2021
Career highlights
Damaris's career began with The Story of the Treasure Seekers (1953), then The Belles of St Trinian's (1954), The Citadel (1961), Mike (1964), Bunny Lake is Missing (1965), Gentleman Jim (1967), How We Used to Live (1969), Ours is a Nice House (1970), The Liver Birds (1971), Sez Les (1972), Mutiny on the Buses (1972), The Witches' Brew (1973), Happy Ever After (1974), The Tommy Cooper Hour (1974), Confessions of as Driving Instructor (1976), The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976), The Missionary (1982), The Young Ones (1984), Super Gran (1985), The Little and Large Show (1988), Memento Mori (1992), One Foot in the Grave (1992/95) and Nelson's Column (1995).
Facts
Damaris used to act as a stand-in for the actress Margaret Rutherford when she played Agatha Christie's sleuth Miss Marple in several films. The green shawl worn by Miss Hawthorne in The Daemons was given to Damaris by Rutherford. Damaris was also a close friend of comedian Tony Hancock. Damaris reprised her role as Miss Hawthorne for a spin-off video, White Witch of Devil's End (released 2017).

Eric Hillyard (Dr Reeves) Mar 16 1915 to Dec 20 1985
Career highlights
Other credits include Romeo and Juliet (1947), Colonel Trumper's Private War (1961), Probation Officer (1961), The Villains (1964), Turn Out the Lights (1967), Paul Temple (1970), Edward the Seventh (1975) and The Crezz (1976).

John Joyce (Garvin) Jun 4 1939 to Sep 15 2009 (oesophageal cancer)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Extra in The Myth Makers (1965, uncredited)
Played: Garvin in The Daemons (1971)
Career highlights
John debuted in The Revenue Men (1967), followed by Dixon of Dock Green (1969), Callan (1972), The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972), The Onedin Line (1977), The Professionals (1980), Minder (1982), Curse of the Pink Panther (1983), Morons from Outer Space (1985), Prospects (1986), Porterhouse Blue (1987), Inspector Morse (1990), Thief Takers (1996), Wycliffe (1998) and Lifelines (2004).
Facts
In the early 1970s John was a member of the 7:84 fringe theatre company which brought him into contact with infamously unpredictable actor and director Ken Campbell (as well as Campbell alumni Sylvester McCoy). Through these connections James enjoyed the "peripheral communal pleasures" of soft drugs and drinking, which once led him to break his collarbone when he rode his scooter into a pothole in Liverpool. In the 21st century James worked as a "dummy patient" on doctors' training courses in London hospitals.

Alec Linstead (Sgt Osgood) Born 1940
Doctor Who credits
Played: Sgt Osgood in The Daemons (1971)
Played: Jellicoe in Robot (1974-75)
Played: Stengos in Revelation of the Daleks (1985)
Career highlights
After debuting in Doctor Who, Alec's further credits include The Man Outside (1972), Nicholas Nickleby (1977), The Professionals (1979), Suez 1956 (1979), Bulman (1985), The Tripods (1985), A Vote for Hitler (1988), Lovejoy (1993), Goodnight Sweetheart (1995), The Governor (1995), Silent Witness (1996/99), Lexx (2001) and The Bill (1993/2004).

Stanley Mason (Bok)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Alien priest in Colony in Space (1971, uncredited)
Played: Bok in The Daemons (1971)
Career highlights
Stanley's only other credited work was on various episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus (1970-71) and The Morecambe and Wise Show (1971), although it's known he did play a robot (uncredited) in a 1964 Story Parade written by Terry Nation called The Caves of Steel. He was also a juggler, acrobat and circus performer.

Don McKillop (Bert the landlord) Feb 15 1928 to Dec 19 2005 (natural causes)
Career highlights
Debuting in The Sinister Man (1961), Don's further work includes Martin Chuzzlewit (1964), Redcap (1966), Driveway (1968), The Breaking of Bumbo (1970), The Liver Birds (1971), On the Buses (1971), Hine (1971), A Day Out (1972), Shades of Greene (1976), The Canal Children (1976), Star Maidens (1976), An American Werewolf in London (1981), Walter (1982), CATS Eyes (1987) and The Hound of the Baskervilles (1988). Don had regular roles as Jack in The Likely Lads (1964-66), Sergeant McKechnie in Sutherland's Law (1973) and Bill in Rosie (1978-79).

John Owens (Thorpe) Born Jan 25 1942
Career highlights
John first appeared in Pardon the Expression (1966), followed by Oh! What a Lovely War (1969), Hadleigh (1969), If It Moves, File It (1970), Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (1973), The Kids from 47A (1974), Robert's Robots (1974), The Dick Emery Show (1976), Nicholas Nickleby (1977), Hannah (1980), Sense and Sensibility (1981), An American Werewolf in London (1981), The Professionals (1983), Open All Hours (1985), Mr Pye (1986), 21 episodes of The Two Ronnies (1971-87), Keeping Up Appearances (1991), Ellington (1996), Cardiac Arrest (1996), Alice in Wonderland (1999), From Hell (2001), Spooks (2002), Dinotopia (2002-03, as Minch), Look Around You (2005), Nighty Night (2005), Afterlife (2005), Time Trumpet (2006), Coronation Street (1977/2009), The Wolfman (2010) and Elementary (2013).
Facts
In 2014, John found he owned the only known existing script for the Two Ronnies' classic 1976 comedy sketch Four Candles. It was later auctioned for £3,995. John had the only other speaking part in the seven-minute sketch, concerning the "bill hooks" punchline!

David Simeon (Alastair Fergus) 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.

James Snell (Harry) Born Nov 12 1946
Career highlights
After debuting in The Last of the Mohicans (1971), James popped up in The Lovers! (1973), Sex Play (1974), The Sweeney (1975), A Bridge Too Far (1977), The Professionals (1980), The Borgias (1981), Gandhi (1982), Supergirl (1984), Bleak House (1985), Sid and Nancy (1986), Casualty (1986), God on the Rocks (1990), Prime Suspect (1991), Lipstick on Your Collar (1993), Harry (1993), To Play the King (1993) and Heartbeat (2002).

Gerald Taylor (Baker's man) Oct 11 1940 to Dec 4 1994 Click here for Gerald Taylor's entry on The Daleks

Stephen Thorne (Azal) Mar 2 1935 to May 26 2019
Doctor Who credits
Played: Azal in The Daemons (1971)
Played: Omega in The Three Doctors (1972-73)
Played: Ogron in Frontier in Space (1973)
Played: Eldrad (Kastrian version) in The Hand of Fear (1976)
Career highlights
Stephen's earliest role was in Jezebel ex UK (1963), followed by Z Cars (1971), Sexton Blake and the Demon God (1978), Crossroads (1978-79), Death of an Expert Witness (1983), David Copperfield (1986), EastEnders (1991), Madison (1993), Shakespeare: the Animated Tales (1992/94) and Last of the Summer Wine (2006). Stephen's voice was also heard narrating numerous Fred Dibnah documentary series (1987-96), and playing Aslan in the 1979 animation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. He was a prolific radio actor and audiobook narrator.
In 2016 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Stephen here.

Robin Wentworth (Professor Horner) Jul 20 1915 to Aug 16 1997
Career highlights
Robin's first role was in The Case of the Frightened Lady (1938), then The Stateless Man (1955), Francis Storm Investigates (1960), Kipps (1960), The Avengers (1962), The Larkins (1964), United! (1965), The Blood Beast Terror (1968), Nearest and Dearest (1969), Albert and Victoria (1971), Nothing But the Night (1973), The Jensen Code (1973), Crossroads (1973), Alice Through the Looking Glass (1974), The Duchess of Duke Street (1976), Something in Disguise (1982), Forever Young (1986), House of Cards (1990) and Anglo-Saxon Attitudes (1992). He also played Arthur Dewhurst in soap Coronation Street in 1961.

Christopher Wray (PC Groom) Mar 8 1940 to Sep 12 2014
Doctor Who credits
Played: PC Groom in The Daemons (1971)
Played: Ldg Seaman Lovell in The Sea Devils (1972)
Career highlights
Other work included playing PC Anderson in Z Cars (1962-64), Ernest MacDonald in The Plane Makers (1963) and PC Ball in soap Emmerdale Farm (1972-73), as well as roles in No Hiding Place (1965), A Game of Murder (1966), The Big M (1967) and Upstairs, Downstairs (1972). Christopher - who had high hopes of becoming a magician when he left school at 17 - opened a stall on Chelsea Antiques Market in 1964 frequented by the likes of Twiggy and Dusty Springfield, and from there developed his hugely successful interior design and lighting business, based on London's King's Road.

CREW

Robert Sloman (writer, under the pseudonym Guy Leopold) Jul 18 1926 to Oct 24 2005
Doctor Who credits
Wrote: The Daemons (1971, under the pseudonym Guy Leopold), The Time Monster (1972), The Green Death (1973), Planet of the Spiders (1974)
Career highlights
Starting out as an actor, Robert subsequently worked for the Sunday Times's circulation department, eventually becoming distribution manager. Robert also co-wrote the play The Tinker, on which the 1962 film The Wild and the Willing, starring War Doctor John Hurt, and Ian McShane, was based.
Awards
1975: Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for Best Children's Drama Script (Season 11, shared with Robert Holmes, Malcolm Hulke, Brian Hayles and Terry Nation)
Facts
He was a close friend of Doctor Who producer Barry Letts. One Sloman script which never saw the light of day was called The Daleks in London, intended to close Season 9 in 1972, but which was dropped for being too similar to The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964).

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

Christopher Barry (director) Sep 20 1925 to Feb 7 2014 (following a fall) Click here for Christopher Barry's entry on The Daleks

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

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