City of Death

Doctor Who's first filming trip overseas
was in Paris for City of Death, starring
Tom Baker and wife-to-be Lalla Ward

Four episodes (Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four)
First broadcast Sep 29 to Oct 20 1979
Average audience for serial: 14.50m

REGULAR CAST

Tom Baker (The Doctor) Born Jan 20 1934 Click here for Tom Baker's entry on Robot

Lalla Ward (Romana) Born Jun 28 1951 Click here for Lalla Ward's entry on The Armageddon Factor

GUEST CAST

Eleanor Bron (Art gallery visitor) Born Mar 14 1938
Doctor Who credits
Played: Art gallery visitor in City of Death (1979)
Played: Kara in Revelation of the Daleks (1985)
Career highlights
Eleanor's acting career began with 1963's Quest, followed by Second City Reports (1964) and 38 episodes of Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life (1964-65), later appearing in the Beatles' Help! (1965), BBC3 (1965-66), Alfie (1966), Bedazzled (1967), Women in Love (1969), The National Health (1973), After That, This (1975), The Day Christ Died (1980), Yes Minister (1982), Alice in Wonderland (1985), Little Dorrit (1988), French and Saunders (1990), Heartbeat (1992), Micky Love (1993), Black Beauty (1994), Wycliffe (1995), Vanity Fair (1998), Hippies (1999), Iris (2001), Wimbledon (2004), Fat Friends (2000-05), Streetdance 3D (2010), The Tractate Middoth (2013), Stella (2014) and Life in Squares (2015). She may also be recognised as Patsy's mother in Absolutely Fabulous (1992/94/2003). Eleanor is also a writer, for series such as Where Was Spring? (1969), Six Days of Justice (1975), Couples (1976) and Crown Court (1978).
Facts
Eleanor turned down the role of Emma Peel in The Avengers, and was in Paul McCartney's mind when he wrote the Beatles track Eleanor Rigby. Her brother is record producer Gerry Bron, who worked on albums by Uriah Heep, Motorhead and the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. Eleanor's husband until his death in 2003 was the architect Cedric Price, who in 1984 proposed the redevelopment of London's South Bank and anticipated the London Eye by suggesting a giant ferris wheel was erected next to the River Thames. Eleanor has also been a leading light in the various Amnesty International Secret Policeman's Ball benefit shows. She was one of the first female performers of the Cambridge Footlights Revue in 1959. It used to be all-male, with the female characters portrayed by men in drag. In 1985, Eleanor was selected for her authoritative tone to become "the voice of British Telecom" and can still be heard on various error messages such as "Please hang up and try again" and "The number you have dialled has not been recognised".

Tom Chadbon (Duggan) Born Feb 27 1946
Doctor Who credits
Played: Duggan in City of Death (1979)
Played: Merdeen in The Trial of a Time Lord (1986)
Career highlights
Tom's earliest role was in The Jazz Age (1968), followed by Shadows of Fear (1971). Hadleigh (1971), The Alf Garnett Saga (1972), The Stone Tape (1972), The Beast Must Die (1974), Rooms (1975), The Changes (1975), The Flight of the Heron (1976), Jubilee (1977), The Liver Birds (1977-79, as Derek Paynton), Blake's 7 (1979), The Brack Report (1982), Mitch (1984), Paradise Postponed (1986), Wish Me Luck (1989), Chancer (1990), Devices and Desires (1991), The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1994), Space Precinct (1995), Crown Prosecutor (1995), Shooting Fish (1997), The 10th Kingdom (2000), Holby City (2000), Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real (2004), Taggart (2005), Casino Royale (2006), Peep Show (2008), Agatha Christie: Poirot (2013), Father Brown (2015), Agatha Raisin (2016), Letters from Baghdad (2016) and Game of Thrones (2017). He has also been seen as Assistant Chief Constable John Brandon in Wire in the Blood (2002-04), Dr Kenworthy in Where the Heart Is (2001-06) and Henry Williams in Casualty (2008-11).
Facts
Here he is, on Twitter!

John Cleese (Art gallery visitor) Born Oct 27 1939
Career highlights
John is one of Britain's greatest and most celebrated comedy actors and writers, first emerging as a promising talent in The Frost Report (1966-67). His talents were later seen in At Last the 1948 Show (1967), The Avengers (1968), The Ronnie Barker Yearbook (1971), Sez Les (1971-74), The Goodies (1973), The Strange Case of the End of Civilisation As We Know It (1977), Ripping Yarns (1979), Peter Cook and Co (1980), Time Bandits (1981), Privates on Parade (1982), Clockwise (1986), A Fish Called Wanda (1988), Splitting Heirs (1993), The Wind in the Willows (1996), Fierce Creatures (1997), 3rd Rock from the Sun (1998/2001), Scorched (2003), Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), Will and Grace (2003-04), Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek the Third (2007), Igor (2008), The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008), The Pink Panther 2 (2009), Shrek Forever After (2010), The Mini Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (2011-14), Whitney (2012-13), Planes (2013), Spud 3: Learning to Fly (2014), Albion: The Enchanted Stallion (2016), Trolls (2016), Speechless (2018) and Hold the Sunset (2018). He also played Q's deputy R in Bond film The World is Not Enough (1999) and the second incarnation of Q in Die Another Day (2002), as well as Nearly Headless Nick in the Harry Potter film franchise (2001-02). However, John will be most remembered for his part in the internationally successful Monty Python's Flying Circus series (1969-74) and its film spin-offs And Now for Something Completely Different (1971), The Holy Grail (1975), Life of Brian (1979), Live at the Hollywood Bowl (1982) and The Meaning of Life (1983); as well as the sitcom Fawlty Towers (1975/79). John is also prolific behind the camera, having written and produced countless productions both in the UK and Hollywood since 1962.
Awards
1980: BAFTA TV Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance (Fawlty Towers)
1987: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Comedy Series (Cheers)
1989: BAFTA Film Award for Best Actor (A Fish Called Wanda)
Facts
His first wife between 1968-78 was Connie Booth, with whom he wrote and starred in Fawlty Towers; his second was actress Barbara Trentham (1981-90); and his third (which led to messy divorce proceedings and John owing £12m in alimony) was Alyce Faye Eichelberger (1992-2008). He married his fourth wife Jennifer Wade in 2012. In 2005 John had a species of lemur named after him due to his lifelong love of and dedication to lemurs (Bemahara woolly lemur aka Cleese's woolly lemur (Avahi cleesei).

Kevin Flood (Hermann)
Career highlights
Debuted in Siopa (1962), then appeared in The Riordans (1965), Insurrection (1966), Frankenstein Created Woman (1967), Elizabeth R (1971), Black and Blue (1973), Kids (1979), Shoestring (1979), The Life and Times of David Lloyd George (1981), The End of the World Man (1985), The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987), Bloodlines: Legacy of a Lord (1998), The General (1998), Sweety Barrett (1998), Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog (1998), Tristan + Isolde (2006), Waiting for Dublin (2007) and Ferocious Planet (2011).

Julian Glover (Count Scarlioni/ Scaroth) Born Mar 27 1935
Doctor Who credits
Played: Richard the Lionheart in The Crusade (1965)
Played: Count Scarlioni/ Scaroth in City of Death (1979)
Career highlights
Prolific character actor Julian made his screen debut in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1959), followed by roles in An Age of Kings (1960), The Alphabet Murders (1965), Quatermass and the Pit (1967), The Champions (1968), Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), Spy Trap (1972), Churchill's People (1975), Couples (1976), Blake's 7 (1978), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), For Your Eyes Only (1981), By the Sword Divided (1983), Remington Steele (1985), Cry Freedom (1987), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), King Ralph (1991), The Chief (1995), Holby City (2000), Troy (2004), Scoop (2006), Merlin (2012), Spies of Warsaw (2013), Atlantis (2013), We Still Steal the Old Way (2016) and Black Earth Rising (2018). He also played Grand Maester Pycelle in Game of Thrones (2011-16).
Awards
1993: Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Henry V)
2013: Commander of the order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to drama
Facts
Julian was married to actress Eileen Atkins between 1957-66, and latterly actress Isla Blair (who appeared in 1983's The King's Demons) since 1968. Julian and Isla's son is actor Jamie Glover, who played William Russell in An Adventure in Space and Time (2013). Julian's half-brother is musician Robert Wyatt, founder of the band Soft Machine.

David Graham (Professor Kerensky) Jul 11 1925 to Sep 20 2024 Click here for David Graham's entry on The Daleks

Peter Halliday (Soldier) 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).

Catherine Schell (Countess Scarlioni) Born Jul 17 1944
Career highlights
Hungarian born Catherine made her first credited appearance in Lana: Queen of the Amazons in 1964, under the name Catherina von Schell. She took later roles in Hell is Empty (1967), Amsterdam Affair (1968), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), Paul Temple (1971), Mogul (1971), Madame Sin (1972), The Adventurer (1972-73), Napoleon and Love (1974), The Return of the Pink Panther (1975), Supernatural (1977), Gulliver's Travels (1977), The Spoils of War (1980-81), Bergerac (1983), One By One (1985), Mog (1985-86), Wish Me Luck (1990), Moon and Son (1992), The Wimbledon Poisoner (1994) and The Knock (1996). She had a regular role as Maya in the sci-fi series Space: 1999 (1975-77).
Facts
Catherine's father, Baron Paul Schell von Bauschlott, was a well-respected diplomat until the Nazis confiscated his estates during World War II, while her mother was Countess Katharina Maria Etelka Georgina Elisabeth Teleki de Szék. Her family was living in poverty until 1948 when they sought asylum in Vienna and Salzburg as the Communist regime began to take hold in Hungary. In 1950 her family emigrated to the USA and Baron von Schell Bauschlott renounced his title in order for his family to gain citizenship. Catherine was married to actor William Marlowe (who appeared in The Mind of Evil and Revenge of the Cybermen) between 1968-77. She retired from acting in the 1990s to run a guesthouse in Bonneval, France, after marrying TV director Bill Hays in 1982 (she reportedly sold the guesthouse after Bill's death in 2006). She was sister-in-law to German actress Hildegard Knef, and is a great-niece of King Louis XIV of France. She is also related to Philip II, Duke of Orleans and the Roman Emperor Francis I. Catherine was the first actress considered for the role of Captain Kathryn Janeway in the series Star Trek: Voyager, but lost out to Genevieve Bujold (who resigned after two days, the role finally going to Kate Mulgrew).

Pamela Stirling (Louvre guide) Mar 14 1920 to May 25 2013
Career highlights
It's fitting that Pamela played a Frenchwoman in City of Death as, although she was born in London, she grew up and was educated in France, where her father ran an English language theatre. Her earliest role was in Culprit (1937), followed by roles in The Marseillaise (1938), They Were Twelve Women (1940), Candlelight in Algeria (1944), The Echo Murders (1945), The Lost People (1949), Madness of the Heart (1949), To Paris with Love (1955), The Kid from Canada (1958), Elephant Gun (1958), Return from the Ashes (1965), Uncle Charles (1967), General Hospital (1972), Nanny (1982), Just Good Friends (1986), The Pied Piper (1990), Inspector Morse (1991) and As Time Goes By (1994).
Facts
Pamela also served as French language coach at the Royal Opera House in London. She was married to actor Claude Le Sache. Her son is child actor John Stirling, who appeared in programmes such as Whack-O! and A Christmas Night with the Stars in 1958, and later worked in variety and pantomime as a writer, including with Morecambe and Wise. In later years he helped set up the Elliott Trust, which works with special needs children and helps rescue donkeys from across the globe.

CREW

Graham Williams (writer (under the pseudonym David Agnew) and producer) May 24 1945 to Aug 17 1990 (shooting incident) Click here for Graham Williams's entry on Horror of Fang Rock

Douglas Adams (writer (under the pseudonym David Agnew) and script editor) Mar 11 1952 to May 11 2001 (heart attack) Click here for Douglas Adams's entry on The Pirate Planet

Michael Hayes (director) Apr 3 1929 to Sep 16 2014
Doctor Who credits
Directed: The Androids of Tara (1978), The Armageddon Factor (1979), City of Death (1979)
Played: Man exiting at Metro station in City of Death (1979, uncredited)
Career highlights
His earliest directing duties were on An Age of Kings (1960), and then A for Andromeda (1961, which he also produced), Moonstrike (1963), Maigret (1963), Sherlock Holmes (1965), The Wars of the Roses (1966), Boy Meets Girl (1967), The Troubleshooters (1965/69), Take Three Girls (1971, which he also produced), Churchill's People (1974-75), Z Cars (1964-75), Rooms (1977), When the Boat Comes In (1976-77), The Standard (1978), All Creatures Great and Small (1980), Skorpion (1983) and Nice (1984).
Facts
Michael's son Patrick (who was 14 at the time) had two unseen roles in The Androids of Tara - pushing the boat that K-9 gets marooned in at the end of the story, and waving some bushes around prior to the attack on Romana by the terrifying Taran Wood Beast! Between 1986-94 Michael read news bulletins on the BBC World Service. He was, for a time, married to actor Mary Chester.