Warriors' Gate

Romana (Lalla Ward) and K-9 (voiced by
John Leeson) say farewell, accompanied
by Biroc (David Weston)

Four episodes (Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four)
First broadcast Jan 3 to 24 1981
Average audience for serial: 7.48m

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

John Leeson (Voice of K-9) Born Mar 16 1943 Click here for John Leeson's entry on The Invisible Enemy

Matthew Waterhouse (Adric) Born Dec 19 1961 Click here for Matthew Waterhouse's entry on Full Circle

GUEST CAST

Kenneth Cope (Packard) Apr 14 1931 to Sep 11 2024
Career highlights
Clifford's career on screen began with Johnny, You're Wanted (1953), followed by work in Impulse (1954), Patrol Car (1955), Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School (1955-56), X: The Unknown (1956), Dunkirk (1958), The Pleasure Lovers (1959), Jungle Street Girls (1960), Kipps (1960), These are the Damned (1963), Carry On Jack (1963), The Lance Percival Show (1965), Island of the Burning Damned (1967), We Have Ways of Making You Laugh (1968), Catweazle (1971), Carry On at Your Convenience (1971), Carry On Matron (1972), The Famous Five (1978), Strangers (1982), Rumpole of the Bailey (1987), Captives (1994), Medics (1995), Waking the Dead (2004), Hustle (2007) and The Royal Today (2008). His most memorable role was as the late Marty Hopkirk in Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (1969-70), and other regular roles included Ray Hilton in Brookside (1999-2001) and Jed Stone in soap Coronation Street (1961-63/66/2008-09). Kenneth was also an established screenwriter, having penned for the likes of That Was the Week That Was (1962-63), For Amusement Only (1968), The Dustbinmen (1970), Striker (1975-76), The Squirrels (1976-77) and A Sharp Intake of Breath (1978).
Facts
Kenneth's wife was actress Renny Lister, while his daughter Martha appeared in Doctor Who as the Controller in Bad Wolf (2005). Their sons Nick and Mark Cope were members of the 1990s rock band the Candyskins. In 1963, thanks to his success in Coronation Street, Kenneth released a single with the Breakaways called Hands Off, Stop Muckin' About. It wasn't a hit, but it did lead to him getting a regular DJ slot on Radio Luxembourg. In 1974, Kenneth and Renny opened a restaurant in Oxfordshire called Martha's Kitchen, named after their daughter. Nine years later they bought a pub and named it Edward's, after their second son. In 2014, Clifford appeared in court as a character witness for Coronation Street co-star William Roache, who was accused (and subsequently acquitted) of rape and indecent assault. Kenneth, who in later life suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, was diagnosed with incurable lung cancer in 2000, and was under the impression he did not have long to live. However, in 2003 a specialist doctor discovered Kenneth had been misdiagnosed, and wrote to his GP to tell him - but the GP did not pass the information on, and Kenneth did not find out that he didn't have cancer until 2006, when he questioned his medical records. He told the Daily Mail in 2009: "I spent six years of my life wrongly believing I had cancer, literally under a false death sentence because of a wrong diagnosis."

Freddie Earlle (Aldo) May 24 1924 to Jul 7 2007
Career highlights
Debuting in Showcase in 1953, Freddie's screen work includes Thank Your Lucky Stars (1961), Knight Errant Limited (1961), It's a Square World (1963), The Wakey Wakey Tavern (1964), The Plane Makers (1964), Hullabaloo (1968), Virgin of the Secret Service (1968), Hullabaloo (1968), Hark at Barker (1969), Paul Temple (1970), Roads to Freedom (1970), Lovebox (1972), Clochemerle (1972), Sykes (1973), The Brothers (1975), I'm Not Feeling Myself Tonight (1976), Rob Roy (1977), Yanks Go Home (1976-77), Room Service (1979, in which he played a different character also called Aldo), The Basil Brush Show (1980), Robin's Nest (1981), Triangle (1982), The Paradise Club (1989), Bullseye! (1990) and Backup (1997). He also had a recurring role as Alasdair McCaig in Adam Smith (1972-73).
Facts
Freddie's career began as a music hall comedian and performer in the 1940s, often appearing with his first wife Freda Mundy as the duo Mundy and Earl ("a boy, a girl and a gramophone"), sharing the bill with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Laurel and Hardy (here's a fantastic bill from Leicester's Palace Theatre which sees Freddie and Freda sharing the bill with comedian Max Miller, as well as the intriguing The Three Karloffs!). With the decline of the music halls Freddie took his family to live in a kibbutz in Israel, but the lure of the stage never left him, and he returned to the UK to take up acting. In 1998, he retired to Spain with his second wife, Naomi.

Jeremy Gittins (Lazlo) Born Jan 30 1956
Career highlights
Jeremy's earliest work was in Callan (1974), followed by Keep It in the Family (1980), Wet Job (1981), Mitch (1984), Fresh Fields (1986), Andy Capp (1988), Blackadder Goes Forth (1989), Lazarus and Dingwall (1991), The Upper Hand (1995), EastEnders (2000), New Tricks (2004), Mile High (2005) and As You Like It (2011), but he may be most remembered as Michael Partridge the vicar in sitcom Keeping Up Appearances (1990-95).
Facts
Jeremy and his wife, the TV presenter Sara Hollamby, were also occasionally seen on the holiday programme Wish You Were Here in the 1990s. In 2014 he appeared in a TV commercial for Cadbury's Crispello.

David Kincaid (Lane) Sep 18 1939 to May 12 2010
Career highlights
David's earliest role was in Dr Finlay's Casebook (1967), followed by Spy Trap (1972), Churchill's People (1975), Timon of Athens (1981), Taggart (1986), Perilous (2000), Baddiel's Syndrome (2001) and Back Home (2001).

Vincent Pickering (Sagan)
Career highlights
Doctor Who was Vincent's debut role, after which he appeared in EastEnders (1986), Gentlemen and Players (1989), Prime Suspect (1991), Grange Hill (1991-92), Lovejoy (1993), Porkpie (1996), Highlander: The Raven (1999), Messiah (2001) and Gangs of New York (2002).

Clifford Rose (Rorvik) Oct 24 1929 to Nov 6 2021
Career highlights
Clifford's earliest acting credit was in Hilda Lessways (1959), followed by As You Like It (1963), Marat/ Sade (1967), Tell Me Lies (1968), Roads to Freedom (1970), Eyeless in Gaza (1971), Shelley (1972), Once Upon a Time (1973), The Pallisers (1974), The Madness (1976), Rooms (1977), Bergerac (1983), The Cold Room (1984), Fortunes of War (1987), GBH (1991), In Suspicious Circumstances (1996), Wallis and Edward (2005), Midsomer Murders (2010), The Iron Lady (2011), Four Weddings and a Funeral (2019) and The Crown (2019). Clifford's many recurring roles include Dr Snell in Callan (1969-72/74), Ludwig Kessler in both Secret Army (1977-79) and Kessler (1981), Charles Burton in Buccaneer (1980) and Challon in One By One (1985-87).
Facts
His brother was actor David Rose. Clifford retired from acting in 2013 after being diagnosed with advanced kidney failure. In 2020 his family issued an appeal to help pay for Clifford's fees at Denville Hall, the actors' retirement home, saying he was suffering from advanced kidney failure, heart disease and severe anxiety.
In 2018 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Clifford here.

Robert Vowles (Gundan)
Career highlights
Robert debuted in Doctor on the Go (1975), then A Horseman Riding By (1978), The Nightmare Man (1981), Beau Geste (1982), CATS Eyes (1986), The Honesty in Dishonesty (2011), Edward (2014) and Moths (2016).

Harry Waters (Royce) Mar 25 1947 to Mar 15 2002 (cancer)
Career highlights
Harry's other work includes Rasputin (1971), State of Emergency (1975), Shoestring (1979), Bergerac (1981), Lytton's Diary (1986), The Bill (1991) and Moon and Son (1992).

David Weston (Biroc) Born Jul 28 1938
Doctor Who credits
Played: Nicholas in The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve (1966)
Played: Biroc in Warriors' Gate (1981)
Career highlights
David first appeared in An Age of Kings (1960), then Tales of Mystery (1962), That Kind of Girl (1963), The Masque of the Red Death (1964), The Heroes of Telemark (1965), UFO (1971), The Tomorrow People (1973), Minder (1984), Lovejoy (1993), Barbara (1999), Doctors (2005) and King Lear (2008).
Facts
David is married to the actor Dora Reisser. In 2011 he wrote a book called Covering McKellen, all about being Ian McKellen's understudy, while in 2013 he published his first novel, The Further Adventures of the Artful Dodger.
In 2013 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with David here.

CREW

Stephen Gallagher (writer) Born Oct 13 1954
Doctor Who credits
Wrote: Warriors' Gate (1981), Terminus (1983)
Career highlights
Stephen's first screen writing credit was on Doctor Who, after which he went on to great success with series such as Rockcliffe's Folly (1988), Chimera (1991, adapted from his own novel), Chiller (1995), Bugs (1995-97, on which he was series consultant), Oktober (1988, from his own novel, and which he also directed), Murder Rooms (2001), Rosemary and Thyme (2004-05), Eleventh Hour (2006, and its 2008 US version), Crusoe (2008-09), The Forgotten (2009-10, which he also co-produced), Silent Witness (2013) and Stan Lee's Lucky Man (2016).
Facts
Stephen is also a prolific novelist, including The Last Rose of Summer (1978, aka Dying of Paradise), Valley of Lights (1987), Red, Red Robin (1995), Out of His Mind (2004), Spirit Box (2005), The Bedlam Detective (2012) and The Authentic William James (2016). He has occasionally written under the names John Lydecker (including his Doctor Who script novelisations), Stephen Couper and Lisa Todd.
In 2016 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Stephen here.

Paul Joyce (director) Born Dec 27 1940
Career highlights
The vast majority of Paul's directing work has been in arts documentaries, beginning with shorts such as Barbarella City and Youth Wave in the late 1960s, and continuing in the 1980s with The Man Who Left His Soul on Film (1983), Tickets for the Titanic (1988), Motion and Emotion: The Films of Wim Wenders (1990), Sam Peckinpah: Man of Iron (1993), Marlon Brando: The Wild One (1996), Spielberg on Kubrick (1999), 2001: The Making of a Myth (2001), Hell on Earth (2002), The Curious Case of Inspector Clouseau (2002) and Mantrap: Straw Dogs - The Final Cut (2003). He has also written and produced many of the credits on his CV. In 2014, he appeared in an episode of daytime auction series Homes Under the Hammer.
Facts
His film-making company is called Lucida Productions.
In 2016 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Paul here.

John Nathan-Turner (producer) Aug 12 1947 to May 1 2002 (liver failure) Click here for John Nathan-Turner's entry on The Leisure Hive

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

Christopher H Bidmead (script editor) Born Jan 18 1941 Click here for Christopher H Bidmead's entry on The Leisure Hive