Snakedance

The Mara. Or is it Tegan? Or both!

Four episodes (Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four)
First broadcast Jan 18 to 26 1983
Average audience for serial: 7.10m

REGULAR CAST

Peter Davison (The Doctor) Born Apr 13 1951 Click here for Peter Davison's entry on Logopolis

Sarah Sutton (Nyssa) Born Dec 12 1961 Click here for Sarah Sutton's entry on The Keeper of Traken

Janet Fielding (Tegan) Born Sep 9 1953 Click here for Janet Fielding's entry on Logopolis

GUEST CAST

George Ballantine (Hawker) Oct 16 1918 to Aug 26 2014
Doctor Who credits
Played: Prisoner in The Mind of Evil (1971, uncredited)
Played: Scientist in The Time Warrior (1973-74, uncredited)
Played: Android villager in The Android Invasion (1975, uncredited)
Played: Logopolitan in Logopolis (1981, uncredited)
Played: Castrovalvan in Castrovalva (1982, uncredited)
Played: Federico's manservant in The Masque of Mandragora (1976, uncredited)
Played: Hawker in Snakedance (1983)
Career highlights
Debuted in Middlemarch (1968), then appeared in Emma (1972), The Pallisers (1974), The Two Ronnies (1975), Confessions from the David Galaxy Affair (1979), Jemima Shore Investigates (1983), Galloping Galaxies! (1985), Ffizz (1987-89) and The Bill (1988).

John Carson (Ambril) Feb 28 1927 to Nov 5 2016
Career highlights
Sri Lankan-born John enjoyed a prolific career, which began in Boston Blackie (1952), then Ramsbottom Rides Again (1956), The Return of Peggy Atherton (1959), William Tell (1959), Emergency Ward 10 (1959), Formula for Danger (1960), Locker 69 (1962), The Bacchae (1962), Smokescreen (1964), It's Dark Outside (1964), Hereward the Wake (1965), The Avengers (1963/65), Blood Beast from Outer Space (1965), The Plague of the Zombies (1966), Girl in a Black Bikini (1967), Dombey and Son (1969), The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970), Paul Temple (1971), Emma (1972), Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter (1974), Victorian Scandals (1976), The New Avengers (1976), Send in the Girls (1978), Kidnapped (1978), Tales of the Unexpected (1980), Frost in May (1982), City of Blood (1987), Death in the Family (1993), Rhodes (1996), I Dreamed of Africa (2000), The Deal (2008), Doomsday (2008), Silent Witness (2012), Midsomer Murders (2013) and Picture Perfect (2013).
Facts
John moved to South Africa in 1983 and made a number of TV movies and series there, but as he was no supporter of apartheid, he discovered his phone had been bugged and he was under government surveillance. He returned to the UK in 2007, but passed away in Cape Town. John was married to writer and actress Luanshya Greer aka Pamela Greer, who appeared in The Daleks' Master Plan (1965/66). John narrated the popular TV commercial for Sunsilk shampoo in the 1960s which featured John Barry's theme The Girl with the Sun in Her Hair ("Know your hair; know your Sunsilk.")

Martin Clunes (Lon) Born Nov 28 1961
Career highlights
Doctor Who was Martin's acting debut, but since then he has gone on to become one of the UK's most popular television actors, appearing in Jury (1983), All at Number 20 (1986-87), Hannay (1989), The Russia House (1990), Jeeves and Wooster (1991), Gone to the Dogs (1991), Carry On Columbus (1992), Dancing Queen (1993), Demob (1993), Staggered (1996, which he also directed), Chiller (1995), The Acid House (1998), Shakespeare in Love (1998), Gormenghast (2000), Goodbye, Mr Chips (2002), The Booze Cruise (2003), Losing It (2006), The Man Who Lost His Head (2007), A Mother's Son (2012), The Town (2012), Strike Back (2013), Nativity 3: Dude, Where's My Donkey? (2014), Arthur and George (2014), Vanity Fair (2018), Manhunt (2019) and Warren (2019). However, he will be best remembered as loutish Gary in sitcom Men Behaving Badly (1992-99), Nigel in sitcom No Place Like Home (1983-86), William Shawcross in William and Mary (2003-05), the title character in the remake of the 1970s sitcom Reggie Perrin (2009-10) and Dr Martin Ellingham in over 60 episodes of the light-hearted drama Doc Martin (2004-19). He also provided voices for the children's series Kipper (1997-2010) and Fungus the Bogeyman (2004). He has also appeared in a number of series as himself, whether it be A Man and His Dogs (2008), Islands of Britain (2010) or A Lion Called Mugie (2014), or as occasional presenter of current affairs panel show Have I Got News for You since 1994. In 1994 he also appeared in and directed the film Staggered.
Awards
1995: British Comedy Award for Top TV Comedy Actor (Men Behaving Badly)
1996: BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Performance (Men Behaving Badly)
1996: National Television Award for Most Popular Comedy Performer (Men Behaving Badly)
2015: Officer of the order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama, charity and the community
Facts
In the 1990s Martin was married to actress Lucy Aston (Waiting for God); his second wife is TV and film producer Philippa Braithwaite. Martin's dad was actor Alec Clunes, who died when he was only eight, while he is also the nephew of Sherlock Holmes actor Jeremy Brett. He appears as one of the young men in artistic duo Gilbert and George's 1983 photo-sculpture World (see if you can spot him!). In 2011, passionate animal lover Martin became president of the British Horse Society. Martin was once a patron of the Born Free Foundation, but when he was filmed riding an elephant for a TV programme, the charity severed links with him.

Brian Grellis (Megaphone man) Born Jul 12 1937
Doctor Who credits
Played: Sheprah in Revenge of the Cybermen (1975)
Played: Safran in The Invisible Enemy (1977)
Played: Megaphone man in Snakedance (1983)
Career highlights
Brian's earliest credit was in The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre in 1963, followed by roles in Only When I Larf (1968), The First Lady (1969), Trial (1971), On the Buses (1971), Jason King (1972), Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads (1973), The Brothers (1974), Circus (1975), The Good Life (1976), Survivors (1976), Room Service (1979), A Tale of Two Cities (1980), Bergerac (1983), Threads (1984), Brookside (1986) and Help! (1986). He also regularly played Detective Sergeant Bowker in Z Cars (1974-78).

Preston Lockwood (Dojjen) Oct 30 1912 to Apr 24 1996 (natural causes)
Career highlights
Preston (born Reginald) made his screen debut in Victory in 1958, after which he turned up in Treasure Island (1968), Wicked Women (1970), Mistress of Hardwick (1972), Cranford (1972), The Terrorists (1974), The Ash Tree (1975), Little Lord Fauntleroy (1976), The Prince and the Pauper (1977), Poldark (1977), The Danedyke Mystery (1979), Maybury (1981), Time Bandits (1981), Jemima Shore Investigates (1983), Electric Dreams (1984), Tenko (1984), Matlock (1987), The Lady and the Highwayman (1989), Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1989), Inspector Morse (1992), Jeeves and Wooster (1993), The House of Windsor (1994), The Vicar of Dibley (1994 - he plays the vicar whose death midway through a sermon leads to the arrival in the village of Dawn French's character) and The Fast Show (1996). Preston also enjoyed recurring roles as Mr Winch in Kate (1970-72) and Rev Parker in Happy Ever After (1974-77). Preston started out on BBC radio, and also voiced Dennis the Dachshund in the Children's Hour series Toytown in the 1950s.
Facts
In 1994, he featured in the Cutting Edge documentary series episode The Club, which went behind the scenes and spoke to patrons of Northwood Golf Club in Middlesex, UK (his first words in the programme are: "Golf clubs are great places for disappointed men.").

Brian Miller (Dugdale) Born Apr 17 1941
Doctor Who credits
Played: Dugdale in Snakedance (1983)
Played: Dalek voice in Resurrection of the Daleks (1984), Remembrance of the Daleks (1988)
Played: Harry in The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Mad Woman in the Attic (2009)
Played: Barney in Deep Breath (2014)
Career highlights
Brian started out on Compact in 1964, followed by Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life the year after, after which he appeared in Mr Rose (1968), The Dustbinmen (1970), Hey Brian! (1973), A Raging Calm (1974), Sam (1975), Out of Bounds (1977), The Devil's Crown (1978), Blake's 7 (1979), Ladykillers (1980), Angels (1981), Eh Brian! It's a Whopper (1984), Brazil (1985), Alice in Wonderland (1986), Strike It Rich! (1986-87), Grange Hill (1991), Stay Lucky (1993), The Ghost of Greville Lodge (2000), Line of Duty (2012), Wizards vs Aliens (2012) and Loose Ends (2017).
Facts
Brian was married to Doctor Who's very own Sarah Jane Smith, Elisabeth Sladen, from 1968 until her death in 2011. Their daughter Sadie Miller appeared as Natalie Redfern in Big Finish's Sarah Jane Smith audio series, and wrote the book Moon Blink for Candy Jar's Lethbridge-Stewart series. Sadie also appeared, aged eight, with her mother in the 1993 documentary Thirty Years in the TARDIS, wearing a replica of her mum's costume as seen in The Hand of Fear.
In 2017 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Brian here.

Jonathon Morris (Chela) Born Jul 20 1960
Career highlights
Jonathon made his acting debut in The Professionals in 1980, after which he secured roles in That Beryl Marston...! (1981), Beau Geste (1982), The Consultant (1983), The Prisoner of Zenda (1984), The Practice (1986), Screamtime (1986), The Fantasticks (1995), Summer of Love (1997), Adam's Family Tree (1998) and Full Moon Fright Night (2002). However, his most memorable role will be as Adrian Boswell in over 70 episodes of the Liverpool sitcom Bread (1986-91). He has also appeared as himself in numerous series, including as host of The Movie Game (1991-93), competing in 2004's The Games (although he withdrew from the series halfway through), and 2008's Drop the Celebrity.

Colette O'Neil (Tanha) Nov 18 1935 to Jul 11 2021 (Alzheimer's disease)
Career highlights
Colette's CV stems from Hancock's Half Hour in 1957, after which she appeared in Kidnapped (1963), Coronation Street (1966), Adam Adamant Lives! (1967), Mr Rose (1967), Spindoe (1968), Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1968), The View from Daniel Pike (1973), David Copperfield (1974), The Standard (1978), Maybury (1983), Lytton's Diary (1986), Trainer (1991), Doctor Finlay (1995), Hamish Macbeth (1997), Sunburn (2000), Monarch of the Glen (2004), Bad Girls (2005), Casualty (1994/96/2013), Mortdecai (2015), Wallander (2015) and Shetland (2016). Colette also had regular roles as Sheila Warner in Couples (1975-76) and Beth Warrington in The Spoils of War (1980-81).
Facts
In January 1963, Colette was accidentally stabbed on stage with a paper knife during a performance of Orisons at the Traverse Theatre in Scotland; she almost bled to death and made headlines across the UK, which boosted attendance figures from 60 to 2,000!

Hilary Sesta (Fortune Teller) Aug 19 1931 to 2013
Career highlights
South African Hilary's debut came in Without Love (1956), and then Glencannon (1959), The Bergonzi Hand (1963), The Cocktail Party (1964), Jack the Ripper (1973), Steven (1974), Clayhanger (1976), Jabberwocky (1977), Maybury (1981), The Woman in White (1982), Uncle Silas (1989), The Darling Buds of May (1991), London's Burning (1996), The Girl with Brains in Her Feet (1997), Oliver Twist (1999), My Hero (2000), The Last Detective (2004), Kill Kill Faster Faster (2008) and Franklyn (2008).
Facts
In 2001, Hilary appeared with Kylie Minogue in a controversial cinema commercial for Agent Provocateur. In the 1970s, she was an elected member of London Community Health Council, and in the 1980s and 90s was a freelance journalist for publications such as New Society, the Observer and the Guardian.

Barry Smith (Puppeteer) Aug 13 1930 to Aug 28 1989
Career highlights
Barry was a prolific and influential puppeteer who helped found the Punch and Judy College of Professors and had his own success with his Theatre of Puppets. Other productions he worked on in this capacity include Hickory House (1973) and Pinocchio (1978). Brian was also a vocal tutor and coached Laurence Olivier for his role in 1964's Othello at the Old Vic. Brian's lifetime partner was the actor Alan Judd (who played Dortmun in The Dalek Invasion of Earth).

CREW

Christopher Bailey (writer) Born Apr 20 1948
Doctor Who credits
Wrote: Kinda (1982), Snakedance (1983)
Career highlights
Christopher was strongly interested in aspects of religion and philosophy, particularly Buddhism, and drew inspiration for his two Mara stories from this. His later work included lecturing at Brighton Polytechnic/ University; other TV writing included Second City Firsts (1977) and an ITV Playhouse called Where the Heart Is (1979).
Facts
Christopher submitted further scripts to Doctor Who entitled May Time (aka Manwatch) and The Children of Seth, but these were not developed further (although the latter was adapted into an audio story by Big Finish in 2011). For many years there was an unsubstantiated fan rumour that singer Kate Bush, not Christopher, had written Kinda! Christopher gave his first and only interview for Doctor Who Magazine in March 2003.

Fiona Cumming (director) Oct 9 1937 to Jan 1 2015
Doctor Who credits
Assistant floor manager: The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve (1966, uncredited)
Production assistant: The Highlanders (1966-67), The Seeds of Death (1969, uncredited), The Mutants (1972, uncredited)
Directed: Castrovalva (1982), Snakedance (1983), Enlightenment (1983), Planet of Fire (1984)
Played: Tourist in Silver Nemesis (1988, uncredited)
Career highlights
Fiona started as an actress and continuity announcer in Scotland, then became an assistant floor manager or production assistant, later graduating to directing. She directed The Master of Ballantrae (1975), Z Cars (1974-77), Angels (1978), The Omega Factor (1979), God's Wonderful Railway (1980), Blake's 7 (1980), The Walls of Jericho (1981), Emmerdale Farm (1984), Take the High Road (1987-90, which she also produced over 40 episodes of), Eldorado (1992) and Machair (1993).
Facts
Fiona's husband was Doctor Who production manager Ian Fraser, who worked on five stories between 1986-89. He was also an uncredited tourist at Windsor Castle, along with his wife, in Silver Nemesis (1988).
In 2013 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Fiona 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

Eric Saward (script editor) Born Dec 9 1944 Click here for Eric Saward's entry on on Castrovalva