Timelash

Peri (Nicola Bryant) was less than
enamoured with her latest admirer,
the Borad (Robert Ashby)

Two episodes (Part One, Part Two)
First broadcast Mar 9 to 16 1985
Average audience for serial: 7.05m

REGULAR CAST

Colin Baker (The Doctor) Born Jun 8 1943 Click here for Colin Baker's entry on Arc of Infinity

Nicola Bryant (Peri Brown) Born Oct 11 1960 Click here for Nicola Bryant's entry on Planet of Fire

GUEST CAST

Robert Ashby (The Borad) 1940 to Feb 7 2019 (natural causes)
Career highlights
Robert's earliest credit was in a 1976 Centre Play called Commonwealth Season, after which he worked on Joseph Andrews (1977), Everyman (1978), The Professionals (1980), Juliet Bravo (1980), The Borgias (1981), By the Sword Divided (1985), Lovejoy (1986), Gentlemen and Players (1988), House of Cards (1990), Dressing for Breakfast (1995), Jinnah (1998), Silent Witness (2006), The Queen (2009), Legacy (2013), God the Father (2014), Nova (2015), Undercover (2015), Legend (2015) and Tomorrow, When the War Began (2016). In 1992, Robert wrote and produced the documentary Our World, Their World.
Facts
During the 1970s, Robert and Leela actress Louise Jameson were married. Robert's birth name was Rashid Suhrawardy, and he was the son of politician Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, who served as the Premier of Bengal in the 1940s, and was Prime Minister of Pakistan between 1956-57. Robert was a child in Calcutta when his father's political connections allowed him to meet Gandhi in 1947. His mother was the Russian actress Vera Alexandrovna Tiscenko Calder, who became one of the foremost tutors in the Stanislavski acting method as Vera Vlasova. Robert was executive director of the organisation The Actors' Children's Trust, which supports the children of actors.

David Ashton (Kendron) Born Nov 10 1941
Career highlights
David debuted in Z Cars in 1969, followed by work in The Shadow of the Tower (1972), The New Road (1973), The Mackinnons (1977), The Voyage of Charles Darwin (1978), Spy! (1980), The House on the Hill (1981), Maggie (1981-82), The Mad Death (1983), Out of Time (1984), The Flying Doctors (1987), The Bill (1989), All Creatures Great and Small (1990), Waterfront Beat (1991), Alive and Kicking (1996), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), Knight School (1998), The House of Mirth (2000), Sea of Souls (2004), Vital Signs (2006) and The Savage Canvas (2010). Recurring roles include Inspector Hamish Macduff in Brass (1983-84/90) and Major Roddy Maclean in Hamish Macbeth (1995-97). David has also written for TV and film, including Casualty (1987-88), God on the Rocks (1990), Freddie as F.R.0.7 (1992), The Hello Girls (1998), Dalziel and Pascoe (1999) and Badger (1999). David also created the BBC Radio 4 detective series McLevy (1999-2016), starring Brian Cox, and has written McLevy novels since 2006. In 1968, David was a presenter on the programme Hullabaloo, and later on children's series You and Me (1974-77).
Awards
1985: Radio Times Drama Award (The Old Ladies at the Zoo)
Facts
David is married to actress Jonina Scott, who appeared in The Sun Makers (1977).

Dicken Ashworth (Sezon) Born Jul 18 1946
Career highlights
Dicken's earliest screen credit was in 1977's Second City Firsts, followed by Hazell (1978), Force 10 from Navarone (1978), Tess (1979), A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (1979), The Talisman (1981), Blake's 7 (1981), Nanny (1983), CATS Eyes (1985), Return to Treasure Island (1986), Vroom (1988), Saracen (1989), We Are Seven (1991), I, Lovett (1993), The Riff Raff Element (1993), Grange Hill (1994), Seaforth (1994), Dangerfield (1995), Common as Muck (1997), Thunder Road (2001), The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) and Room at the Top (2012). Dicken, who started out as an English and drama teacher, has enjoyed regular roles in soaps, as Alan Partridge in Brookside (1983-85), Jeff Horton in Coronation Street (1992-94) and Duke Woods in Emmerdale (2007-08).
Facts
He is married to casting director Jane Ripley, one of those responsible for the success of Channel 4's teen series Skins. In 1986 he appeared in the video for the Pretenders' single Don't Get Me Wrong.

Denis Carey (Old man) Aug 3 1909 to Sep 28 1986
Doctor Who credits
Played: Professor Chronotis in Shada (1980, unbroadcast)
Played: The Keeper in The Keeper of Traken (1981)
Played: Old man in Timelash (1985)
Career highlights
Denis started out as a dancer and choreographer on films such as The Red Shoes (1948), The Queen of Spades (1949) and Oh... Rosalinda! (1955), then moved into acting in productions such as Serjeant Musgrave's Dance (1961 & 65), Champion House (1967-68), A Beast with Two Backs (1968), Codename (1970), Elizabeth R (1971), The Shadow of the Tower (1972), The Day of the Jackal (1973), I, Claudius (1976), Rooms (1977), Blake's 7 (1979), The Borgias (1981), Stalky and Co (1982), Big Deal (1984), Lamb (1986) and Hard Travelling (1986).
Facts
His wife was actress Yvonne Coulette.

David Chandler (Herbert [HG Wells])
Career highlights
David's other work includes Stars of the Roller State Disco (1984), Casualty (1987) and playing PC Locket in The Bill (1991-92).

Jeananne Crowley (Vena) Born Dec 18 1949
Career highlights
Ireland-born Jeananne's earliest role was in 1973's 2nd House, followed by work in Zodiac (1974), The Legion Hall Bombing (1978), The Onedin Line (1979), Shoestring (1979), Educating Rita (1983), Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983), The Venus de Milo Instead (1987), The Real Charlotte (1990), Shrinks (1991), The Fifth Province (1997), Dead Bodies (2003), Proof (2005) and The Clinic (2004-05). She also regularly played Nellie Keene in Tenko (1981).
Facts
Jeananne is now a writer, having penned stage plays and also written for national newspapers such as the Sunday Times and the Guardian on subjects such as Shakespeare and J.R.R Tolkien. In 1991, Jeananne stood for the Progressive Democrats in local elections for the Pembroke ward of the Dublin Corporation. She scored 7.7% of the overall vote, placing sixth. In 1995, she was seriously injured in a car accident, but recovered to continue her career in writing and acting. In 2002 she was a judge for the Irish Novelist of the Year contest. Jeananne was an early exponent of internet chatrooms in the early 1990s. Her nephew is the actor David Crowley, best known as Garda Sean Holden in Red Rock.

Paul Darrow (Tekker) May 2 1941 to Jun 3 2019
Doctor Who credits
Played: Captain Hawkins in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970)
Played: Tekker in Timelash (1985)
Career highlights
Paul debuted in The Odd Man (1963), then took roles in The Saint (1967), Coronation Street (1969), Manhunt (1970), The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (1971), Murder Must Advertise (1973), The Legend of Robin Hood (1975), Couples (1976), Killers (1976), Rooms (1977), Hammer House of Horror (1980), The Adventure Game (1980), Dombey and Son (1983), Making News (1990), Haggard (1992), The Strangerers (2000), Hollyoaks (2002), Die Another Day (2002), Little Britain (2004), Emmerdale (1991-92 & 2009), Law and Order: UK (2009-2014, as Justice Prentice) and Toast of London (2014). Paul played Mr Verity in 53 episodes of Emergency Ward 10 (1965-66), but his most memorable role was as Kerr Avon in 51 episodes of the BBC sci-fi show Blake's 7 (1978-81) - he appeared in all but the very first episode.
Facts
Paul's birth surname was Birkby, but he changed it professionally to Darrow, named after American criminal defense lawyer Clarence Darrow. In 1990, a species of extinct Australasian crocodile was named after Paul, the Baru Darrowi, which lived around 15 million years ago, and grew up to five metres in length. In 2003, Paul was part of a consortium called B7 Enterprises which acquired the rights to Blake's 7 from the widow of creator Terry Nation, but due to disagreements, he has since left the group. Until her death in 2012, Paul was married to actress Janet Lees-Price. In October 2015, Paul suffered an aortic aneurysm which caused a severe loss of blood to his legs. As a result he had to have both legs partially amputated, leaving him wheelchair-bound.

Eric Deacon (Mykros) Born May 25 1950
Career highlights
Eric made his credited debut in The Sex Thief (1974), after which he appeared in The Venturers (1975), Let's Get Those English Girls (1976), Rentaghost (1976), Survivors (1977), Television Club (1977), Spearhead (1978-79), Yesterday's Hero (1979), Penmarric (1979), Smuggler (1981), CATS Eyes (1985), Dempsey and Makepeace (1985), London's Burning (1986/88), Stay Lucky (1991), Medics (1992), Prime Suspect 3 (1993), Heartbeat (1998), Down to Earth (2003) and Casualty (1987/2006). Eric also had recurring roles as Robert/ Tom King in King's Royal (1982-83), Ross Kennedy in Hard Cases (1988-89) and Detective Inspector Hardwick in Lovejoy (1991-94). Since the 1990s Eric has also been writing for the screen, including A Statement of Affairs (1993), Lovejoy (1994), Prime Suspect (1995), Heartbeat (1999), Blind Ambition (2000), The Bill (1991/2002), Murder in Mind (2003), Holby City (2005), Brackish Water (2015) and Still Standing (2018).
Facts
His younger brother is actor Brian Deacon, once husband to fellow Doctor Who guest star Rula Lenska. Eric has also been a drama teacher, as Head of Acting at the London Academy of Media Film and Television, a lecturer of screenwriting at Queen Mary’s University, and a visiting lecturer of acting at Redroofs Drama School and Central St Martins, London. He has also written novels, including 2019's The Coop (writing as E C Deacon), and lives in a house once occupied by the judge that jailed Oscar Wilde, Sir Alfred Wills.

Martin Gower (Tyheer & Bandril ambassador) Born Jul 31 1955
Doctor Who credits
Played: Tyheer in Timelash (1985)
Played: Voice of the Bandril ambassador in Timelash (1985)
Career highlights
Martin's first role was in Thomas and Sarah (1979), after which he appeared in Holding the Fort (1980), The Winds of War (1983), Big Deal 91986), Drummonds (1987), Bellman and True (1987), Singles (1989), Waterfront Beat (1990-91), Inspector Morse (1993), A Touch of Frost (1999) and Lloyd & Hill (2003).

Facts

Martin's real surname is Johnson, but he had to change it when he joined Equity. After quitting acting, Martin became an author under the pen name M J Johnson.

Neil Hallett (Maylin Renis) Jun 30 1924 to Dec 5 2004
Career highlights
Belgium-born Neil's career began with Three Steps in the Dark (1953), followed by roles in The Brain Machine (1955), X: The Unknown (1956), Potts and the Phantom Piper (1957), The Adventures of Ben Gunn (1958), Top Floor Girl (1959), Operation Cupid (1960), The Cheaters (1961), Dentist on the Job (1961), Crying Down the Lane (1962), Thunderball (1965), The Saint (1968), Z Cars (1969), UFO (1970), Virgin Witch (1972), The Protectors (1973), Intimate Strangers (1974), Keep It Up Downstairs (1976), The Girl Who Walked Quickly (1978), Bergerac (1981), Airline (1982) and Jeeves and Wooster (1990). Recurring roles included Bosun Bassett in The Buccaneers (1956-57), Tony Miller in Ghost Squad (1962-64), Detective Sergeant Piper in The Informer (1966-67) and Charles Turner in The Newcomers (1968-69).
Facts
Neil was married to actress Tracy Reed between 1970-73. After serving in World War Two, he took a two-year preparatory course in sheep farming, with an ambition to move to Australia to pursue such a career, but acting took a hold instead.

Dean Hollingsworth (Android) Born May 26 1961
Doctor Who credits
Played: Android in Timelash (1985)
Played: Bus conductor in The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (1988-89)
Career highlights
Debuted in Doctor Who, and also appeared in Casualty (1987).
Facts
Dean left acting in the 1990s and went into business intelligence, and today specialises in designing and training in IBM Cognos business insight tools, having worked for the likes of BAE Systems, G4S Security and Vodaphone. He is now based on Guernsey in the Channel Islands.

Christine Kavanagh (Aram) Born Mar 24 1957
Career highlights
Christine's earliest appearance on the screen was in 1980's The Onedin Line, after which she grew in stature and prominence through roles in Minder (1984), Howards' Way (1985), The Bretts (1987-88), A Very British Coup (1988), Chimera (1991), Underbelly (1992), The Blackheath Poisonings (1992), Seaforth (1994), The Glass Virgin (1995), Jonathan Creek (1998), Manchild (2002), Sweet Medicine (2003), Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking (2004), A Room with a View (2007), Doctors (2006/09), Titanic (2012) and Vera (2014).
Facts
Her estranged husband is actor Jack Ellis, while her son Theo Ellis is bassist in the Brit- and Grammy-nominated rock band Wolf Alice, which won the Mercury Music Prize in 2018. She founded The Voicehouse, which trains people in public speaking and speech-giving.

Steven Mackintosh (Gazak) Born Apr 30 1967
Career highlights
Steven's debut came in Nanny (1983), after which he went on to become on the UK's busiest character actors, including in Summer Season (1985), The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ (1985), The Browning Version (1985), The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole (1987), Prick Up Your Ears (1987), The Woman in Black (1989), Memphis Belle (1990), London Kills Me (1991), The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), The Buddha of Suburbia (1993), Princess Caraboo (1994), Karaoke (1996), House of America (1997), Our Mutual Friend (1998), Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), Care (2000), The Other Boleyn Girl (2003), The Mother (2003), The Jacket (2005), Underworld: Evolution (2006), First Born (2007), The Escapist (2008), Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009), Criminal Justice (2009), Mo (2010), Luther (2010), Camelot (2011), Inside Men (2012), The Sweeney (2012), Kiss-Ass 2 (2013), The Thirteenth Tale (2013), The Game (2014), Bone in the Throat (2015), Urban Hymn (2015), The Halcyon (2017), Modern Life is Rubbish (2017), National Treasure: Kiri (2018), Wanderlust (2018), Rocketman (2019) and The Postcard Killings (2020). Steven is also a prolific narrator for TV documentaries, such as Explorations (2003), Cutting Edge (2001-10), Alone in the Wild (2011), Horizon (2007-14) and An Hour to Save Your Life (2014), plus many more.
Awards
2001: BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Actor (Care)
2001: Royal Television Society Award for Best Actor - Male (Care)
Facts
He is married to actress Lisa Jacobs, and their daughter is actress Martha Mackintosh (best known as Katie in Stella (2014-16)).

James Richardson (Guardolier) Born 1951
Career highlights
James's other work includes This is the Life (1974), Shelley (1980), The Prisoner of Zenda (1984), Only Fools and Horses (1986) and Strange But True? (1994).

Peter Robert Scott (Brunner) Born Jul 14 1945
Career highlights
Peter's further credits include The Kids from 47A (1974), Holding On (1977), Prince Regent (1979), Letty (1984), Who, Sir? Me, Sir? (1985) and Never Come Back (1990). He is also credited as having written the Late Night Theatre instalment The Carrier Bag in 1972.
Facts
Peter moved to France in 1990 and went on to write several novels, including Adieu la Vie, The Old Man on the Roof, and Sister Anna, the Juggling Nun. He is also the creator of the naval strategy board game Flagships. Here he is, on Twitter!

Tracy-Louise Ward (Katz) Born Dec 22 1958
Career highlights
After debuting in Dance with a Stranger (1985), Tracy-Louise went on to appear in Mussolini: The Untold Story (1985), Cluedo (1990, as Miss Scarlett) and Trainer (1991). She also had a regular role as Tessa Robinson in CATS Eyes (1986-87).
Facts
Tracy-Louise comes from impressive stock: her great-grandfather was the 2nd Earl of Dudley and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland between 1902-05, as well as Governor-General of Australia between 1908-11. Her paternal grandfather was William Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley, while her maternal grandfather was English cricketer Giles Baring. Her father was the Hon. Peter Alistair Ward, who became director of the family business, Baggeridge Brick. Tracy-Louise's first husband, between 1987-2018, was Henry John Fitzroy Somerset, the Marquess of Worcester and heir to the 11th Duke of Beaufort, which made her her the Marchioness of Worcester (Prince Charles and Lady Diana attended their wedding). She is now known formally as Her Grace Tracy, Duchess of Beaufort, and more usually as Tracy Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort. Her ancestry is truly fascinating, and can be read better here. Tracy-Louise is a director of the International Society for Ecology and Culture, a trustee of Friends of the Earth and the Gaia Foundation, an advisor to The Ecologist magazine and a patron of the UK Soil Association. Her sister is actress Rachel Ward (wife of Australian actor Bryan Brown). In 2009, Tracy-Louise Worcester was director and producer of the documentary Pig Business, which investigated the corporate takeover of the pig farming business and its impact on animal welfare. Before going into acting, Tracy-Louise was a model in Paris, then worked at Christie's in London, then worked in art galleries in New York. And as if all this wasn't enough, Tracy-Louise backed Wikileaks' Julian Assange by pledging £10,000 bail in December 2010 - she lost the money in June 2012 when a judge ordered it to be forfeited, as Assange had sought to escape the jurisdiction of the English courts by entering the embassy of Ecuador. Not bad for a guest star in one of Doctor Who's least loved serials!

CREW

Glen McCoy (writer) Born Apr 10 1954
Career highlights
Glen's other writing work includes Angels (1983), Eldorado (1992) and EastEnders (1985/86/2000).
Facts
At the age of 19, in 1973, Glen was one of the very first batch of trained paramedics for the Ambulance Service in the UK. In later years he has worked in business coaching and public speaking, having written books such as Jobs in the Ambulance Service and Hospitals, Getting Out of Debt and Extraordinary Customer Care. He has worked for companies such as Vodaphone, Mars and Land Rover. Here he is on Twitter.

Pennant Roberts (director) Dec 15 1940 to Jun 22 2010 (cancer)
Doctor Who credits
Directed: The Face of Evil (1977), The Sun Makers (1977), The Pirate Planet (1978), Shada (1980, unfinished), Warriors of the Deep (1984), Timelash (1985)
Career highlights
Pennant's directing career began with Doomwatch in 1972, followed by work on The Regiment (1973), Sutherland's Law (1974), Oil Strike North (1975), Survivors (1975-76), Blake's 7 (1978), The Onedin Line (1979), Juliet Bravo (1980), Tenko (1981), Cold Warriors (1984), Howards' Way (1985), The Snow Spider (1988, for which he was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Children's Drama), The Bubblegum Brigade (1989), Emlyn's Moon (1990), The Chestnut Soldier (1991), Crime Story (1992), Wycliffe (1993) and The Sherman Plays (1993-97). He also acted as producer on a handful of these latter series.
Facts
Pennant was also chairman of the Directors' and Producers' Rights Society (now Directors UK), vice-president of the Strasbourg European Film Forum, chair of Media Skills Wales, a governor of the Welsh College of Music and Drama, and a board member of Sgrîn, the Welsh audiovisual media agency. He campaigned for many years for the rights of actors and directors to receive fees when programmes are repeated on television.

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

The Two Doctors

The Doctor (Colin Baker and Patrick
Troughton) and Jamie (Frazer Hines) do their
best to hide the fact Peri (Nicola Bryant)
 is behind them.

Three episodes (Part One, Part Two, Part Three)
First broadcast Feb 16 to Mar 2 1985
Average audience for serial: 6.50m

REGULAR CAST

Colin Baker (The Doctor) Born Jun 8 1943 Click here for Colin Baker's entry on Arc of Infinity

Nicola Bryant (Peri Brown) Born Oct 11 1960 Click here for Nicola Bryant's entry on Planet of Fire

GUEST CAST

Aimee Delamain (Dona Arana) Apr 21 1906 to Jun 18 1999 (natural causes)
Career highlights
Aimee's earliest role was in The Bishop's Candlesticks (1949), followed by The Princess and the Woodcutter (1952), The Secret (1955), Boyd QC (1961), Oliver Twist (1962), Suspense (1963), The Plane Makers (1963), The Liars (1966), The Saint (1966), The Avengers (1963/69), Menace (1970), I, Monster (1971), The Visitors (1972), The Amazing Mr Blunden (1972), The House in Nightmare Park (1973), The Morecambe and Wise Show (1974), One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing (1975), Beryl's Lot (1975), Huggy Bear (1976), The Crezz (1976), The Peppermint Pig (1977), Come Back, Lucy (1978), The Famous Five (1978), Fawlty Towers (1979), The Sandbaggers (1980), Cymbeline (1982), Shine on Harvey Moon (1984), Florence Nightingale (1985), Fresh Fields (1985), Santa Claus: The Movie (1985), The District Nurse (1987), 'Allo 'Allo! (1987), High Spirits (1988), You Rang, M'Lord? (1990), A Bit of Fry and Laurie (1990), Devices and Desires (1991) and Memento Mori (1992).

Nicholas Fawcett (Technician)
Career highlights
Further work includes See You at Wembley, Frankie Walsh (1987), Bare Naked Talent (2007), Coincidence (2011), Doctors (2015) and Perfect Piece (2016).

Carmen Gomez (Anita) Born Feb 6 1949
Career highlights
Carmen's further credits include Barlow At Large (1974), Don't Drink the Water (1974), The Crezz (1976), The Aphrodite Inheritance (1979), Farrington of the F.O (1987), Star Cops (1987), About Face (1991), The Scarlet and the Black (1993), Surgical Spirit (1994) and Dalziel and Pascoe (1997).
Facts
Carmen - who in 1970 had the honour of being crowned Miss Gibraltar - now lives in the British overseas territory, and in 2013 became a member of a committee of theatrical figures to advise the Government on the restoration and refurbishment of the Queen's Cinema, with a view to it becoming the home of Gibraltar's National Theatre. She has also presented children's programmes on Gibraltar TV and the BBC World Service. In a 2017 interview with Spain's Talk Radio Europe, Carmen claimed she was one of the very few actresses to do two episodes of Doctor Who...

Clinton Greyn (Stike) Sep 29 1933 to Mar 19 2019
Doctor Who credits
Played: Ivo in State of Decay (1980)
Played: Stike in The Two Doctors (1985)
Clinton also played Group Marshal Nathan in the Jim'll Fix It sketch A Fix with Sontarans (1985)
Career highlights
Clinton debuted in The Dark Pits of War (1960), then Off Centre (1961), soap Compact (1962-63, as Mike McClusky), The Newcomers (1966), Robbery (1967), The Ugliest Girl in Town (1969), The Champions (1969), Raid on Rommel (1971), The Love Machine (1971), Swedish Fly Girls (1971), Jason King (1971), The Zoo Gang (1974), Shine On Harvey Moon (1985), Howards' Way (1987) and The Chef's Apprentice (1989). Clinton also played the lead role of Captain Robert Virgin in the action series Virgin of the Secret Service (1968).
Facts
In the early 1970s Clinton bought a plot of land between a row of 19th century houses in Notting Hill, London, the last vacant bombsite left over from the Blitz. There he had built a minimalist house, inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright's house Fallingwater in Pennsylvania, USA, which was almost never completed due to protests from English Heritage. It is now regarded as a masterful piece of architecture which may well become listed in years to come. Clinton comes in for some unfortunate criticism from acting legend Richard Burton in his diaries during the filming of Raid on Rommel in July 1970: "Clinton Greyn is not a very good actor I'm afraid. He's tall and good-looking in a kind of weak way with a voice that threatens to become prissy when he presses... It's odd that I cannot define what a good actor has, what quality or style, but I can tell a bad actor immediately and Clinton Greyn is bad... He is a typically mediocre Rep actor and there's nowt one can do about that. He should never have been cast in the first place."
In 2018 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Clinton here.

Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon) Born Sep 22 1944 Click here for Frazer Hines's entry on The Highlanders

Laurence Payne (Dastari) Jun 5 1919 to Feb 23 2009 (vascular dementia)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Johnny Ringo in The Gunfighters (1966)
Played: Morix in The Leisure Hive (1980)
Played: Dastari in The Two Doctors (1985)
Career highlights
Laurence's further credits include Till Tomorrow (1948), Train of Events (1949), The Face of Love (1954), The Three Musketeers (1954), Ill Met by Moonlight (1957), The Trollenberg Terror (1958), Moonstrike (1963), The Midnight Men (1964), The Saint (1966), Vampire Circus (1972), The Hanged Man (1975), The Sandbaggers (1978), Airline (1982) and Shakespeare: The Animated Tales (1992). He became well known for playing the title character in Sexton Blake (1967-71).
Facts
Between 1962-93, Laurence wrote 11 detective novels, the first of which (The Nose on My Face) was adapted into the film Girl in the Headlines aka The Model Murder Case (1963). A sword-fighting accident while filming Sexton Blake in 1968 cost him the sight in his left eye. Laurence's first wife (of three) was actress Sheila Burrell, cousin to Sir Laurence Olivier. In a 1998 interview with Edinburgh's Evening News, Laurence said: "Dr Who was great fun. I was one of the villains in the second series with that strange elderly man as Dr Who. We did about ten weeks filming at a time, and then had a break. I got on very well with the boy playing Dr Who's grandson. I wasn't in any of the ones with those robots [Daleks] in, thank God! I think I would have laughed!" In the 1990s Laurence contracted septicaemia, causing some brain damage, and the last three years of his life were spent in a nursing home suffering with vascular dementia.

Jacqueline Pearce (Chessene) Dec 20 1943 to Sep 3 2018 (lung cancer)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Chessene in The Two Doctors (1985)
Played: Admiral Mettna (voice) in Death Comes to Time (2001, webcast)
Career highlights
Jacqueline's first role was in a 1964 episode of Danger Man, after which she appeared in Gypsy Girl (1965), The Plague of the Zombies (1966), The Reptile (1966), The Avengers (1966), Carry On Don't Lose Your Head (1966), Haunted (1967), Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River (1968), The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (1971), The Edwardians (1973), David Copperfield (1974), Couples (1975-76), Shadows (1978), White Mischief (1987), Moondial (1988), How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989), Dark Season (1991), Princess Caraboo (1994), Guru in Seven (1998), Daniel Deronda (2002) and Casualty (2006). Jacqueline will forever be remembered as villainous villainess Servalan in Blake's 7 (1978-81), a role she later reprised on audio.
Facts
Between 1963-67 Jacqueline was married to actor Drewe Henley, best known for playing Red Leader in Star Wars (1977). She later married (and divorced) Michael Rudman. Bizarrely, both her ex-husbands went on to marry actor Felicity Kendal (who appeared in The Unicorn and the Wasp). For a time in the 1960s, Jacqueline worked as a receptionist for Sammy Davis Jr in Los Angeles. In 2007, Jacqueline moved for a time to South Africa to care for endangered animals such as chimpanzees and vervet monkeys. In 2004, and then 2012, Jacqueline was diagnosed with breast cancer, and beat it following chemotherapy.

Tim Raynham (Varl) Born Jun 2 1958
Career highlights
Tim's only other credits are for The Paradise Club (1990) and The Comic Strip Presents... Jealousy (1993). He also played a Sontaran in the 1985 Jim'll Fix It skit In a Fix with Sontarans.

James Saxon (Oscar) Jun 12 1955 to Jul 2 2003 (heart attack)
Career highlights
James debuted in Seeing and Believing (1976), then appeared in Jukes of Piccadilly (1980), We'll Meet Again (1982, as Sergeant Elmer Jones), Lady Windermere's Fan (1985), Family Ties Vacation (1985), Biggles: Adventures in Time (1986), Roland Rat: The Series (1986, as D'arcy DeFarcy), Brush Strokes (1986), A Prayer for the Dying (1987), Vanity Fair (1987), The Paradise Club (1989), Troublemakers (1990), The New Statesman (1991), Time Riders (1991), Spatz (1991), Haggard (1992), Medics (1993), Lovejoy (1993), Murder Most Horrid (1994), England, My England (1995), Poldark (1996), Chalk (1997), Cleopatra (1999) and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (2003). He was also a regular player in the T-Bag series of children's dramas (1989-92) and played Fuzzy Brightons in detective series McCallum (1995-98), but he found his greatest recognition as Morris Hardacre in Brass (1983-84/90). James also provided the voices for the 1998 version of the Captain Pugwash cartoons.

John Stratton (Shockeye) Nov 7 1925 to Oct 25 1991
Career highlights
John's career began with an uncredited appearance in Hour of Glory (1949), then The Cure for Love (1950), Mr Lord Says No (1952), The Cruel Sea (1953), You Know What People Are (1955), Dick and the Duchess (1958), The Secret Kingdom (1960), Kipps (1960), The Avengers (1961), The Odd Man (1963), It's Dark Outside (1965), Turn Out the Lights (1967), Letters from the Dead (1968), Sherlock Holmes (1968), The First Lady (1968-69), The Black Tulip (1970), The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (1971), Coronation Street (1965/72), Follyfoot (1972), The Love Pill (1972), The Pallisers (1974), Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974), Trinity Tales (1975), Clayhanger (1976), The Witches of Pendle (1977), The Mill on the Floss (1978-79), The Good Companions (1980-81), Great Expectations (1981), My Cousin Rachel (1983), Countdown to War (1989), Lovejoy (1991) and The Law Lord (1992). He played Captain Potter in Quatermass and the Pit (1958-59) and Mr Bott in Just William (1977-78).

Patrick Troughton (The Doctor) Mar 25 1920 to Mar 28 1987 (heart attack) See Patrick Troughton's entry on The Power of the Daleks

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

Peter Moffatt (director) Aug 15 1922 to Oct 21 2007
Doctor Who credits
Directed: State of Decay (1980), The Visitation (1982), Mawdryn Undead (1983), The Five Doctors (1983), The Twin Dilemma (1984), The Two Doctors (1985)
Played: Man outside restaurant in The Two Doctors (1985, uncredited)
Played: Tourist in Silver Nemesis (1988, uncredited)
Career highlights
His training to become an actor was disturbed by the outbreak of World War Two, during which he became a prisoner of war at Stalag Luft 3 in Germany. After the war he went back into acting in programmes such as Emil and the Detectives (1952) and Tales from Soho (1956), but then turned to directing, working on Small Time (1960), Tales of Mystery (1961), It Happened Like This (1963), Crane (1963-64), Seven Deadly Sins (1966-67), Sexton Blake (1968), Hadleigh (1969), Big Brother (1970), Crime of Passion (1971-72), New Scotland Yard (1972), Melissa (1974), Rooms (1974-77), The Camerons (1979), The Gentle Touch (1980), Juliet Bravo (1980/82), EastEnders (1986) and All Creatures Great and Small (1978-88).
Facts
He was married to actress/ director/ producer Joan Kemp-Welch.

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

The Mark of the Rani

The Master (Anthony Ainley) and the
Rani (Kate O'Mara) in the same story
scarcely bares thinking about!

Two episodes (Part One, Part Two)
First broadcast Feb 2 to 9 1985
Average audience for serial: 6.80m

REGULAR CAST

Colin Baker (The Doctor) Born Jun 8 1943 Click here for Colin Baker's entry on Arc of Infinity

Nicola Bryant (Peri Brown) Born Oct 11 1960 Click here for Nicola Bryant's entry on Planet of Fire

GUEST CAST

Anthony Ainley (The Master) Aug 20 1932 to May 3 2004 (cancer) Click here for Anthony Ainley's entry on The Keeper of Traken

Terence Alexander (Lord Ravensworth) Mar 11 1923 to May 28 2009 (Parkinson's Disease)
Career highlights
Debuted in Comin' Thro' the Rye (1947), then The Fighting Pimpernel (1950), Death is a Number (1951), The Runaway Bus (1954), Dangerous Cargo (1954), Postmark for Danger (1955), The Tony Hancock Show (1957), My Pal Bob (1957-58), The Doctor's Dilemma (1958), The League of Gentlemen (1960), The Bulldog Breed (1960), Carry On Regardless (1961), The Six Proud Walkers (1962), Ghost Squad (1963), The Hidden Truth (1964), The Forsyte Saga (1967), Man in a Suitcase (1968), The Champions (1969), Waterloo (1970), Bless This House (1971), Harriet's Back in Town (1973), The Vault of Horror (1973), The Day of the Jackal (1973), The Pallisers (1974), Star Maidens (1976), Devenish (1977), The Boy Who Never Was (1980), Terry and June (1979-80), Just Liz (1980), Churchill and the Generals (1981), Behind the Screen (1981-82), Strangers and Brothers (1984), Don't Wait Up (1984-85), The Detectives (1993) and Casualty (1999). Terence also had regular roles as Bill Dodds in Garry Halliday (1959-62) and Sir Greville McDonald in The New Statesman (1989-92), but will always be associated with the character of Charlie Hungerford in 85 episodes of detective series Bergerac (1981-91).
Facts
Terence was married to actress Jane Downs, herself once married to Adam Adamant Lives! star Gerald Harper. Terence was seriously wounded by artillery fire while serving in Italy in World War Two, and for the rest of his life endured reconstructive surgery and a constant whistling in his ears. It wasn't until the 1970s, when he developed a limp, that he had surgery to remove shrapnel from his leg. In later years a condition of the retina made him blind in one eye and threatened his sight in the other. Terence was also a dedicated numerologist - he believed the number 23 had a key importance in his life: he was born in 1923; he made his first stage appearance on December 23rd, 1939; his school number at Ratcliffe College was 23; what he deemed to be his breakthrough role, alongside Sir John Gielgud on stage in Macbeth, opened on December 23rd, 1941; he joined the Army on April 23rd, 1943; the shrapnel injury he sustained while serving in the war took place on April 23rd, 1944; he was demobbed from the Army at the age of 23; he married his first wife, Juno Stevas, when she was 23 (he wanted to marry her on January 23rd 1949, but it was a Sunday so they wed on the 14th instead!); his marriage to Stevas lasted 23 years (some great trivia about Juno Stevas is that she used to work for Richmond Council, but had to leave after insisting on calling the mayor and other dignitaries "darling" and "pet" in meetings!).

Gary Cady (Luke Ward) Born Sep 14 1959
Career highlights
Gary debuted in Lace (1984), then appeared in Leaving (1984-85), Mona Lisa (1986), Fairly Secret Army (1986), Three Up, Two Down (1987), Erik the Viking (1989), The Betrothed (1989), Birds of a Feather (1992), The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1994), Revelations (1994), As Time Goes By 91996), Goodnight Sweetheart (1999), Holby City (2000), Starhunter (2001), Jonathan Creek (2004), Footballers' Wives (2006), Red Dwarf (2012), Casualty (2012), Starhunter ReduX (2017) and EastEnders (2020). His best known role was as Matthew Fairchild in Brass (1983-84/90).
Facts
In 1997, Gary opened the Belair House bar and restaurant in Dulwich, London.

Peter Childs (Jack Ward) Aug 31 1939 to Nov 1 1989 (leukaemia)
Career highlights
Peter debuted in 1968's Mr Rose, followed by A Family at War (1970), The Onedin Line (1972), Zodiac (1974), The Sweeney (1975), Blake's 7 (1978), Out (1978), West End Tales (1981), Going Out (1981), Tucker's Luck (1983), Foxy Lady (1984), Bulman (1985), Grange Hill (1986), Rockcliffe's Babies (1987), Ever Decreasing Circles (1987), Knights of God (1987) and Press Gang (1989). He had regular roles as Ron Gash in Public Eye (1975) and Detective Sergeant Grant in Softly Softly: Task Force (1976), but Peter will be best remembered as Detective Sergeant Ronald "Kenny" Rycott in Minder (1979-89).

Cordelia Ditton (Older woman) Born Jun 18 1953
Career highlights
Cordelia's only other credits were Crown Court (1984), Little Dorrit (1988) and The Fool (1990).
Facts
She now works as a vocal trainer and drama lecturer. She set up the company Voice Business in 1996 (one of her colleagues there is former actor Ian Staples, who appeared in The Caves of Androzani). Here she is, on Twitter!

Gawn Grainger (George Stephenson) Born Oct 12 1937
Career highlights
Scotsman Gawn debuted in The March of the Peasants (1952), after which he appeared in The Adventures of Peter Simple (1957), Echo Four Two (1961), She Stoops to Conquer (1966), Son of Man (1969), Man at the Top (1971), Male Bait (1971), Jason King (1972), Joseph Andrews (1977), Three Piece Suite (1977), Private Schulz (1981), The Happy Apple (1983), Missing from Home (1984), Mitch (1984), Murder of a Moderate Man (1985), The Black Tower (1985), The Raggedy Rawney (1988), Gentlemen and Players (1989), Making News (1990), The Darling Buds of May (1991), Merlin of the Crystal Cave (1991), EastEnders (1993), Crime Traveller (1997), The Queen's Nose (1999), The Glass (2001), Doc Martin (2006), Foyle's War (2006), The Nativity (2010), Labyrinth (2012) and Macbeth (2014). Gawn is also a writer, having penned the Weekend Playhouse play You Don't Have to Walk to Fly (1984), as well as the Play on One Clowns (1989), three episodes of Trainer (1991-92) and Lovejoy (1993).
Facts
Gawn's third and current wife is actress Zoe Wanamaker (best known to Doctor Who fans as Cassandra in The End of the World and New Earth), while one of his previous wives was the actress Janet Key. Gawn helped his close friend Laurence Olivier to write his 1986 book On Acting. He learnt in later life that his biological father was actually the lodger his parents took in; the lodger went on to marry his mother!

William Ilkley (Tim Bass) Born Apr 20 1958
Career highlights
Debuting in Harry's Game (1982), William's further credits include Sorrell and Son (1984), Mitch (1984), Howards' Way (1985), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1988), Shipwrecked (1990), Soldier Soldier (1991), The Good Guys (1992), Magic Grandad (1993), Frontiers (1996), Coronation Street (1997), Wing and a Prayer (1997), Judge John Deed (2001), EastEnders (2003), The Last Detective (2004), Vincent (2005), Family Affairs (2005), Casualty (2001/07), Is Anybody There? (2008), The Day of the Triffids (2009), DCI Banks (2014) and Endeavour (2017). William was a lead actor in John Godber's Hull Truck Theatre Company between 1988-2001.
Facts
His real surname is Brown - he took his stage name from the town he grew up in. William runs a company which provides acting workshops in schools and colleges. Doctor Who is among William's top three favourite TV jobs in his career!
In 2013 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with William here.

Sarah James (Young woman)
Career highlights
Sarah's other credits include The Lost Tribe (1980), The Gentle Touch (1982), Howards' Way (1985), The Come-Uppance of Captain Katt (1986), May to December (1989) and Devices and Desires (1991). Sarah also appeared regularly as Jeannie in the sitcom Butterflies (1980/83).

Hus Levant (Edwin Green) Died 2003 (result of a fall)
Career highlights
Turkish born Hus's CV also includes The Dark Crystal (1982) and The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare (1983).
Facts
After his appearance in Doctor Who, Hus gave up acting and returned to Turkey to enter the construction industry.

Kate O'Mara (The Rani) Aug 10 1939 to Mar 30 2014 (ovarian cancer)
Doctor Who credits
Played: The Rani in The Mark of the Rani (1985), Time and the Rani (1987), Dimensions in Time (1993)
Career highlights
Kate's first role was Home and Away (1956, credited as Merrie Carroll), followed by roles in Emergency Ward 10 (1957), Danger Man (1965), Weavers Green (1966), Adam Adamant Lives! (1967), Great Catherine (1968), The Desperados (1969), The Avengers (1969), The Main Chance (1969), The Vampire Lovers (1970), The Horror of Frankenstein (1970), Spy Trap (1973), The Tamarind Seed (1974), The Two Ronnies (1977), The Plank (1979), Dempsey and Makepeace (1986), Cluedo (1990), Bad Girls (2001), Absolutely Fabulous (1995/2003), Crossroads (2003), Family Affairs (2005) and Benidorm (2012). Kate had regular roles as Jane Maxwell in The Brothers (1975-76), Katherine Laker in Triangle (1981-82), Cassandra Morrell in US soap Dynasty (1986) and Laura Wilde in Howards' Way (1989-90). In 1971 Kate, who started her career as a speech therapist, appeared in the stage version of The Avengers, playing the villainous Madame Gerda. Kate reprised the role of the Rani in the 2000 audio play The Rani Reaps the Whirlwind, and was expected to do so again for Big Finish in 2014 in the story The Rani Elite, but she died before recording took place. The character was recast in the form of Siobhan Redmond.
Facts
Kate's mother was actress Hazel Bainbridge. Between 1961-76, Kate was married to actor Jeremy Young, who appeared in An Unearthly Child and Mission to the Unknown. In 1965, she had a brief liaison with an actor called David Orchard (he can be seen as the swimmer in the title sequence of the Bond film Thunderball), and as a result had a baby son which she had to have adopted. Her second husband was also a Doctor Who actor: between 1993-96 she was married to Richard Willis (who appeared in Full Circle). Her sister is actress Belinda Carroll, which made her brother-in-law the actor Michael Cochrane (who appeared in Black Orchid and Ghost Light). Belinda was previously married to actor Simon Williams (who appeared in Remembrance of the Daleks), making Simon Kate's ex brother-in-law (are you following this?). Kate founded The British Actors' Theatre Company in 1987, for which her son Dickon Young worked as a set designer. Kate had Dickon following an affair with the actor Ian Cullen (who appeared in The Aztecs), but Dickon was brought up by his stepfather, Jeremy Young. On New Year's Eve 2012, Dickon - who for years had suffered from alcohol and drug abuse, which had worsened since he sustained brain damage after being hit by a car - was found hanged at the family home, aged 48 (Kate was in hospital with double pneumonia at the time so her son's body was not found for three weeks).

Richard Steele (Guard) Nov 15 1926 to Apr 30 2004
Doctor Who credits
Played: Commander Gorton in The War Games (1969)
Played: Sergeant Hart in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970)
Played: Guard in The Mark of the Rani (1985)
Career highlights
Richard started his CV off with Quatermass and the Pit in 1959, then subsequently appeared in Suspense (1962), Sergeant Cork (1963), The Ugliest Girl in Town (1968), Coronation Street (1970), The Witch's Daughter (1971), Hawkeye, the Pathfinder (1973), The Venturers (1975), The Stars Look Down (1975), Within These Walls (1975-76), Grange Hill (1978), All Creatures Great and Small (1978), The Glums (1979), Juliet Bravo (1982), Bergerac (1983), No 73 (1983), Grange Hill (1984), First Among Equals (1986) and Three Up Two Down (1989). He also appeared regularly as PC Pierce in Andy Robson (1982-83).

Martyn Whitby (Drayman) Born Dec 10 1949
Career highlights
Debuting in Rock Follies (1977), Martin's CV includes Survivors (1977), Enemy at the Door (1980), Crossroads (1982), The Gentle Touch (1984), The District Nurse (1984), Dempsey and Makepeace (1986), Emmerdale Farm (1989-90), Soldier Soldier (1991), The Diary of Jack the Ripper (1993), Minder (1994), No Bananas (1996), Cadfael (1997), Murder in Mind (2003), Murder City (2004), My Dad's the Prime Minister (2004), Casualty (1994/2005), Lewis (2007) and The Royal Today (2008).

Kevin White (Sam Rudge)
Career highlights
Kevin's other credits include Thomas and Sarah (1979), When the Boat Comes In (1981), Squadron (1982), Oscar (1985) and Knights of God (1987).

CREW

Pip Baker (writer) Jan 3 1929 to Apr 14 2020 (coronavirus)
Doctor Who credits
Wrote: The Mark of the Rani (1985), The Trial of a Time Lord (episodes 9-12 & 14, 1986), Time and the Rani (1987)
Career highlights
As part of a highly successful husband and wife writing team, Pip co-wrote for The Pursuers (1961), The Third Alibi (1961), Dilemma (1962), Detective (1968), Captain Nemo and the Underwater City (1969), Circus (1975), Space: 1999 (1976), Z Cars (1976-77), Watt on Earth (1991-92) and The Last 28 (1999). Pip was also an accomplished playwright and novelist, co-writing Doctor Who novelisations of their TV stories, as well as a Make Your Own Adventure book entitled Race Against Time (1986), which also featured the Rani. In 2000, Pip and Jane resurrected the Rani once more for the audio drama The Rani Reaps the Whirlwind.
Facts
Pip was named after the Dickens character in Great Expectations. He suffered a fall early in 2020 and was ill for some time before being admitted to hospital with breathing difficulties shortly before he died.

Jane Baker (writer) Dec 30 1924 to Aug 29 2014
Doctor Who credits
Wrote: The Mark of the Rani (1985), The Trial of a Time Lord (episodes 9-12 & 14, 1986), Time and the Rani (1987)
Career highlights
As part of a highly successful husband and wife writing team, Jane co-wrote for The Pursuers (1961), The Third Alibi (1961), Dilemma (1962), Detective (1968), Captain Nemo and the Underwater City (1969), Circus (1975), Space: 1999 (1976), Z Cars (1976-77), Watt on Earth (1991-92) and The Last 28 (1999). Jane was also an accomplished playwright and novelist, co-writing Doctor Who novelisations of their TV stories, as well as a Make Your Own Adventure book entitled Race Against Time (1986), which also featured the Rani. In 2000, Jane and Pip resurrected the Rani once more for the audio drama The Rani Reaps the Whirlwind.

Sarah Hellings (director) Born Dec 15 1945
Career highlights
After starting out behind the scenes as a film editor on children's magazine show Blue Peter in the mid-1970s, Sarah's directing career began with A Star for My Son (1979), then Grange Hill (1981, for which she was nominated for a BAFTA), Angels (1981-82), Juliet Bravo (1982-83), Howards' Way (1985-86), Boon (1987-88), Forever Green (1992), Lovejoy (1992), Soldier Soldier (1993), The Glass Virgin (1995), Doctor Finlay (1996), Taggart (1993/98), The Cater Street Hangman (1998), Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married (1999-2000) and Midsomer Murders (2002-08). Sarah also made short films for children's series Blue Peter between 1975-81.
Facts
Sarah was a founding member of Glasgow-based Enterprise Screen.

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

Vengeance on Varos

Peri (Nicola Bryant) grabs the first
hunky man she comes across after
 sustained emotional abuse from her
travelling companion.
And who can blame her?

Two episodes (Part One, Part Two)
First broadcast Jan 19 to 26 1985
Average audience for serial: 7.10m

REGULAR CAST

Colin Baker (The Doctor) Born Jun 8 1943 Click here for Colin Baker's entry on Arc of Infinity

Nicola Bryant (Peri Brown) Born Oct 11 1960 Click here for Nicola Bryant's entry on Planet of Fire

GUEST CAST

Geraldine Alexander (Areta) Born 1960
Career highlights
Geraldine debuted in The Gay Lord Quex (1983), then appeared in Florence Nightingale (1985), Miss Marple (1987), Bust (1987), Bad Ronald (1992), Victoria Wood's All Day Breakfast (1992), Perfect Scoundrels (1992), The Vacillations of Poppy Carew (1995), Jonathan Creek (1997), Forgotten (1999), Where the Heart Is (2002), The Government Inspector (2005), Midsomer Murders (2005), Extras (2006), Coronation Street (2004/07), Silent Witness (2008), Law and Order UK (2010), Case Sensitive (2012), Shetland (2013), Father Brown (2015), Marcella (2016) and The Child in Time (2017). She has also appeared in EastEnders in two different roles, as Vivien in five episodes in 2009 and as Andrea Rooney in four episodes in 2018-19.

In 2018 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Geraldine here.

Nicolas Chagrin (Quillam) Nov 26 1945 to Aug 26 2017
Career highlights
Nicolas debuted in The Sky Larks (1958), followed by The Budds of Paragon Row (1959), The Fourth Square (1961), Thirteen Against Fate (1966), The Man in the Iron Mask (1968), The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1969), Department S (1970), Shelley (1972), The Losers (1978), Beau Geste (1982), Minder (1984), The Box of Delights (1984), Fortunes of War (1987), Traffik (1989), Wings of Fame (1990), Zorro (1992), Highlander (1994), The Knock (1996), Coronation Street (2000), The Courtroom (2004), Hollyoaks (2009), Suite Francaise (2014) and London Spy (2015).
Facts
Nicolas's father was composer Francis Chagrin, who composed the incidental score for The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964), while his brother was actor and mime artist Julian Chagrin, who among many more impressive roles, played the Secret Lemonade Drinker in R Whites' 1973 TV commercial (mega-trivia: his wife in that advert was played by Genesis of the Daleks' Harriet Philpin!). In 1980, Nicolas married Hon. Elizabeth Mackintosh, daughter of the 2nd Viscount Mackintosh of Halifax (they'd divorced by 1990). Nicolas also coached in performance skills and personal development, including for the Ariel Group.

Forbes Collins (Chief Officer) Born Jul 29 1941
Career highlights
Forbes made his debut with 1971's Coppers End, after which he took roles in Warship (1973), John Halifax, Gentleman (1974), Intimate Games (1976), Jesus of Nazareth (1977), A Horseman Riding By (1978), Dick Turpin (1979), Bull Week (1980), The Black Adder (1983), By the Sword Divided (1985), CATS Eyes (1986), William Tell (1987), The Lady and the Highwayman (1989), Covington Cross (1992), The Bill (1994) and Mike and Angelo (1999). He also had regular roles as Zacky Martin in Poldark (1975-77), Curl Cohen in Dick Barton: Special Agent (1979) and, perhaps most memorably, as King John in the children's series Maid Marian and Her Merry Men (1989-94).

Jason Connery (Jondar) Born Jan 11 1963
Career highlights
Jason - the son of film star and one-time James Bond Sean Connery and actress Diane Cilento - broke into acting with 1983's The Lords of Discipline, after which he found roles in The Boy Who Had Everything (1985), Worlds Beyond (1987), Puss in Boots (1988), Casablanca Express (1989), The Other Side of Paradise (1992), Jamila (1994), The Successor (1996), The Famous Five (1997), Urban Ghost Story (1998), Shanghai Noon (2000), Mary-Kate and Ashley in Action! (2001-02), Smallville (2001-03), Shoebox Zoo (2004), Private Moments (2005), Lightspeed (2006), Velocity (2007), Penance (2009), General Hospital (2013), Alien Strain (2015) and The Untold Story (2019). His most memorable role was playing Robert of Huntingdon in the third series of Robin of Sherwood (1986), and he also gave his voice to 49 episodes of Gadget and the Gadgetinis (2003) and 18 episodes of Trollz (2005). He also directs, including The Devil's Tomb (2009), The Philly Kid (2012) and Tommy's Honour (2016).
Awards
2016: BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Feature Film (Tommy's Honour) - with Keith Bank, Bob Last and Jim Kreutzer
Facts
Jason, who schooled for a time with Prince Edward of Wessex, was married to American actress Mia Sara between 1996-2002. In 2014 he took part in BBC1's Celebrity MasterChef.

Graham Cull (Bax)
Career highlights
Graham's earliest role was as Tubby in Thomas and Sarah (1979), followed by We'll Meet Again (1982), Bergerac (1983), Minder (1984), Alice in Wonderland (1986), Seal Morning (1986), The Charmer (1987), Woof! (1991), Teenage Health Freak (1993), Fever Pitch (1997), Boyz Unlimited (1999), The Honeytrap (2002), Red Cap (2003) and Gideon's Daughter (2005).

Martin Jarvis (Governor) Born Aug 4 1941
Doctor Who credits
Played: Hilio in The Web Planet (1965)
Played: Butler in Invasion of the Dinosaurs (1974)
Played: Governor in Vengeance on Varos (1985)
Career highlights
Martin has enjoyed a long and prolific career, starting with The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling (1964), then Nicholas Nickleby (1968), Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970), Little Women (1970), The Moonstone (1972), The Pallisers (1974), Enemy at the Door (1980), The Black Tower (1985), Buster (1988), the narrator of children's series Huxley Pig (1989), Inspector Morse (1991), Murder Most Horrid (1991), The Scarlet and the Black (1993), Space: Above and Beyond (1996), Titanic (1997), Lorna Doone (2000), The Queen's Nose (2003), Numb3rs (2007), Stargate: Atlantis (2007), Taking the Flak (2008), Marple: The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side (2010), EastEnders (2010), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), Wreck-It Ralph (2012, voice), Endeavour (2013), Law and Order UK (2014), United Passions (2014) and Casualty (1992/2017). He had regular roles as Jolyon in The Forsyte Saga (1967), Sam Harvey in Breakaway (1980) and Oliver Pryde in Rings on Their Fingers (1978-80). Between 2011-15 Martin voiced Alfred Pennyworth in a series of Batman video games.
Awards
2000: Officer of the order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama
Facts
Since 1974 he has been married to actress Rosalind Ayres. Martin's voice is familiar to many radio drama listeners, as well as those who listen to talking books. His son Toby is a leading TV and radio composer, working on series such as Love Island and Survival of the Fittest.
This is Your Life: Martin was the subject of BBC TV's This is Your Life on November 29th, 1999, surprised by host Michael Aspel while appearing on Gyles Brandreth's LBC radio show.

Hugh Martin (Priest) Dec 8 1933 to Jul 16 1997
Doctor Who credits
Played: Munro in Terror of the Zygons (1975)
Played: Priest in Vengeance on Varos (1985)
Career highlights
Debuting in The Errol Flynn Theatre (1957), Hugh's further work included Suspense (1962), Resurrection (1968), Softly Softly (1972), Hadleigh (1973), Oil Strike North (1975), The Sweeney (1976), Black Island (1979), The Enigma Files (1980), Union Castle (1982), Up the Elephant and Round the Castle (1985), A Very British Coup (1988) and Taggart (1983/90).

Sheila Reid (Etta) Born Dec 21 1937
Doctor Who credits
Played: Etta in Vengeance on Varos (1985)
Played: Clara's gran in The Time of the Doctor (2013), Dark Water (2014)
Career highlights
Sheila's earliest TV credit was in Mr Nobody (1960), after which she appeared in The Alphabet Murders (1965), A Flea in Her Ear (1967), Three Sisters (1970), Justice (1973), Moll Flanders (1975), Flickers (1980), Get Lost! (1981), The Home Front (1983), Miracles Take Longer (1984), Brazil (1985), The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987), American Friends (1991), Oliver's Travels (1995), Where the Heart Is (1998), Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War (2002), Sea of Souls (2006), Bones (2008), Holby City (2009), Psychoville (2009/11), Psychobitches (2012-14), Containment (2015), The Bad Education Movie (2015), Humans (2018), All About Eve (2019), The Man in the Hat (2020), Big Boys (2022) and Love Without Walls (2022). Her most memorable role is as mobility scooter driver Madge Harvey in 45 episode of the comedy drama Benidorm (2007-16), and she also played Mildred in the trilogy Murder on the Blackpool Express, Death on the Tyne and Dial M for Middlesbrough (2017-19).
Facts
Sheila's first husband was the actor Julian Curry, best known as Claude in Rumpole of the Bailey.

Nabil Shaban (Sil) Born Feb 12 1953
Doctor Who credits
Played: Sil in Vengeance on Varos (1985), The Trial of a Time Lord (1986)
Career highlights
Born in Jordan, Nabil's acting career began playing Ben Gunn in the 1982 TV movie Walter, after which he took roles in Raspberry Ripple (1986), Iranian Nights (1989), City of Joy (1992), Wittgenstein (1993), Skallagrigg (1994), Slave of Dreams (1995), Children of Men (2006), Trouble Sleeping (2008) and Morticia (2009). He also reprised the role of Sil in the spin-off production Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor (2019).
Facts
Nabil, who was born with the brittle bone disease osteogenesis imperfecta, co-founded the Graeae Theatre Company for artists with physical and sensory disabilities in 1980. He was sent to the UK as a child for treatment for his disease and as a result grew up in numerous hospitals and residential homes, with little contact with his family. Long-time Doctor Who fan Nabil sent a letter to the production team in 1974 saying he could become the new Master, and again in 1980 suggesting he could be the new Doctor!

Keith Skinner (Rondel) Born 1949
Career highlights
Debuted in Mademoiselle (1966), then The Devil in the Fog (1968), Man at the Top (1970-71), So It Goes (1973), Beryl's Lot (1973/75), Esther Waters (1977), Jesus of Nazareth (1977), Maria Marten or Murder in the Red Barn (1980), The Borgias (1981) and Ripper Street (2013).
Facts
Keith gave up acting after appearing in Doctor Who and is now a leading crime historian, advising television productions such as The Diary of Jack the Ripper (1993) and From Hell (2001), as well as Ripper Street through his research into the history of the Metropolitan Police. Since 1987 he has written a great number of historical crime books, specialising in the subject of Jack the Ripper (he helped produce the Jack the Ripper document pack for the UK National Archives). He is also one of the people behind History by the Yard, which advises TV and film production companies on the history of policing in London, and also undertakes family history and genealogy projects. He is also a volunteer at the Metropolitan Police's Crime Museum (here he is pictured (on the right) in 2013).

Owen Teale (Maldak) Born May 20 1961
Doctor Who credits
Played: Maldak in Vengeance on Varos (1985)
Played: Ewan Sherman in Torchwood: Countrycide (2006)
Career highlights
After debuting in Doctor Who, Owen went on to appear in The Mimosa Boys (1985), David Copperfield (1986), Knights of God (1987), Waterfront Beat (1990), Robin Hood (1991), The Hawk (1993), The Thin Blue Line (1995), Death of a Salesman (1996), The Cherry Orchard (1999), Ballykissangel (1999), Ted and Alice (2002), Island at War (2004), Murphy's Law (2005), The Last Detective (2007), Silk (2011), The Hollow Crown (2012), Line of Duty (2012), Under Milk Wood (2014), River (2015), Ripper Street (2016), Houdini and Doyle (2016), Pulse (2017), A Discovery of Witches (2018), Tolkien (2019), Deep State (2019) and Dream Horse (2020). He played Dai in 20 episodes of Stella (2012-13) and may be best recognised as Alliser Thorne in Game of Thrones (2011-16).
Awards
1997: Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play (A Doll's House)
Facts
Owen was previously married to actress Dilys Watling, sister of Debbie Watling (who played companion Victoria Waterfield). Owen is now married to actress Sylvestra le Touzel, who herself appeared in Doctor Who as a child in The Mind Robber (1968). In 1997 he won Broadway's Best Actor Tony Award for his role in Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House.

Stephen Yardley (Arak) Born Mar 24 1942
Doctor Who credits
Played: Sevrin in Genesis of the Daleks (1975)
Played: Arak in Vengeance on Varos (1985)
Career highlights
Stephen's earliest appearance was in The Bender (1964), followed by The Flying Swan (1965), Danger Man (1965), The Champions (1968), Villains (1972), Harriet's Back in Town (1972), Adolf Hitler - My Part in His Downfall (1972), Oranges & Lemons (1973), The Brothers (1974), Coronation Street (1974), Thriller (1976), The Gentle Touch (1980), Blake's 7 (1981), The Day of the Triffids (1981), Funny Money (1983), Morgan's Boy (1984), Widows 2 (1985), The Doctor and the Devils (1985), Remington Steele (1987), Virtual Murder (1992), Heartbeat (1996), Bugs (1998), Holby City (2000) and Hex (2004). He has enjoyed a number of regular roles in ongoing dramas, including PC May in Z Cars (1967-68), William "Spider" Scott in The XYY Man (1976-77), Max Brocard in Secret Army (1978) and Vince Farmer in 93 episodes of the soap Family Affairs (1999-2003), but will be best remembered as Ken Masters in Howards' Way (1985-90).
Facts
Stephen is married to his Howards' Way co-star Jan Harvey.

CREW

Philip Martin (writer) Jul 3 1938 to Dec 13 2020
Doctor Who credits
Wrote: Vengeance on Varos (1985), The Trial of a Time Lord Parts 5-8 (1986)
Career highlights
Philip's television writing career stems back to 1970 when he began penning scripts for Z Cars, after which he also worked on New Scotland Yard (1972), Gangsters (1975/78), Shoestring (1979), Star Cops (1987), Tandoori Nights (1987), Virtual Murder (1992), The Good Guys (1993), Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (1997-98), Doctors (2007) and Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor (2019).
Facts
Philip's unused script for Season 23, before it became The Trial of a Time Lord, was Mission to Magnus featuring Sil and the Ice Warriors, which he novelised for Target in 1990 and was adapted into an audio adventure by Big Finish in 2009. Philip also wrote a Doctor Who 'make your own adventure' book in 1986 called Invasion of the Ormazoids. Philip's writing techniques on Gangsters (which he occasionally acted on as various minor characters) were featured on the Open University study list at one point.
In 2014 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Philip here.

Ron Jones (director) Aug 6 1945 to Jul 9 1993
Doctor Who credits
Directed: Black Orchid (1982), Time-Flight (1982), Arc of Infinity (1983), Frontios (1984), Vengeance on Varos (1985), The Trial of a Time Lord (1986)
Career highlights
Starting out as a BBC Radio studio manager in the 1960s, Ron worked for a time as a researcher and writer for the children's show Blue Peter, before acting as an assistant floor manager and production manager on series such as Bergerac and Secret Army. Ron's few other directing credits include Juliet Bravo (1985), the German soap Lindenstraße (1987-88) and the TV movie Burg Wutzenstein (1988). In the 1970s Ron worked as a researcher and writer on the children's show Blue Peter. Ron's partner was Gordon Elsbury, who directed shows such as Are You Being Served?, Top of the Pops and Spitting Image (he was also production assistant on the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest).

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

Attack of the Cybermen

Cybermen! In the TARDIS!

Two episodes (Part One, Part Two)
First broadcast Jan 5 to 12 1985
Average audience for serial: 8.05m

REGULAR CAST

Colin Baker (The Doctor) Born Jun 8 1943 Click here for Colin Baker's entry on Arc of Infinity

Nicola Bryant (Peri Brown) Born Oct 11 1960 Click here for Nicola Bryant's entry on Planet of Fire

GUEST CAST

John Ainley (Cyberman)
Career highlights
6ft 3in John's other work includes Operation Julie (1985), The Bill (1985), Dead Head (1986), Dempsey and Makepeace (1986) and Metropolis (2000).
Facts
John's uncle is Master actor Anthony Ainley. He got the job of playing a Cyberman when the actor originally contracted to play Stratton - Trevor Raymond - had to withdraw after breaking his arm, which led to original Cyber Lieutenant actor Jonathan David taking his role, and original Cyberman actor Brian Orrell stepping into the Cyber Lieutenant's moonboots.

Michael Attwell (Bates) Jan 16 1943 to Mar 18 2006
Doctor Who credits
Played: Isbur in The Ice Warriors (1967)
Played: Bates in Attack of the Cybermen (1985)
Career highlights
Doctor Who was Michael's first credit, after which he appeared in The First Churchills (1969), Turtle's Progress (1979-80), Bergerac (1983), Oliver Twist (1985), Are You Being Served? (1985), CATS Eyes (1987), Buster (1988), Westbeach (1993), The Scarlet and the Black (1993), Bugs (1995), Wycliffe (1997-98, as Stevens), My Family (2001), Daniel Deronda (2002), Dinotopia (2003), Trial and Retribution (2004), Hotel Babylon (2006) and Agatha Christie's Marple (2006). He may be best remembered as Kenny Beale in the soap EastEnders (1988).
Facts
Michael, 6ft 4in, was also a political cartoonist for the News of the World, The People and The Sun in the 1980s, using the name Zoke, and also drew comic strips for the likes of Bunty, Hotspur, Whizzer and Chips and Buster. His son is TV producer Jake Attwell.

David Banks (Cyber Leader) Born Sep 24 1951
Doctor Who credits
Played: Cyber Leader in Earthshock (1982), The Five Doctors (1983), Attack of the Cybermen (1985), Silver Nemesis (1988)
Career highlights
David, 6ft 3in, made his acting debut in Keep It in the Family (1980), then made appearances in Bret Maverick (1981/82), The Bill (1991), A Time to Dance (1992), EastEnders (1994), Canary Wharf (1996) and Doctors (2006). Between 1991-92 he had a regular role in soap Brookside as Graeme Curtis.
Facts
In 1989 he played Karl the mercenary in the stage play Doctor Who - The Ultimate Adventure (a role he reprised for an audio adaptation in 2007). On April 29th 1989, Pertwee fell ill and was replaced for two performances by David, who wore a white suit, t-shirt and Panama hat as the Doctor. In the late 1980s David got involved with Cyber-lore, writing the biographical work Doctor Who - Cybermen in 1988, which he adapted into audio cassettes and narrated as Origins of the Cybermen (1989-90). In 1984 David submitted a script to the Doctor Who production team called FlipBack which was steeped in Cyber-continuity, and was ultimately developed into his New Adventure novel Iceberg in 1993. David would have been cast as the Auton leader if the aborted Season 23 Doctor Who story Yellow Fever and How to Cure It had been filmed.

James Beckett (Payne) Born Dec 26 1940
Career highlights
James's other work includes The Push Over (1963), Thorndyke (1964), Poor Cow (1967), UFO (1970), Paganini Strikes Again (1973), Crown Court (1976), Angels (1981), Dempsey and Makepeace (1985), Shadow of the Noose (1989) and Byker Grove (1992).

Sarah Berger (Rost) Born Mar 19 1959
Career highlights
Debuting in The Crucible (1980), Sarah's CV includes Ladykillers (1981), An Inspector Calls (1982), Praying Mantis (1982), The Green Man (1990), Josie (1991), The Scarlet and the Black (1993), Fatherland (1994), Castles (1995), Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell (1999), The Scarlet Pimpernel (1999), New Tricks (2003), Murphy's Law (2004), 1320 (2011) and Casualty (1993/2013). Sarah played Moya McQueen in daytime soap Doctors in 2003.
Facts
Sarah is the founder of the So and So Arts Club, a networking resource for actors, directors, writers etc. Here she is, on Twitter!
In 2016 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Sarah here.

Faith Brown (Flast) Born May 28 1944
Career highlights
Faith is best known as a comedienne and impressionist, debuting on Who Do You Do (1976), then Ken Dodd's World of Laughter (1976), The Faith Brown Chat Show (1980), Nice to See You! (1981) and Emu's Pink Windmill Show (1984). She also played Anne Bradley in the soap Brookside in 1996, and played The Voice in children's series Trapped! (2009-10). Faith has also appeared as a participant on I'm Famous and Frightened! (2004) - which she won - Hell's Kitchen (2004), I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! (2006) and Loose Women (2007-09).
Facts
Known for her buxom appearance (her vital statistics in 1976 were 35D-23-36), Faith (real name Irene Carroll) is well remembered for her impressions of singer Kate Bush, poet Pam Ayres, actress Eartha Kitt and ex-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. In the 1960s she was in a band called The Carrolls with her brothers Lee, Ron and Mike, and in the 1970s released several solo records, including Lock Me In (1970). She was also one of the performers on the single Doctor in Distress by Who Cares? in 1986.
This is Your Life: Faith was the subject of Thames TV's This is Your Life on January 20th, 1982, surprised by host Eamonn Andrews while she was appearing as a guest on Game for a Laugh. Fellow Doctor Who actor Ken Dodd was a guest on the show.

Stephen Churchett (Bill) Apr 10 1947 to Jan 11 2022
Career highlights
Stephen's career began with Up Pompeii (1970), then The Shadow of the Tower (1972), Notorious Woman (1974), Jubilee (1977), A Bridge Too Far (1977), Mackenzie (1980), Codename Icarus (1981), The Old Men at the Zoo (1983), CATS Eyes (1985), Rockcliffe's Babies (1987), 'Allo 'Allo! (1987), Hannay (1988), Rockcliffe's Folly (1988), Campion (1990), The Object of Beauty (1991), Moon and Son (1992), Agent Z and the Penguin from Mars (1994), Bugs (1996), Photographing Fairies (1997), McCallum (1998), The Scarlet Pimpernel (1999), The Cazalets (2001), The Brief (2005), Law and Order UK (2009), Lucan (2013), Lewis (2013) and Churchill (2015). Stephen's recurring roles include Joseph Wint in The House of Eliott (1992-94), Cllr Jack Druggett in sitcom The Brittas Empire (1994-97), the coroner in a handful of Agatha Christie's Marple adaptations (2004-13) and Marcus Christie, solicitor to the Mitchell family, in over 70 episodes of soap EastEnders (1990-2015). Stephen also wrote stage plays and TV scripts, numerously for The Bill (1991), Kavanagh QC (1999/2001), Hornblower (2003), Agatha Christie's Marple (2004-08) and Lewis (2006-13).
In 2016 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Stephen here.

Maurice Colbourne (Lytton) Sep 24 1939 to Aug 4 1989 (heart attack)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Lytton in Resurrection of the Daleks (1984), Attack of the Cybermen (1985)
Career highlights
Maurice's debut came in Cry of the Banshee (1970), then Churchill's People (1975), The Littlest Horse Thieves (1976), The Duellists (1977), Bloodline (1979), The Onedin Line (1979), Hawk the Slayer (1980), Strangers (1980), The Day of the Triffids (1981), Johnny Jarvis (1983) and Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil (1985). He secured early success playing John Kline in the Play for Today Gangsters (1975) and its resultant series (1976-78), but found his biggest fame as Tom Howard in 61 episodes of the maritime drama Howards' Way (1985-89).
Facts
Before becoming an actor Maurice (born Roger Middleton) was a ghost train operator in Manchester and a waiter in London. He adopted his stage name after seeing an obituary (in 1965) for an actor called Maurice Colbourne, who coincidentally shared his birthdate. In 1972 Maurice co-founded the Half Moon Theatre Company (named after an alley near the rented building they used), but the company folded in 1990 (a Wetherspoon's pub is named after it, the Half Moon in Stepney Green, London. Maurice died in his wife's arms in Brittany, while there renovating a holiday home, shortly after returning from a sailing trip. He was due to return to the UK the following week to complete filming series five of Howards' Way (his character's disappearance was explained as a sailing accident).

Jonathan David (Stratton)
Career highlights
Further credits include Death or Glory Boy (1974), Intimate Reflections (1974), Intimate Games (1976), Crown Court (1977), The Professionals (1978), Strangers (1980), Blake's 7 (1981), Just Our Luck (1983) and Love is Like That (1993).
Facts
Jonathan was originally cast to play the Cyber Lieutenant, but when original Stratton actor Trevor Raymond broke his arm and had to pull out, Jonathan took his role.

Esther Freud (Threst) Born May 2 1963
Career highlights
Esther's acting career was short; prior to Doctor Who she had appeared in The Bill and The Comic Strip Presents... (both 1984). Her greatest claim to fame is writing the novel Hideous Kinky (1992), which was turned into a feature film starring Kate Winslet in 1998. Subsequent books include Lucky Break, Love Falls and Mr Mac and Me.
Facts
Esther is married to actor David Morrissey (who appeared in Doctor Who's 2008 Christmas special The Next Doctor); her father was the eminent painter Lucian Freud, her great grandfather the psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, her uncle the politician and writer Clement Freud, her sister fashion designer Bella Freud, and her cousins the broadcaster Emma Freud (script editor of Vincent and the Doctor, and wife of its writer Richard Curtis) and public relations guru Matthew Freud. The Freuds are an ever-expanding family of talent - Esther's dad Lucian fathered 14 children with different women! Other children include novelist Susie Boyt and sculptor Jane McAdam Freud. Who would have thought a Cryon could be part of such an influential artistic family?

Brian Glover (Griffiths) Apr 2 1934 to Jul 24 1997 (brain tumour)
Career highlights
Brian made his memorable acting debut in the 1969 film Kes as the sports teacher Mr Sugden, then took roles in Paul Temple (1971), Coronation Street (1972), Sez Les (1972), Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (1973), Porridge (1974), Shades of Greene (1976), Jabberwocky (1977), The Great Train Robbery (1979), Sounding Brass (1980), An American Werewolf in London (1981), Educating Marmalade (1982), Foxy Lady (1984), The Company of Wolves (1984), Last of the Summer Wine (1985), The Les Dennis Laughter Show (1991), Alien³ (1992), Anna Lee (1993-94), Rumble (1995), Bob's Weekend (1996), Snow White: A Tale of Terror (1997) and Stiff Upper Lips (1998). Brian had regular roles as Art in a few Play for Todays (The Fishing Party, Shakespeare or Bust and Three for the Fancy (1972-74)) and Magersfontein Lugg, valet to Peter Davison's title character in Campion (1989-90). His broad Yorkshire accent will forever be associated with the Tetley TV adverts ("Tetley make teabags make tea") and Allinson's bread ("wi' nowt taken out"). Brian was also a writer, credited on Sunshine in Brixton (1976), Summer Season (1976), Send in the Girls (1978), Hazell (1979), Singleton's Pluck (1984) and Rumble (1995) - he is also believed to have submitted a script to Doctor Who in the 1980s...
Facts
Before becoming an actor, Brian was a professional wrestler in Barnsley in the 1960s, first going by the name of Erik Tanberg, the Blond from Sweden, then Leon Arras, the Man from Paris. His father Charlie was also a wrestler, the Red Devil. Brian worked for a time as a schoolteacher between 1954-70, teaching English and French. His second wife was Tara Prem, producer of TV series such as Two Up, Two Down and Love Hurts.

Sarah Greene (Varne) Born Oct 24 1958
Career highlights
Sarah is best known as a TV presenter, although her other acting appearances include Together (1980), The Swish of the Curtain (1980), Casualty (2004), Suburban Shootout (2007) and Hotel Babylon (2008). She is most famous for being a presenter on the children's show Blue Peter (1980-83), as well as Eureka (1983), Saturday Superstore (1984-87), Going Live! (1987-93), Antiques Roadshow (1991), Happy Families (1993), Collector's Lot (1997) and This Morning (2005). In 1992 she played herself in the one-off drama Ghostwatch, which became one of the most controversial programmes in the BBC's history after some viewers mistook the supernatural fiction for fact. She competed in the celebrity ice skating series Dancing on Ice in 2008.
Facts
Sarah met her presenter husband Mike Smith while they were both running the 1981 London Marathon. In 1988, both Sarah and Mike were seriously injured when the helicopter Mike was piloting crashed in Gloucestershire; Mike broke his back and ankle, Sarah both legs and an arm. They made full recoveries. Sadly, Mike died following heart surgery in 2014. Sarah's parents were television DIY expert Harry Greene and actress Marjie Lawrence, who spoke the first words ever said on ITV in the UK, while her sister Laura has also been a TV presenter.

Michael Kilgarriff (Cyber Controller) Born Jun 16 1937
Doctor Who credits
Played: Cyber Controller in The Tomb of the Cybermen (1967), Attack of the Cybermen (1985)
Played: Ogron in Frontier in Space (1972)
Played: Robot K1 in Robot (1974-75)
Career highlights
6ft 6in Michael's other appearances include Whack-O! (1959), The Golden Spur (1959), We Joined the Navy (1962), Taxi! (1963), UFO (1970), Aquarius (1972), Men of Affairs (1974), The Upchat Line (1977), The Moon Stallion (1978), 3-2-1 (1979), The Borgias (1981), Artists and Models (1986) and Tipping the Velvet (2002). Michael has also done a lot of voice work, including Obelix in the English version of The Twelve Tasks of Asterix (1976), the General in The Dark Crystal (1982), various voices in The Storyteller (1987-88), Watt's uncle in Watt on Earth (1991), Mr Crotchit in Oscar's Orchestra (1995), the Ogre in the English version of Snow White: The Sequel (2007), God in Albert's Speech (2008) and Lenigrast in the video game Dark Souls II (2014).
Facts
Michael, who is 6ft 6in tall, is a music hall enthusiast, and wrote what is considered the definitive guide to music hall songs, Sing Us One of the Old Songs: A Guide to Popular Song from 1860-1920 (1998), as well as Grace, Beauty and Banjos (1999) and various children's joke books in the 1970s and 80s. For 36 years Michael was Mr Chairman at the Players' Theatre Victorian music hall. Michael also once established a theatre company specialising in corporate work as well as music hall, with fellow music hall enthusiast Johnny Dennis (who himself appeared in Delta and the Bannermen (1987) - indeed, Johnny was best man at Michael's wedding to his wife Sarah in 1968).
In 2017 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Michael here.

Terry Molloy (Russell) Born Jan 4 1947
Doctor Who credits
Played: Davros in Resurrection of the Daleks (1984), Revelation of the Daleks (1985), Remembrance of the Daleks (1988)
Played: Russell in Attack of the Cybermen (1985)
Career highlights
Debuted in God's Wonderful Railway (1980), then Radio Phoenix (1982), Connie (1985), Oliver Twist (1985), A Sort of Innocence (1987), Crossroads (1987), French and Saunders (1988), Tales of Sherwood Forest (1989), Chalkface (1991), Dangerfield (1998), Urban Gothic (2000), Kingdom (2008), In Love with Alma Cogan (2012), Kosmos (2015), ChickLit (2016) and Anoraks (2017). Terry has been playing Davros for Big Finish audio productions since 2003. His voice will be well-known to fans of BBC Radio 4 soap The Archers as that of Mike Tucker since 1973.
Facts
In the 1960s, Terry played saxophone in a soul band called The T-Bunkum Band in Liverpool, even appearing at famous Beatles venue The Cavern Club.

Brian Orrell (Cyber Lieutenant) Born Sep 26 1948
Doctor Who credits
Played: Cyber Lieutenant in Attack of the Cybermen (1985)
Played: Cyberman in Silver Nemesis (1988)
Career highlights
Other credits include The Union (1981), Ladykillers (1981), Young Sherlock: The Mystery of the Manor House (1982), Icebound in the Antarctic (1983) and Work! (1992).
Facts
Brian was originally cast as a generic Cyberman, but was upgraded to Cyber Lieutenant when that part's original actor Jonathan David was upgraded to play Stratton. In later years Brian became a key figure in the UK Liberal Democrat party, becoming London Candidates Chair having overall responsibility for the approval and selection of all LibDem election candidates in London for 73 constituencies, as well as London Mayor. He is also a former Chairman of the LibDems' London Region, and inaugural Chairman of the English Candidates' Committee and Chairman of the English State Party. He also served on the Federal Executive for eight years, and also coaches party members in voice skills.

Stephen Wale (David)
Career highlights
Stephen's other credits include Headmaster (1977), Days at the Beach (1981), Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime (1983), Mr Palfrey of Westminster (1984), Much Ado About Nothing (1984) and The Bill (1991).
Facts
Here he is, on Twitter!

CREW

Paula Moore (writer)
Paula Woolsey was script editor Eric Saward's former girlfriend at the time of this story's production. Much controversy surrounds the authorship of Attack of the Cybermen - Doctor Who fan and historian Ian Levine, who worked as a continuity advisor to the series at the time, claims he developed the story based upon series mythology, while Saward insists he wrote it based upon Woolsey's draft contribution. Saward could not be credited on screen for authorship under then BBC rules, and Levine's deal with the production office meant he was not allowed an on screen credit either, so it was decided to credit the story to "Paula Moore". It is Paula Woolsey who still collects the residuals from the story, although it was intended to have been just 10%. The disagreement between Saward and Levine over authorship of the story still rages today; Saward claims he no longer speaks to Woolsey.

Matthew Robinson (director) Born Jul 27 1944
Doctor Who credits
Directed: Resurrection of the Daleks (1984), Attack of the Cybermen (1985)
Career highlights
Matthew started out directing Beryl's Lot (1975), Z Cars (1975-76), Crown Court (1976/79), Sally Ann (1979), Angels (1980-81), Coronation Street (1977/82), The Practice (1986), Howards' Way (1987), EastEnders (1985-87), Byker Grove (1989-92) and Taste of Life (2004). He also graduated into producing, such as Byker Grove, EastEnders (1998-2000), Servants (2003) and AirWaves (2010).
Awards
1999: BAFTA TV Award for Best Soap (EastEnders)
1999: British Soap Award for Best Storyline (EastEnders) - shared with Martine McCutcheon
2000: BAFTA TV Award for Best Soap (EastEnders)
Facts
Matthew's brother is musician, DJ and former gay activist Tom Robinson. Matthew was head of drama for BBC Wales between 2000-03. In 2003, his career took him to Cambodia, where he subsequently set up a film and TV production company in Phnom Penh called Khmer Mekong Films. He even has his own poetry website.

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