Doctor Who Cast & Crew Guide: April 2013

Friday, April 19, 2013

Marco Polo

Marco (Mark Eden), Tegana (Derren
Nesbitt) and the Doctor (William Hartnell)

First broadcast Feb 22 to Apr 4 1964

1. The Roof of the World (9.4m)

2. The Singing Sands (9.4m)

3. Five Hundred Eyes (9.4m)

4. The Wall of Lies (9.9m)

5. Rider from Shang-Tu (9.4m)

6. Mighty Kublai Khan (8.4m)

7. Assassin at Peking (10.4m)
Average audience for serial: 9.47m

A pictorial guide to the guest cast can be found at the bottom of this entry. Read an episode-by-episode review of this story at Time Space Visualiser here!

Facts

Gabor's family were persecuted as Jews during the Second World War, resulting in his family's shops being confiscated and his parents and sister sent to a concentration camp. Gabor himself was sent to a Nazi labour camp, helping to construct railroads. After training as an actor, Gabor emigrated to Australia, but after buying a bicycle, he was knocked off and spent two months in hospital, where the nurses taught him to speak English. Gabor emigrated to the UK in 1962. He passed away in Algeria.

Leslie Bates (Man at Lop) Died January 14th 2014
Doctor Who credits
Played: Shadow [the one cast across the TARDIS at the end of episode 1] in An Unearthly Child (1963, uncredited)
Played: Tribesman in An Unearthly Child (1963, uncredited)
Played: Man at Lop in Marco Polo (1964)
Played: Mongol warrior/ bandit in Marco Polo (1964, uncredited)
Played: Guard in The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve (1966), Frontier in Space (1973, uncredited), The Green Death (1973, uncredited), Planet of the Spiders (1974, uncredited)
Played: Villager at inn/ pirate in The Smugglers (1966, uncredited)

Played: Soldier in The Highlanders (1966/67, uncredited), The War Games (1969, uncredited), Invasion of the Dinosaurs (1974, uncredited)
Played: BBC3 TV crewmember in The Daemons (1971, uncredited)
Played: Draconian in Frontier in Space (1973, uncredited)

Played: Exxilon in Death to the Daleks (1974, uncredited)

Played: Time Lord in The Deadly Assassin (1976, uncredited)

Played: Bi-Al member in The Invisible Enemy (1977, uncredited)
Career highlights
Other work included Barnaby Rudge (1960), The Ghost Sonata (1962), Moonstrike (1963), Adam Adamant Lives! (1966), The Newcomers (1966/67), Ivanhoe (1970), Moonbase 3 (1973), David Copperfield (1974) and George and Mildred (1978), as well as 13 episodes of Z Cars between 1962-77.

Paul Carson (Ling-Tau) August 18th 1934 to February 3rd 1989
Career highlights
Later appeared in No Hiding Place (1964), Love Story (1964), A Countess from Hong Kong (1967) and You Only Live Twice (1967).

Facts

Born in the USA, Paul moved to Tokyo in 1951 when he was 17 and became drama critic of the Nippon Times before returning to the States in 1953. After several years in the US Air Force, he then moved to the UK in 1959 and became an actor until retiring from the profession in 1975. He later worked as a waiter in New York and Dallas. Paul was, for a brief time, engaged to be married to Hollywood star Kim Novak. In the 1960s he was married to historian and author Annette Carson.

Claire Davenport (Empress) April 24th 1933 to February 25th 2002 (kidney failure)
Career highlights
Claire debuted in Bulldog Breed (1962), then The Rag Trade (1963, as Myrtle), The Baron (1966), Queenie's Castle (1971), On the Buses (1971/73), Shoulder to Shoulder (1974), Fawlty Towers (1975), I Didn't Know You Cared (1975-78), Couples (1976), Adventures of a Plumber's Mate (1978), Carry On Emmannuelle (1978), The Elephant Man (1980), Sink or Swim (1981), By the Sword Divided (1983-85), Alice in Wonderland (1986), Camping (1990) and The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer (1993). One of her most unusual roles was as the buxom Askajian dancer, Yarna d'al' Gargan, in Jabba's palace in Return of the Jedi (1983).
Facts
Before becoming an actor, Claire was a teacher in the late 1950s. A series of strokes in the 1990s hampered her acting career.

Mark Eden (Marco Polo) February 14th 1928 to January 1st 2021 (Alzheimer's Disease)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Marco Polo in Marco Polo (1964)
Played: Donald Baverstock in An Adventure in Space and Time (2013)
Career highlights
Mark debuted in Quatermass and the Pit (1958), then took roles in The Password is Courage (1962), Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964), Catch Hand (1964), Doctor Zhivago (1965), The Prisoner (1967), Crime Buster (1968), Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968), Clouds of Witness (1972), Poldark (1975), Jesus of Nazareth (1977), The Detective (1985), Cluedo (1991), Agatha Christie's Poirot (1993), Doctors (2002/06) and Casualty (2008). His most memorable role was as the villainous Alan Bradley in Coronation Street (1986-89).
Facts
Mark received little formal education as a child as he spent two years in a tuberculosis sanatorium. His first wife was Joan Long, who went on to marry actor John Le Mesurier, while his third wife was Coronation Street actress Sue Nicholls. His granddaughter is actress Emma Griffiths Malin, best known for her role as Louise in The Cazalets. In 2013, he co-wrote a musical about the Beach Boys.

Jimmy Gardner (Chenchu) August 24th 1924 to May 3rd 2010 (pneumonia)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Chenchu in Marco Polo (1964)
Played: Idmon in Underworld (1979)
Career highlights
Jimmy first appeared in Tyger's Hart (1954), then Stranger in the City (1962), The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964), The Elusive Pimpernel (1969), 10 Rillington Place (1971), The XYY Man (1977), Coronation Street (1978), The Company of Wolves (1984), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), Martin Chuzzlewit (1994), My Hero (2002), Finding Neverland (2004) and Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005). He played Ernie Prang, driver of the Knight Bus, in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004).
Facts
Before becoming an actor, Jimmy worked as both a clapper boy at Gainsborough Studios, and as playwright John Osborne's personal driver. Jimmy's father Teddy was a jockey; he won the Epsom Oaks riding Pogrom in 1922 and the 1,000 Guineas in 1923 riding Tranquil, and came second in the 1923 Epsom Derby riding Pharos. Jimmy was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal as an air gunner with No. 10 Squadron during World War Two. The medal was one of several stolen by thieves from the Yorkshire Air Museum in 2014.

Michael Guest (Mongol bandit)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Mongol bandit in Marco Polo (1964)

Played: Man-at-arms in The Crusade (1965, uncredited)
Played: Saxon hunter in The Time Meddler (1965)
Played: Interviewer in The Daleks' Master Plan (1965-66)
Career highlights
His acting debut came in Escape (1957), then Quatermass and the Pit (1958-59), Pathfinders in Space (1960), Compact (1963), R3 (1965), The Champions (1968), Menace (1970), Upstairs, Downstairs (1972), Special Branch (1974) and Dixon of Dock Green (1974/75).

O. Ikeda (Yeng)

Doctor Who credits

Played: Yeng in Marco Polo (1964)

Played: Attendant in Marco Polo (1964, uncredited)
This was his only credit.

Peter Lawrence (Vizier) September 1st 1924 to February 9th 1998 (heart attack)
Career highlights
Further work included How Green was My Valley (1960), The Arthur Askey Show (1960), The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling (1964), Department S (1969), Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (1970), The Befrienders (1970), The Carnforth Practice (1974), Through the Night (1975) and The Spongers (1978). He regularly played PC Sam Moneypenny in Weavers Green (1966) and Detective Inspector Rigby in soap Crossroads (1965/72).

Facts

It is estimated that Peter appeared in the UK touring production of Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat more than 6,000 times over the decades. An obituary which appeared in the Scottish Herald claims his first film role was aged 10 in Penny Points to Heaven, as part of the Jack Lewis Singing Scholars. However, no such film exists, but there was a film called The Penny Pool, dating from 1937, featuring the Singing Scholars, which would make Peter 13 at the time. It's possible they are one and the same. Peter suffered a massive heart attack and died while holidaying in Tunisia.

Tutte Lemkow (Kuiju) August 28th 1918 to November 10th 1991 (leukaemia)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Kuiju in Marco Polo (1964)
Played: Ibrahim in The Crusade (1965)
Played: Cyclops in The Myth Makers (1965)
Choreographed: The Celestial Toymaker (1966)
Career highlights
Norwegian born Tutte had a long career appearing in The Lost People (1949), Moulin Rouge (1952), Hancock's Half Hour (1957), The Guns of Navarone (1961), The Moon-Spinners (1964), The Wrong Box (1966), Fiddler on the Roof (1971, as the title character), Theatre of Blood (1973), Huntingtower (1978), Sphinx (1981), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Red Sonja (1985). He was also an experienced choreographer, including on Casino Royale (1967), and helped adapt Ibsen's The Wild Duck (1983) for film, for which he was nominated for an Australian Film Institute Award.
Facts
Tutte's first wife between 1944-53 was Swedish actress Mai Zetterling, after which he married Ballet Rambert dancer Sara Luzita. A biography of Tutte's life was published in Oslo in 1989.

Zienia Merton (Ping-Cho) December 11th 1945 to September 14th 2018 (cancer)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Ping-Cho in Marco Polo (1964)
Played: Registrar in The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith (2009)
Career highlights
Burmese born Zienia debuted in Masters of Venus (1962), then had roles in The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling (1964), Help! (1965), The Chairman (1969), Strange Report (1969), The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970), Casanova (1971), Jason King (1972), Beryl's Lot (1973), The Wilde Alliance (1978), The Other Side (1979), The History Man (1981), Bergerac (1983), The Brief (1984), Tenko (1984), Grange Hill (1985), Lovejoy (1986), Chiller (1995), Crime Traveller (1997), The Lakes (1997), Family Affairs (2000), Dinotopia (2002), Judge John Deed (2006), Coronation Street (2008), Wire in the Blood (2008), Law and Order UK (2009) and Wizards vs Aliens (2013). She regularly played Sandra Benes in 35 episodes of Space: 1999 (1975-77).
Facts
In the pilot episode of Space: 1999, the moon is blasted out of Earth's orbit on September 13th, 1999. By sad coincidence, Zienia passed away on September 14th, 19 years later. In another nice piece of closure, one of the first TV jobs Zienia had was Marco Polo, and 55 years later the very last work she completed before her death was the narration for the BBC audiobook of the Marco Polo novelisation (released posthumously).

Martin Miller (Kublai Khan) September 2nd 1899 to August 26th 1969 (heart attack)
Career highlights
Czech-born Martin's career began in Squadron Leader X (1943), then Night Boat to Dublin (1946), Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948), The Gamma People (1956), Peeping Tom (1960), Children of the Damned (1963), The Pink Panther (1963) and Department S (1969). He died just a week before his 70th birthday while filming the Michael Caine/ Omar Sharif film The Last Valley (1971) in Austria.
Facts
After fleeing from the persecution of the Jews in Nazi Germany, Martin (born Rudolph Muller) established the Little Viennese Theatre in Britain in 1939. During the 1950s, he appeared in over 1,000 performances of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap as Mr Paravacini on stage. He was married to actor Hannah Norbert. While filming in Austria for the movie The Last Valley (finally released in 1971), Martin suffered a fatal heart attack. Martin's son is Daniel Miller, founder of Mute Records and the man behind the 1978 single Warm Leatherette by The Normal. He was also instrumental in the early days of synth-pop band Depeche Mode.

Derren Nesbitt (Tegana) Born June 19th 1935
Career highlights
Derren's first credit was in Sword of Freedom (1957), followed by Room at the Top (1959), Victim (1961), The Rat Catchers (1967), The Prisoner (1967), Where Eagles Dare (1968), Monte Carlo or Bust (1969), Burke and Hare (1972), Spy Story (1976), Return of the Saint (1979), The Chinese Detective (1982), Eat the Rich (1987), Bullseye! (1990), Hale and Pace (1993), Flawless (2007), Home for Christmas (2014), Tucked (2018) and The Haunting of Margam Castle (2020). He had recurring roles as Campbell Goffin in Emergency Ward 10 (1963), DCI Jordan in Special Branch (1969-70) and Judge Arnold Francis in The Courtroom (2004). He also wrote, directed and produced sex comedy The Amorous Milkman in 1975, based on his 1973 novel.
Facts
Derren's father was Harry Nesbitt, one half of a South African close harmony-singing duo (with Derren's uncle Max). Derren's career was damaged in 1973 when he was convicted of assault causing actual bodily harm on his wife, actress Anne Aubrey. He thrashed her on the bare buttocks with a leather strap after she admitted to having an affair. He was fined £250, and they divorced soon after.

Basil Tang (Office foreman) December 22nd 1912 to December 19th 2000
Doctor Who credits
Played: Office foreman in Marco Polo (1964)

Played: Passenger in The Faceless Ones (1967, uncredited)

Played: Chauffeur in The Mind of Evil (1971, uncredited)
Played: Chinese delegate in Day of the Daleks (1972, uncredited)
Played: Coolie in The Talons of Weng-Chiang (1977, uncredited)
Career highlights
Other work includes Adam Adamant Lives! (1966), Callan (1967), Monty Python's Flying Circus (1970) and Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers (1977).

Philip Voss (Acomat) August 20th 1936 to November 13th 2020 (cancer and complications from coronavirus)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Acomat in Marco Polo (1964)
Played: Wahed in The Dominators (1968)
Career highlights
Philip's debut came in Top Secret (1962), then Suspense (1963), No Hiding Place (1964), The Troubleshooters (1970), Elizabeth R (1971), Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1973), Melissa (1974), Lillie (1978), Ladykillers (1980), Octopussy (1983), Clockwise (1986), Inspector Morse (1987), Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Boon (1995), Let Them Eat Cake (1999), Fish (2000), North Square (2000), The Brides in the Bath (2003), About Time (2013) and Vicious (2013-16).

Facts

Philip's life partner was screen writer John Peacock, who wrote the screenplays for Hammer's Straight On Till Morning and To the Devil, a Daughter.
In 2014 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Philip here.

Charles Wade (Malik) April 2nd 1901 to December 14th 1968
Career highlights
Other screen work includes Red Peppers (1937), King of the Congo (1938), Send for Paul Temple (1946), Down Our Street (1949), The Gilded Cage (1955), Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1956), David Copperfield (1956), Paul of Tarsus (1960), The Avengers (1961), Dixon of Dock Green (1965) and Z Cars (1967).

UNCREDITED GUEST CAST

Gordon Bremworth (Mongol bandit; Palace guard)

Ronald Chee (Palace guard)

Stanley Chen (Mongol bandit) A Stanley Chen married a Leonie Robertson in Lambeth, London, in 1959. This could be him, as no other Stanley Chens come up in restricted UK BMD searches.

Su Chin (Attendant to the Empress)

Robert Chow (Traveller to Peking; Courtier)

Clem Choy (Mongol warrior; Chinese villager; Attendant to Ping-Cho; Palace guard; Litter bearer; Soldier) May 21 1944 to Dec 28 2010. A Clement C Choy married a Mary P McSweeney in Wandsworth, London, in 1967. In 2013, their son Jason completed a London to Paris sponsored cycle ride in aid of Macmillan Cancer Care, stating on his Just Giving page that he lost both his parents to cancer at a relatively young age. The site has a photo of Clem and Mary on their wedding day.

Harry Dillon (Spittoon bearer to the Khan) Harry also appeared in three episodes of the 1965 series Volpone.

Eton F'Ong (Mongol porter; Courtier)

Kay Fong (Noblewoman; Courtier)

Maung Hlashwe (Mongol porter; Courtier)

Irene Ho (Chinese villager)

John Lee (Mongolian warrior; Litter bearer; Palace guard)

Philip Lee (Palace guard)

Boon Wan Lee (Mongol porter)

Violet Leon (Chinese lady of quality; Traveller to Peking; Courtier) Violet was the great-aunt of Peter Ware, journalist on Doctor Who Magazine 2007-2023.

L.L Lim (Mongol porter) Paperwork also lists a Lloyd Lam as playing uncredited Traveller to Peking and Courtier in 'Mighty Kublai Khan'. Could Lloyd Lam and L.L Lim be one and the same?

Henry Loy (Mongol porter; Courtier) Henry and Iris could well have been related.

Iris Loy (Courtier) Iris and Henry could well have been related.

Carlton Ngui (Palace guard) Artist Marc Ngui mentions that his father was named Carlton Ngui on his website. As it is such an unusual name, it's possible this is the same man. Marc was born in Guyana and later moved to Canada.

W A Scully (Courtier)

Suk Hee S'Hng (Attendant at Wang-Lo's inn; Courtier)

Peggy Sirr (Chinese lady; Traveller to Peking; Courtier) Mar 14 1929 to Dec 5 2021. Burmese-born Peggy ran the Oriental Casting Agency between 1991-2015. She had a recurring role as Jo in the 1985-87 series The Mistress.

Doreen Tang (Attendant to the Empress) It's possible Doreen was related to Basil Tang, who was credited as playing Office foreman (see above).

Aman Tokyo (Mongol porter; Attendant at Wang-Lo's inn; Courtier)

Roy Vincente (Mongol bandit; Courtier) Died 1994. Roy worked as a stuntman on series such as Man in a Suitcase, Strange Report and The Protectors, and the Bond film You Only Live Twice.

Ying Wiu (Servant at Way Inn; Courtier)

Santos Wong (Mongol bandit; Palace guard) It's possible his name was actually Santso Wong, but there is a 'Santos' credited on Theatricalia as appearing in a production of The World of Suzie Wong at the Prince of Wales Theatre, London, in 1959, and a 'Santso' on IMDB as appearing in 1961's The Terror of the Tongs (as well as Doctor Who).

CREW

John Lucarotti (writer) May 20th 1926 to November 20th 1994 (spinal cancer)
Doctor Who credits
Wrote: Marco Polo (1964), The Aztecs (1964), The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve (1966), The Ark in Space (provided idea for story, uncredited, 1975)
Career highlights
John's writing career began in 1954 with Playbill, followed by work on Tomahawk (1957), Encounter (1958), City Beneath the Sea (1962), Dimensions of Fear (1963), Secret Beneath the Sea (1963), Ghost Squad (1963), Dr Finlay's Casebook (1965), The Avengers (1961-65), The Troubleshooters (1965-70), Joe 90 (1969), Paul Temple (1971), Moonbase 3 (1973), Operation Patch (1976), Star Maidens (1976), The Onedin Line (1974/78), The Ravelled Thread (1979-80) and Into the Labyrinth (1981). He also worked for French and Swiss television.
Facts
In November 1990, John wrote a short story under the Brief Encounter banner for Doctor Who Magazine (issue 167), later to become known as The Meeting. It featured the First Doctor, and was his final completed work before his death.

Waris Hussein (director, episodes 1-3 & 5-7) Born December 9th 1938 Click here for Waris Hussein's entry on An Unearthly Child

John Crockett (director, episode 4) January 31st 1918 to October 11th 1986
Doctor Who credits
Directed: Marco Polo (episode 4, 1964), The Aztecs (1964)
Career highlights
John began his career with a travelling theatre company called The Compass Theatre, taking quality drama to people who might not ordinarily get to see it, and then he moved into directing stage productions. It was this that led to his brief TV directing career on Suspense (1963) and Compact (1964-65), after which he became an art teacher in Somerset.
Facts
John's mother was Jessie Thomson, daughter of William Sinclair Thomson, physician to Queen Victoria, while his wife was Anne Stern, daughter of Dr William Stern, who was instrumental in the development of the jet engine. Devout Catholics John and Anne spent their final years as oblates at the Benedictine monastery Prinknash Abbey in Gloucestershire, where they are now buried.

Verity Lambert (producer) November 27th 1935 to November 22nd 2007 (cancer) Click here for Verity Lambert's entry on An Unearthly Child

Mervyn Pinfield (associate producer) February 28th 1912 to May 20th 1966 Click here for Mervyn Pinfield's entry on An Unearthly Child

David Whitaker (story editor) April 18th 1928 to February 4th 1980 (lymphoma) Click here for David Whitaker's entry on An Unearthly Child

Click to enlarge

Saturday, April 13, 2013

The Edge of Destruction (aka Inside the Spaceship)

Barbara, the Doctor and Ian on
the brink of disaster

First broadcast Feb 8 to 15 1964

1. The Edge of Destruction (10.4m)

2. The Brink of Disaster (9.9m)
Average audience for serial: 10.15m

Read an episode-by-episode review of this story at Time Space Visualiser here!

CAST

William Hartnell (The Doctor) January 8th 1908 to April 23rd 1975 (heart failure after a series of strokes) For a full career biography for William Hartnell, click here.

William Russell (Ian Chesterton) November 19th 1924 to June 3rd 2024 For a full career biography for William Russell (aka Russell Enoch), click here.

Jacqueline Hill (Barbara Wright) December 17th 1929 to February 18th 1993 (bone cancer) For a full career biography for Jacqueline Hill, click here.

Carole Ann Ford (Susan) Born June 16th 1940 For a full career biography for Carole Ann Ford, click here.

CREW

David Whitaker (writer and story editor) April 18th 1928 to February 4th 1980 (lymphoma) Click here for David Whitaker's entry on An Unearthly Child

Richard Martin (director, episode 1) Born January 3rd 1935 Click here for Richard Martin's entry on The Daleks

Frank Cox (director, episode 2) May 28th 1940 to April 27th 2021
Doctor Who credits
Directed: The Edge of Destruction (episode 2, 1964), The Sensorites (episodes 5-6, 1964)
Career highlights
Frank's first directing job was on Doctor Who, followed by work on The Revenue Men (1967), The Troubleshooters (1969), Doomwatch (1970), The View from Daniel Pike (1973), Warship (1973), Sutherland's Law (1974), Softly Softly: Task Force (1969-1976), Byron: A Personal Tour (1981), The Brief (1984), Flying Lady (1987), EastEnders (1988) and High Road (1990-91). He also produced Sutherland's Law (1974-76), A Life at Stake (1978), Spy! (1980), Escape (1980), CATS Eyes (1985) and High Road (1992-93).
Facts
Frank's wife was actress Bridget Turner, who appeared in the 2007 story Gridlock.

Verity Lambert (producer) November 27th 1935 to November 22nd 2007 (cancer) Click here for Verity Lambert's entry on An Unearthly Child

Mervyn Pinfield (associate producer) February 28th 1912 to May 20th 1966 Click here for Mervyn Pinfield's entry on An Unearthly Child

Saturday, April 06, 2013

The Daleks (aka The Dead Planet & The Mutants)

The iconic cliffhanger to episode one,
featuring Jacqueline Hill

First broadcast Dec 21 1963 to Feb 1 1964

1. The Dead Planet (6.9m)

2. The Survivors (6.4m)

3.The Escape (8.9m)

4. The Ambush (9.9m)

5. The Expedition (9.9m)

6. The Ordeal (10.4m)

7. The Rescue (10.4m)
Average audience for serial: 8.97m

A pictorial guide to the guest cast (Thals and Dalek operators/ voices) can be found at the bottom of this entry. Read an episode-by-episode review of this story at Time Space Visualiser here!

REGULAR CAST

William Hartnell (The Doctor) January 8th 1908 to April 23rd 1975 (heart failure after a series of strokes) For a full career biography for William Hartnell, click here.

William Russell (Ian Chesterton) November 19th 1924 to June 3rd 2024 For a full career biography for William Russell (aka Russell Enoch), click here.

Jacqueline Hill (Barbara Wright) December 17th 1929 to February 18th 1993 (bone cancer) For a full career biography for Jacqueline Hill, click here.

Carole Ann Ford (Susan) Born June 16th 1940 For a full career biography for Carole Ann Ford, click here.

CREDITED GUEST CAST

Philip Bond (Ganatus) November 1st 1934 to January 17th 2017
Career highlights
Philip's career began with Count Five and Die (1957), then The Voodoo Factor (1960), Walk a Crooked Mile (1961), Redcap (1965), The Avengers (1969), Jason King (1971), The Children of the New Forest (1977), The Sandbaggers (1980), Only Fools and Horses (1985), Lovejoy (1993), Fever Pitch (1997) and Midsomer Murders (2007). He also had a recurring role as Albert Frazer in The Onedin Line (1971-72) and Peter Findon in The Main Chance (1969-75).
Facts
Philip's daughter is actress Samantha Bond, best known as Miss Moneypenny in the Pierce Brosnan 007 films (1995-2002), as well as villainous Mrs Wormwood in The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007-08). He was married for a time to TV producer Pat Sandys (best known for helming soap EastEnders in the early-1990s). He died while holidaying in Madeira.

Chris Browning (Thal) March 11th 1939 to August 4th 2019
His only acting credit. Chris was also the double for Alydon's hand in episode 2.

Facts

An October 1963 edition of The People claims that Chris, who it reported had also appeared in Z Cars and Compact by that time, was being sued for not going through with a marriage proposal to 19-year-old bank clerk, Jennifer Soul. With thanks to Toby Hadoke.

Katie Cashfield (Thal) Born April 6th 1937
Career highlights
Katie's first role was in Nudist Paradise (1958), followed by Naked Fury (1959), The Ken Dodd Show (1961), Crying Down the Lane (1962) and Steptoe and Son (1964). She also appeared as a showgirl in the BBC's Christmas Night with the Stars programme in 1959.

Jonathan Crane (Kristas)
His only acting credit.

Gerald Curtis (Elyon)
His only other acting credit was Nightfall at Kriekville (1961).

Vez Delahunt (Thal)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Thal in The Daleks (1963-64)

Played: Galley slave in The Romans (1965, uncredited)

Played: Dead centurion in The Romans (1965, uncredited)
Played: UNIT soldier in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970, uncredited)
Career highlights
Vez was also in Z Cars (1962), Moonstrike (1963), Up the Junction (1965), Breaking Point (1966), Sherlock Holmes (1968) and Eddie in August (1970).

Kevin Glenny (Thal) Born January 6th 1945
His only acting credit, although he did appear as a stunt performer and bit-part player in many productions, including The Battle of Britain (1969). In later years he became a good friend of Whittlesey Christian Church in Cambridgeshire.

David Graham (Dalek voice) July 11th 1925 to September 20th 2024
Doctor Who credits
Played: Voice of the Daleks in The Daleks (1963-64), The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964), The Chase (1965), Dr Who and the Daleks (1965, film), Mission to the Unknown (1965), The Daleks' Master Plan (1965-66), Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 AD (1966, film), The Daleks (2023 edit)
Played: Voice of the Mechanoids in The Chase (1965)
Played: Charlie in The Gunfighters (1966)
Played: Professor Kerensky in City of Death (1979)
Career highlights
David's acting career began in 1952 with the TV movie Portrait of Peter Perowne, followed by roles in Dial 999 (1959), The Avengers (1963), Danger Man (1965), Late Night Horror (1968), Timeslip (1970-71), Supergirl (1984), Shadow of the Noose (1989), Casualty (2002) and The Fixer (2008). David has also given his vocal skills to many series over the years, including Four Feather Falls (1960, as Fernando and Grandpa Twink), Sara and Hoppity (1962), Supercar (1961-62, as Dr Horatio Beaker, Mitch the Monkey and Bill Gibson), Fireball XL5 (1962-63, as Prof Matthew Matic, Lieutenant Ninety and Zoonie the Lazoon), Stingray (1964-65), Thunderbirds (1965-66, as Gordon Tracy, Parker and Brains), The Secret Service (1969), Space Precinct (1995), Peppa Pig (2004-16, as Grandpa Pig), and the relaunched Thunderbirds Are Go (2015-18, as Parker). He also provided English voices for Moomin (1990) and had a recurring role in the sitcom So Haunt Me (1992-94) as Mr Bloom. In 2015, he wrote an episode of Thunderbirds Are Go called The Abominable Snowman.

Facts

David suffered a stroke in 2020 and became largely housebound after that.
In 2018 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with David here.

Marcus Hammond (Antodus) Born 1938
Career highlights
Further work includes No Cloak - No Dagger (1963), The Plague of the Zombies (1966), Kate (1970) and Paul Temple (1971), as well as a regular role as PC Taylor in Z Cars (1964-65).

Facts

Marcus ran an art gallery in Somerset in the 1990s using his real name of John Hammond.

Ruth Harrison (Thal)

Doctor Who credits

Played: Thal in The Daleks (1963-64)

Played: Shelterer in The Enemy of the World (1967-68, uncredited)
Career highlights
Also had small roles in Once Upon a Christmas Time (1959), The Pure Hell of St Trinian's (1960), The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961), Carry On Cruising (1962), Londoners (1965), Scott On... (1968), Doctor in the House (1969), Up Pompeii (1969), The Doctors (1969) and Clochemerle (1972).

Peter Hawkins (Dalek voice) April 3rd 1924 to July 8th 2006 (pneumonia)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Voice of the Daleks in The Daleks (1963-64), The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964), The Space Museum (1965), The Chase (1965), Dr Who and the Daleks (1965, film), Mission to the Unknown (1965), The Daleks' Master Plan (1965-66), Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 AD (1966, film), The Power of the Daleks (1966), The Evil of the Daleks (1967)
Played: Voice of the Cybermen in The Tenth Planet (1966), The Moonbase (1967), The Tomb of the Cybermen (1967), The Wheel in Space (1968)
Played: Voice of Marc Cory in The Daleks' Master Plan (1965-66)
Career highlights
Peter also provided memorable voices for series such as Whirligig (1950), The Flowerpot Men (1952), The Woodentops (1955), A Rubovian Legend (1955-56), Captain Pugwash (1957), Bleep and Booster (1963), Stories from ToyTown (1972), Rainbow (1972, as Zippy), The Perishers (1978), SuperTed (1982-84), The Family Ness (1984), Jimbo and the Jet-Set (1986) and Penny Crayon (1989-90), among others. He was also the legendary announcer for "Herge's Adventures of Tintin!" and the laughing Martian robots from the Smash adverts. Acting credits include The Machine Breakers (1957), Softly Softly (1966), A Family at War (1971), Dial M for Murder (1974) and The Four Corners of Nowhere (1995).
Facts
Peter was originally going to provide the voice of Gromit the dog of Wallace and Gromit fame (1989), but animator Nick Park decided he was more expressive without a voice. He was also considered to provide the voice of K-9, before the part went to John Leeson. However, none of the legendary voices Peter created in his lifetime would have happened if he had not survived the sinking of HMS Limbourne in Canada in 1943. He was married to actress Rosemary Miller. Peter was a lifelong smoker, which resulted in bouts of eczema, which his wife would constantly dress. In 1992, he had an operation to remove a brain tumour, which left him drowsy and unable to read. Ironically, Peter died on the same day Doctor Who's first ever Dalek/ Cyberman battle was broadcast in Doomsday (2006). His ashes were scattered at Fermain Bay, Guernsey, where HMS Limbourne sank.

Lesley Hill (Thal) Born March 26th 1944
Career highlights
Lesley was born with the surname of Hill, but later changed it to Langley as it was more "artistic". As Lesley Hill, she also appeared in the 1964 Comedy Playhouse The Hen House, and after changing her name to Lesley Langley appeared uncredited as a flying circus pilot in the James Bond film Goldfinger (1964), with later appearances in Juke Box Jury (1965), The Arthur Haynes Show (1965) and Hope and Keen (1966). In 1992 she appeared on an episode of daytime talk show Kilroy, and ten years later on After They Were Famous.
Facts
While Lesley's acting career may have been limited, she found much wider success and fame by winning both Miss United Kingdom, and then Miss World, in 1965 (the second Miss UK to win Miss World in a row). As a result of her wins, she posed for pictorials with the men's magazines Cavalcade, Cavalier, Penthouse and Escapade. Lesley was for a time married to jazz musician Alan Haven, who collaborated with John Barry on the score for the Bond films From Russia with Love and Goldfinger. In later life Lesley worked as a dentist's assistant.

Robert Jewell (Dalek operator) January 20th 1920 to May 10th 1998
Doctor Who credits
Played: Daleks in The Daleks (1963-64), The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964), The Chase (1965), Dr Who and the Daleks (1965, film), Mission to the Unknown (1965), The Daleks' Master Plan (1965-66), Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 AD (1966, film), The Power of the Daleks (1966), The Evil of the Daleks (1967), The War Games (1969)
Played: Zarbi in The Web Planet (1965)
Played: Clown [Bing Crosby] in The Daleks' Master Plan (1965-66)
Played: Macra in The Macra Terror (1967)
Career highlights
His other credits include Consider Your Verdict (1962), The Terrornauts (1967), various roles in Prisoner: Cell Block H (1979-86) and The Flying Doctors (1987).

John Lee (Alydon) March 31st 1928 to December 21st 2000 (natural causes)
Career highlights
Australian John's debut came in Beyond the River (1956), then Adventures of the Sea Hawk (1958, as Peter Seaforth), The Net (1962, as Jim Haworth), Dr Crippen (1962), Paul Temple (1969), Marked Personal (1973), Cop Shop (1977), Mission: Impossible (1989), Blue Heelers (1997), Everybody Loves Raymond (1997) and Moby Dick (1998). He also had regular roles as Lieutenant Commander Kiley in Warship (1973-77), Christopher Bridgewater in The Wilde Alliance (1978), Andrew Reynolds in Prisoner: Cell Block H (1980), Philip Stewart in Return to Eden (1983/86) and perhaps most memorably as Len Mangel in Neighbours (1994).

Kevin Manser (Dalek operator) February 16th 1929 to December 21st 2001 (bowel cancer)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Daleks in The Daleks (1963-64), The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964), The Chase (1965), Dr Who and the Daleks (1965, film), Mission to the Unknown (1965), The Daleks' Master Plan (1965-66), The Power of the Daleks (1966)
Played: Zarbi in The Web Planet (1965)
Career highlights
Kevin was born in Australia and after emigrating to the UK in 1957, started his acting career in the 1960s in The Big Spender (1965) and A Countess from Hong Kong (1967). He returned Down Under in 1969 to continue in series such as Spyforce (1972), Shannon's Mob (1975), A Country Practice (1982), Prisoner: Cell Block H (1983-84), Vietnam (1987), Richmond Hill (1988) and All Saints (2001).
Facts
Kevin wrote his autobiography Memoirs of a Dalek in 2001, a copy of which is part of the Performing Arts Collection of South Australia in Adelaide.

Peter Murphy (Dalek operator) August 16th 1928 to May 5th 1991
Doctor Who credits
Played: Daleks in The Daleks (1963-64, as Peter Murphy), The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964, as Peter Murphy), The Space Museum (1965, as Murphy Grumbar), The Evil of the Daleks (1967, as Murphy Grumbar), Day of the Daleks (1972, as Murphy Grumbar), Frontier in Space (1973, as Murphy Grumbar), Planet of the Daleks (1973, as Murphy Grumbar), Death to the Daleks (1974, as Murphy Grumbar)
Played: Mechanoids in The Chase (1965, as Murphy Grumbar)
Played: Arcturus in The Curse of Peladon (1972, as Murphy Grumbar)
Career highlights
Other credits include Moody and Pegg (1974), Churchill's People (1975), Adventures of a Private Eye (1977) and Jack of Diamonds (1983).
Facts
Peter Stanley C Murphy performed as Peter Murphy until 1964, after which he changed his professional name to Murphy Grumbar for the next decade (no doubt influenced by his marriage to the actor Dorothy Grumbar in 1963). From 1974, he went by the name Peter Bex.

Steve Pokol (Thal) Born August 28th 1935
Doctor Who credits
Played: Thal in The Daleks (1963-64)

Played: Rebel in The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964, uncredited)
Played: Trojan soldier in The Myth Makers (1965, uncredited)
Played: Worker in The War Machines (1966, uncredited)
Played: Fleeing man in The War Machines (1966, uncredited)
Played: Alien technician in The War Games (1969, uncredited)
Played: Union recruit in The War Games (1969, uncredited)
Career highlights
Born as Istvan Pokol, Hungarian Steve's other acting credits include Moonstrike (1963), The Likely Lads (1966), Adam Adamant Lives (1967) and No Exit (1972), although he is credited as a costume assistant on The Madness of King George (1994), Ghost Stories for Christmas with Christopher Lee (2000) and three episodes of Judge John Deed (2003).

Facts

In November 2024, Steve appeared in court accused of twice assaulting his elderly wife Sarah in front of their adult son the previous December.

Jeanette Rossini (Thal)
Career highlights

Her further work includes R3 (1965), The Ken Dodd Show (1966), The Oblong Box (1969), Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (1969), Steptoe and Son (1970), Doctor in the House (1970), Cry of the Banshee (1970), Scott On... (1970), When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970) and The Morecambe and Wise Show (1973).

Facts

Jan appeared on the cover of British Parade magazine (a men's title) in March 1967.

Eric Smith (Thal)
Career highlights
He was also in an episode of The Likely Lads (1965) and Softly Softly (1966).

Michael Summerton (Dalek operator) December 22nd 1943 to June 16th 2009 (cancer)
Career highlights
Michael's only TV acting credit was operating a Dalek in this story. On stage, he played Abanazer in a 1963 performance of Aladdin at the Royal Tunbridge Wells Opera House, which led to a 15-year legal battle with presiding agent Alan Gale over commission and the displacement of a large quantity of nose putty... There were also other uncredited TV roles in the 1960s, until he joined Hazel Malone's talent agency in the late 1960s where he met a pre-fame David Bowie (Michael didn't think much of his musical abilities at the time!). In 1970, he set up his own talent agency, representing Noele Gordon (of Crossroads fame - Michael is portrayed in Russell T Davies' 2022 drama Nolly), Top of the Pops dancers Hot Gossip, Birds of a Feather's Lesley Joseph, 1980s pop star Sinitta, one-time Doctor Who companion Bonnie Langford, and choreographers Arlene Phillips and Bruno Tonioli.

Gerald Taylor (Dalek operator) October 11th 1940 to December 4th 1994
Doctor Who credits
Played: Daleks in The Daleks (1963-64), The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964), The Chase (1965), Dr Who and the Daleks (1965, film), Mission to the Unknown (1965), The Daleks' Master Plan (1965-66), The Power of the Daleks (1966), The Evil of the Daleks (1967)
Played: Zarbi in The Web Planet (1965)
Played: Voice of WOTAN in The War Machines (1966)
Played: War Machines in The War Machines (1966)
Played: Damon's assistant in The Underwater Menace (1967)
Played: Baker's man in The Daemons (1971)
Played: Vega Nexos in The Monster of Peladon (1974)
Career highlights
Gerald's acting career began in Dr Finlay's Casebook (1963), followed by Thorndyke (1964), St Ives (1967), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), The Sex Thief (1974) and Moody and Pegg (1974).

Virginia Wetherell (Dyoni) Born May 9th 1943
Career highlights
Virginia's first credit was in The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre (1963), then Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968), Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971), A Clockwork Orange (1971), Dracula (1973), The Gentle Touch (1983), Minder (1985) and Love is the Devil (1998). She also played Julie Serres in The Troubleshooters (1967).
Facts
Her husband between 1973-91 was actor Ralph Bates, with whom she had two children - William (who played Toby in Ralph's sitcom Dear John) and actress Daisy. Virginia is now a trustee of the Ralph Bates Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund. From 1971-2013, Virginia ran her own vintage clothing store in Holland Park, London. In 2018, at the age of 75, Virginia was kicked, beaten and trampled in Paris during the yellow-vest protest riots. She almost lost an eye when her head was sliced open, and suffered a shattered shoulder which required surgery, as well as a fractured knee. She also had to have trauma therapy.
In 2018 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Virginia here.

Alan Wheatley (Temmosus) April 19th 1907 to August 30th 1991 (heart attack)
Career highlights
Alan's career began with Conquest of the Air in 1936, then roles in Caesar and Cleopatra (1945), Brighton Rock (1947), Sherlock Holmes (1951, as Holmes), The Pickwick Papers (1952), Danger Man (1961), The Midnight Men (1964), The Avengers (1969) and Department S (1970). His greatest role was as the Sheriff of Nottingham in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955-60).
Facts
Alan's Sheriff is the earliest TV interpretation of that character to survive to the present day - and he was also the first person ever to be exterminated by a Dalek on screen! He started as an industrial psychologist, then became a radio announcer in the 1930s for the BBC European Service before becoming a prolific pre- and post-war TV actor.

UNCREDITED GUEST CAST

Frans Van Nordo (Thal) Frans played a handful of small parts, most often Germans, between 1961-71. His partner was TV production designer Tom Lingwood (1927-2001). His actual name was Franz Van Norde.

CREW

Terry Nation (writer) August 6th 1930 to March 9th 1997 (emphysema)
Doctor Who credits
Wrote: The Daleks (1963-64), The Keys of Marinus (1964), The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964), The Chase (1965), Mission to the Unknown (1965), The Daleks' Master Plan (1965-66), Planet of the Daleks (1973), Death to the Daleks (1974), Genesis of the Daleks (1975), The Android Invasion (1975), Destiny of the Daleks (1979)
Career highlights
Terry's writing career began in the 1950s writing radio scripts for comedians such as Spike Milligan, Frankie Howerd, Eric Sykes and Terry Scott, before working with legendary comic actor Tony Hancock in 1962. Terry turned down an initial offer to write for Doctor Who, but when he was sacked by Hancock he approached the production team and came up with the serial The Daleks. He also created the cult shows Survivors (1975-77 - in a British High Court of Justice case in the mid-1970s, which was abandoned by both sides due to escalating costs, writer Brian Clemens claimed he had told Nation the concept for Survivors in the late 1960s and had registered the idea with the Writers' Guild of Great Britain in 1965. Nation strenuously denied this) and Blake's 7 (1978-81), worked for a time on The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d (1956), The Ted Ray Show (1958-59), The Jimmy Logan Show (1959-60), What a Whopper (1961), Out of This World (1962), Out of the Unknown (1965), The Baron (1966-67), The Saint (1964-68), Department S (1969), The Avengers (1968-69), The Persuaders! (1971-72, which he also produced), The House in Nightmare Park (1973), The Protectors (1973-74), Thriller (1974) and A Fine Romance (1989), and toward the end of his career in the US, helped create the action series MacGyver (1985).
Awards
1975: Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for Best Children's Drama Script (Season 11, shared with Robert Holmes, Malcolm Hulke, Brian Hayles and Robert Sloman)

Christopher Barry (director) September 20th 1925 to February 7th 2014 (following a fall)
Doctor Who credits
Directed: The Daleks (episodes 1-2 & 4-5, 1963-64), The Rescue (1965), The Romans (1965), The Savages (1966), The Power of the Daleks (1966), The Daemons (1971), The Mutants (1972), Robot (1974-75), The Brain of Morbius (1976), The Creature from the Pit (1979)
Career highlights
His directing career began on an episode of Starr and Company (1958) and through his long career he worked on series such as Private Investigator (1958-59), Take a Pair of Private Eyes (1966), Paul Temple (1970-71), Moonbase 3 (1973), Poldark (1975), Nicholas Nickleby (1977), The Onedin Line (1977), All Creatures Great and Small (1978-80), Juliet Bravo (1981-82) and The Tripods (1984-85). He was also producer on The Net (1962), No Cloak - No Dagger (1962), Broome Stages (1966) and Nanny (1981-83). His earliest TV work was as an uncredited third assistant director on A Run for Your Money (1949).
Facts
Christopher was also one of the many faces used during the mind battle sequence in The Brain of Morbius. In 1995 he directed the straight-to-video fan production Downtime. Christopher died following a fall down an escalator in a Banbury shopping centre.

Richard Martin (director) Born January 3rd 1935
Doctor Who credits
Directed: The Daleks (episodes 3, 6-7, 1963-64), The Edge of Destruction (episode 1, 1964), The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964), The Web Planet (1965), The Chase (1965)
Career highlights
Richard's TV career began as an actor in the 1958 series Ivanhoe, and also appeared in Maigret (1961), but he soon went into directing, with Doctor Who among his earliest work. Richard also directed for Suspense (1962), Compact (1964), The Big Spender (1965-66), Ransom for a Pretty Girl (1966), The Newcomers (1966), Late Night Horror (1968), Elizabeth R (1971), Adam Smith (1972), Moody and Pegg (1974), Victorian Scandals (1976), Headmaster (1977), Crown Court (1978), The Mallens (1979), Take Three Women (1982), The Brief (1984), Capstick's Law (1989) and All Creatures Great and Small (1990). In the late 1960s and early 1970s he also worked on the current affairs series World in Action, as reporter, researcher and producer.
Facts
Richard's wife is actress Suzanne Neve.
In 2014 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Richard here.

Verity Lambert (producer) November 27th 1935 to November 22nd 2007 (cancer) Click here for Verity Lambert's entry on An Unearthly Child

Click to enlarge