The Celestial Toymaker

Michael Gough as the Toymaker

First broadcast Apr 2 to 23 1966

1. The Celestial Toyroom (8.0m)

2. The Hall of Dolls (8.0m)

3. The Dancing Floor (9.4m)

4. The Final Test (7.8m)
Average audience for serial: 8.30m

• A pictorial guide to the guest cast is at the bottom of this entry. An episode-by-episode review of this story can be found 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.

Peter Purves (Steven Taylor) Born February 10th 1939 For a full career biography of Peter Purves, click here.

Jackie Lane (Dodo Chaplet) July 10th 1941 to June 7th 2021 For a full career biography for Jackie Lane, click here.

CREDITED GUEST CAST

Michael Gough (Toymaker) November 23rd 1916 to March 17th 2011 (prostate cancer)
Doctor Who credits
Played: The Toymaker in The Celestial Toymaker (1966)
Played: Hedin in Arc of Infinity (1983)
Career highlights
Malaysia-born Michael appeared in over 150 productions since his debut in Androcles and the Lion in 1946. He had roles in Anna Karenina (1948), Blackmailed (1951), The Man in the White Suit (1951), The Sword and the Rose (1953), Reach for the Sky (1956), Ill Met by Moonlight (1957), Dracula (1958), Dancers in Mourning (1959), Konga (1961), What a Carve Up! (1961), The Phantom of the Opera (1962), The Saint (1964), Orlando (1966-67), two episodes of The Avengers (1965/67, playing the inventor of the Cybernauts in the former), Women in Love (1969), The Search for the Nile (1971), Horror Hospital (1973), Galileo (1975), Satan's Slave (1976), The Boys from Brazil (1978), Brideshead Revisited (1981), Oxford Blues (1984), Out of Africa (1985), Inspector Morse (1987), A Killing on the Exchange (1987), Blackeyes (1989), Sleepers (1991), The Age of Innocence (1993), The Haunting of Helen Walker (1995), The Cherry Orchard (1999), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Corpse Bride (2005) and Alice in Wonderland (2010). He may be best known as Alfred Pennyworth the butler in four Batman films (1989-97) and six TV adverts (2001), and ironically appeared alongside Alan Napier, who played the same character in the 1960s TV series, in the mini-series QB VII (1974).
Awards
1957: BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor
1979: Tony Award for Best Actor (Featured Role - Play) (Bedroom Farce)
Facts
Michael was the first BAFTA winner to appear in Doctor Who. Michael was married four times. His first was actor Diana Graves, with whom he had a son, the actor Simon Gough; the second was actor Anne Leon; the third was Anneke Wills, who played companion Polly in Doctor Who, and with whom he had two children (one of them, Polly, was actually actor Anthony Newley's biological child, but Michael adopted her. Polly died tragically in a car accident in 1982, shortly before she was due to marry). His fourth and final spouse was Henrietta Lawrence. Michael would have returned to the role of the Toymaker in 1986 if the original Season 23 had been made (in the story The Nightmare Fair).

Reg Lever (Joker) September 4th 1903 to August 18th 1985
Career highlights
Other credits include The Show Mustn't Go On (1960), Dr Finlay's Casebook (1962), Mary Barton (1964), Work is a 4-Letter Word (1968), Scrooge (1970), The Beast in the Cellar (1971), Doomwatch (1972), Wolfshead: The Legend of Robin Hood (1973), Angels (1976), All Creatures Great and Small (1978), Yesterday's Hero (1979) and Willie's Last Stand (1982).

Carmen Silvera (Clara; Queen of Hearts; Mrs Wiggs) June 2nd 1922 to August 3rd 2002 (lung cancer)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Clara in The Celestial Toymaker (1966)
Played: Queen of Hearts in The Celestial Toymaker (1966)
Played: Mrs Wiggs in The Celestial Toymaker (1966)
Played: Ruth in Invasion of the Dinosaurs (1974)
Career highlights
Canadian Carmen's debut came in The Bloodless Arena (1957), followed by roles in Broken Journey (1959), Emergency Ward 10 (1961), Z Cars (1962), Hugh and I (1966), Beggar My Neighbour (1967), Harry Worth (1968), Dad's Army (1970), Father, Dear Father (1973), The Double Dealers (1974), Within These Walls (1975), Lillie (1978), Maggie and Her (1979), The Gentle Touch (1980), Angels (1983), La Passione (1996) and Revolver (2001). She also played Camilla Hope in 190 episodes of soap Compact between 1963-65, but will be best remembered as Edith Artois in 85 episodes of the BBC sitcom 'Allo 'Allo! (1982-92).
Facts
During World War Two, Carmen was evacuated from Toronto to Montreal and narrowly escaped death when, at the last minute, her name was taken off the passenger list of troopship SS Athenia which was sunk by the enemy shortly after, drowning 350 children. Carmen's father Roland was a big name in the world of flat-green bowls, and every year Coventry and District Bowls Association run a competition for the Silvera Shield.
This is Your Life: Carmen was the subject of Thames TV's This is Your Life on January 30th, 1991, surprised by host Michael Aspel during a recording of the sitcom 'Allo 'Allo!.

Campbell Singer (Joey; King of Hearts; Sergeant Rugg) March 16th 1909 to February 16th 1976
Career highlights
Campbell's long career began in 1946's They Flew Through Sand, and over the years he made appearances in Laburnum Grove (1947), The Woman in the Hall (1947), Down Our Street (1949), The Canvas Rainbow (1949), Hangman's Wharf (1950), The Ringer (1952), The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953), Hancock's Half Hour (1957), The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960), The Hands of Orlac (1961), Benny Hill (1962), The Newcomers (1965), The Forsyte Saga (1967), On the Buses (1971), Dad's Army (1972/75) and Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1975). He played lead character John Unthank in Private Investigator (1958-59), and was also a writer, penning the 1962 West German film Last Item on the Agenda (aka Any Other Business), 1964's The Guilty Party, and 1967's Difference of Opinion.
Facts
His wife was actor Gillian Maude.

Peter Stephens (Cyril; Knave of Hearts; Kitchen Boy) January 3rd 1920 to September 17th 1972
Doctor Who credits
Played: Cyril in The Celestial Toymaker (1966)
Played: Knave of Hearts in The Celestial Toymaker (1966)
Played: Kitchen boy in The Celestial Toymaker (1966)
Played: Lolem in The Underwater Menace (1967)
Career highlights
Further appearances by Brazilian-born Peter were in The Immortal Lady (1948), No Other Verdict (1955), The Count of Monte Cristo (1956), Whack-O! (1957), Fair Game (1958), Tales from Dickens (1959), Knight Errant Ltd (1960), Danger Man (1960/66), The Treasure Seekers (1961), Oliver Twist (1962), The Sentimental Agent (1963), Martin Chuzzlewit (1964), Out of the Unknown (1965), The Corridor People (1966), Adam Adamant Lives! (1967), Herostratus (1967), To See How Far It Is (1968), The Avengers (1969), Dombey and Son (1969), The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970), Brett (1971), Z Cars (1971), Doctor in Charge (1972), Love and Mr Lewisham (1972) and Arthur of the Britons (1973).

Dancers:

Beryl Braham Born December 23rd 1942

Beryl's only other known screen work is as an uncredited prisoner in Within These Walls (1975), and a native in Ripping Yarns (1977). Dancing performances were featured in Music for You in 1966, and Eric Robinson Presents (1968). There is also evidence of her appearing in a stage production of Peter Pan at the London Coliseum in the 1972-73 season. Beryl is the great-aunt of Doctor Who Magazine interviewer Benjamin Cook.

Ann Harrison
This is Ann's only known credit.

Delia Linden Born June 30th 1943
Delia also appeared uncredited as a dancer in The Masque of the Red Death (1964) and The Count of Luxembourg (1967), and a chorus girl in Oh! What a Lovely War (1969).

CREW 

Brian Hayles (writer, story) March 7th 1931 to October 30th 1978
Doctor Who credits
Wrote: The Celestial Toymaker (1966, story), The Smugglers (1966), The Ice Warriors (1967), The Seeds of Death (1969), The Curse of Peladon (1972), The Monster of Peladon (1974)
Career highlights
Brian had previously written for The Badger Game (1962), Suspense (1963), Your World (1963), Swizzlewick (1964), Legend of Death (1965), Public Eye (1968), The First Lady (1969), Out of the Unknown (1969/71), Doomwatch (1971-72), Barlow (1974), The Mind Beyond (1976), Warlords of the Deep (1978), The Moon Stallion (1978) and Arabian Adventure (1979). He also helped create, and wrote 31 episodes for, the soap United! (1965-67). Brian also wrote scripts for BBC radio soap The Archers, and wrote a novel based on the series in 1975. Other books included The Curse of the Labyrinth (1976), Hour of the Werewolf (1976), The Moon Stallion (1978) and Goldhawk (1979).

Awards
1975: Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for Best Children's Drama Script (Season 11, shared with Robert Holmes, Malcolm Hulke, Terry Nation and Robert Sloman)
Facts
In an interview, Brian said: "I wanted to keep the Toymaker very vague, I didn't want to explain exactly who he was. At the time, I had grand visions of his becoming like the Daleks, coming back again and again, and then of course something very like that happened a few years later with the Master."

Donald Tosh (writer, scripts) March 16th 1935 to December 3rd 2019 Click here for Donald Tosh's entry on The Time Meddler

Bill Sellars (director) Born June 5th 1925 to December 19th 2018
Career highlights
Bill's other directing credits include Compact (1965), 199 Park Lane (1965), United! (1965-66), The Devil and All His Mischief (1966) and The Newcomers (1966-67). He moved into production, overseeing 272 episodes of The Newcomers (1967-79), 132 episodes of The Doctors (1970-71), 61 episodes of Owen M.D (1971-73), The Terracotta Horse (1973), The Chinese Puzzle (1974), The Doll (1975), Circus (1975), 29 episodes of The Brothers (1976), The Little World of Don Camillo (1981), 20 episodes of Flesh and Blood (1980-82), 78 episodes of soap Triangle (which he also created, 1981-83), 32 episodes of One By One (1984-87) and 88 episodes of All Creatures Great and Small (1978-90). He also appeared on screen as a ministerial PA in A for Andromeda (1961, on which he was also production assistant) and a soldier in The Andromeda Breakthrough (1962).

Facts
In 1950, Bill married the actor June Bland (who appeared in the Doctor Who stories Earthshock and Battlefield) and they had three children together. However, he later divorced her and moved to Spain to live with his civil partner, Alan Sandilands. When Alan died in 2012, Bill moved back to the UK and, the following year, remarried June Bland (with whom he'd had three children). His grandchildren include stand-up comedian Jordan Brookes and actor Scarlett Brookes.
In 2015 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Bill here.

Innes Lloyd (producer) December 24th 1925 to August 23rd 1991 (cancer)
Doctor Who credits
Produced: The Celestial Toymaker, The Gunfighters, The Savages, The War Machines, The Smugglers, The Tenth Planet, The Power of the Daleks, The Highlanders, The Underwater Menace, The Moonbase, The Macra Terror, The Faceless Ones, The Evil of the Daleks, The Abominable Snowmen, The Ice Warriors, The Enemy of the World (1966-68)
Career highlights
Doctor Who was his first producing job, after having directed the Eurovision Song Contest for the BBC in 1960, and episodes of The Flying Swan (1965), United! (1965) and The Newcomers (1965). After leaving Doctor Who, Innes produced Morning Story (1970), The Snow Goose (1971), Dead of Night (1972), The Stone Tape (1972), 119 episodes of Thirty-Minute Theatre (1968-73), Away from It All (1973), Sporting Scenes (1973-74), Bedtime Stories (1974), Orde Wingate (1976), An Englishman's Castle (1978), 10 episodes of BBC2 Play of the Week (1977-78), Follow the Star (1979), 17 episodes of BBC2 Playhouse (1976-82), 18 episodes of Play for Today (1975-82), Objects of Affection (1982), Reith (1983), An Englishman Abroad (1983), Amy (1984), Terra Nova (1984), Wynne and Penkovsky (1985), Number 27 (1988), Talking Heads (1988), Bomber Harris (1989), six episodes of Screen Two (1986-90) and two episodes of Screen One (1989/91). He also adapted Terra Nova for the screen in 1984, and wrote seven Thirty-Minute Theatres (1971).
Awards
1992: BAFTA TV Award for Best Single Drama (Screen One: A Question of Attribution) - with John Schlesinger and Alan Bennett)
Facts
Along with script editor Gerry Davis, Innes came up with the idea of regeneration. He approached esteemed actors Peter Jeffrey, Ron Moody, Michael Hordern and Trevor Howard to replace William Hartnell, before Patrick Troughton accepted the role. Throughout the 1970s and 80s, Innes built up a reputation as one of the BBC's most respected producers, and his professional relationship with playwright Alan Bennett was among his most celebrated work. In October 2006, London's Time Out magazine asked Bennett why he no longer wrote for TV: "I think the one decisive factor was that the guy who used to produce all the things for television, Innes Lloyd, died. Innes used to prod you into doing things, and if you had a notion of something, you could go to him and he'd set about making it possible before you'd written it. I was never aware how much wheeling and dealing had to be done. In that sense, he was an ideal producer: he never let you know that it might be quite difficult to get yourself on. But I've felt it since he went; the first thing they talk about is cost and all that stuff." In total, Innes' work was nominated for a BAFTA on nine occasions, finally winning with the last production. Innes died within days of his Doctor Who colleague Gerry Davis.

Gerry Davis (script editor) February 23rd 1930 to August 31st 1991 (stomach cancer) Click here for Gerry Davis's entry on The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve

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