Doctor Who and the Silurians

The Silurians show off their molecular
disperser to the Doctor (Jon Pertwee)

Seven episodes (Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7)
First broadcast Jan 31 to Mar 14 1970
Average audience for serial: 7.71m

An episode-by-episode review of this story can be found at Time Space Visualiser here

REGULAR CAST

Jon Pertwee (The Doctor) Jul 7 1919 to May 20 1996 (heart attack) Click here to see Jon Pertwee's entry on Spearhead from Space

Caroline John (Liz Shaw) Sep 19 1940 to Jun 5 2012 (cancer) Click here to see Caroline John's entry on Spearhead from Space

Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart) Dec 16 1929 to Feb 22 2011 (cancer) Click here for Nicholas Courtney's entry on The Daleks' Master Plan

GUEST CAST

Brendan Barry (Hospital doctor) Died 2020
Career highlights
Brendan's earliest credit was on The Valiant Varneys (1965), followed by Z Cars (1969), Elizabeth R (1971), Cheri (1973), Skinflicker (1973), Disraeli (1978) and Brass (1984).

Paul Barton (Silurian) Born Jul 9 1943
Doctor Who credits
Played: UNIT soldier in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970, uncredited)
Played: Silurian in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970)
Played: Courtier in The Masque of Mandragora (1976, uncredited)
Played: Skonnos guard in The Horns of Nimon (1979-80, uncredited)
Played: Rebel in State of Decay (1980, uncredited)
Career highlights
Paul's other work includes Z Cars (1969), Doomwatch (1970-71), Moonbase 3 (1973), Ripping Yarns (1976) and Little Miss Perkins (1982).

Roy Branigan (Roberts)
Career highlights
Roy's only other credits were for Z Cars (1969), This, That and the Other! (1970) and Rembrandt (1971).

Simon Cain (Silurian) May 19 1938 to May 1 2019
Doctor Who credits
Played: Curly in The Enemy of the World (1967-68)
Played: Silurian in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970)
Career highlights
Simon was also in six Carry On films (1966-71), as well as No Hiding Place (1966), The Blood Beast Terror (1968), Vendetta (1967-68), School for Sex (1969), Manhunt (1970), Ryan International (1970) and Doomwatch (1970).

Facts

Simon gave up acting in the 1970s and later opened an Aboriginal art gallery in Longview, Texas, but by the time he passed away he was living back in Australia.

Dave Carter (Silurian)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Rebel in The Power of the Daleks (1966, uncredited)
Played: Guard in The Invasion (1968, uncredited), The Mutants (1972, uncredited)
Played: Silurian/ Old Silurian in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970)
Played: Ambulance man in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970, uncredited)
Played: Primord in Inferno (1970)
Played: Museum attendant in Terror of the Autons (1971)
Played: Prisoner officer in The Mind of Evil (1971)
Played: Roundhead officer in The Time Monster (1972)
Played: Sergeant Duffy in Invasion of the Dinosaurs (1974)
Played: Grierson in The Android Invasion (1975)
Career highlights
Non-Doctor Who work includes Adam Adamant Lives! (1966), Callan (1969), The Love Box (1972), New Scotland Yard (1972), The Sex Thief (1974), Eskimo Nell (1975), The Sexplorer (1975), Adventures of a Taxi Driver (1976), Adventures of a Private Eye (1977), Poldark (1975/77), The Tomorrow People (1978), Adventures of a Plumber's Mate (1978), Worzel Gummidge (1980), Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1986) and The Bill (1989). But it wasn't all fleeting bit-parts - Dave also had the recurring role of Brigadier Stribos in detective series Van der Valk (1972-73).

Facts

It is known that Dave has passed away, but details are sketchy.

John Churchill (Silurian)
This is John's only credit.

Ian Cunningham (Dr Meredith) Nov 13 1914 to Sep 12 1983
Career highlights
Ian's other work includes Drama '62: Luck of the Draw (1962), It Happened Like This (1963), The Avengers (1963), Dr Finlay's Casebook (1965), The Troubleshooters (1966) and Poldark (1975).

Paul Darrow (Captain Hawkins) 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.

Pat Gorman (Silurian) May 10 1933 to Oct 9 2018 Click here for Pat Gorman's entry on The Invasion

Peter Halliday (Silurian voices) Jun 2 1924 to Feb 18 2012
Doctor Who credits
Played: Packer in The Invasion (1968)
Played: Silurian voices in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970)
Played: Alien voices in The Ambassadors of Death (1970)
Played: Pletrac in Carnival of Monsters (1973)
Played: Soldier in City of Death (1979)
Played: Vicar in Remembrance of the Daleks (1988)
Career highlights
Peter's career began with 1954's Fatal Journey and he then took roles in The Count of Monte Cristo (1956), Dunkirk (1958), The Citadel (1960), Garry Halliday (1962), Sierra Nine (1963), Danger Man (1965), Write a Play (1965), The Avengers (1968), UFO (1970-71), Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), The Befrienders (1972), Bowler (1973), The Boy with Two Heads (1974), The Sweeney (1975), Keep It Up Downstairs (1976), Beasts (1976), Angels (1982), The Tripods (1984), Hannay (1989), The Remains of the Day (1993), Our Friends in the North (1996), Goodnight Sweetheart (1997), Esther (1999), Micawber (2001) and Lassie (2005). He also played Dr John Fleming in A for Andromeda (1961) and The Andromeda Breakthrough (1962).
Facts
Peter was for a time married to the actress Simone Lovell, daughter of the actors Raymond Lovell and Margot Collis (who had an affair with the poet W B Yeats during her marriage to Lovell).

Thomasine Heiner (Miss Dawson) Jun 20 1930 to Mar 2002
Career highlights
American-born Thomasine debuted in the Somerset Maugham Hour (1962), then various television plays in 1965 before landing her Doctor Who role, after which she appeared in Affairs of the Heart (1975), Katy (1976), Kids (1979), Saigon: Year of the Cat (1983), Maelstrom (1985), Deceptions (1985), Dreamchild (1985), Selling Hitler (1991), Jeeves and Wooster (1993), French Kiss (1995) and Animated Tales of the World (2000, voice).
Fact
Thomasine was married to actor Frederick Danner.

Nancie Jackson (Doris Squire) Apr 28 1921 to Jan 18 1977
Career highlights
Nancie debuted in Yellow Sands (1954), then A Man for All Seasons (1957), The Claverdon Road Job (1957), Hilda Lessways (1959), Swizzlewick (1964, as Miss Hart), Les Miserables (1967), Nana (1968), The Vortex (1969), Upstairs, Downstairs (1972), Romany Jones (1973), Sadie, It's Cold Outside (1975), Angels (1976) and Holding On (1977).
Facts
Her husband was actor Bernard Hepton.

Nigel Johns (Young Silurian)
This is Nigel's only screen credit. He got the job after director Timothy Combe mentioned to actor Peter Miles that he was stuck for someone to play the Young Silurian, who had to be 6ft 2in, and Miles recommended Johns.

Norman Jones (Major Baker) Jun 16 1932 to Apr 23 2013 (heart attack)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Khrisong in The Abominable Snowmen (1967)
Played: Major Baker in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970)
Played: Hieronymous in The Masque of Mandragora (1976)
Career highlights
Norman's earliest role was in an episode of Out of This World (1962), followed by Crossroads (1964), You Only Live Twice (1967), Oh! What a Lovely War (1969), The Abominable Dr Phibes (1971), All Our Saturdays (1973), South Riding (1974), The XYY Man (1977), Thomas and Sarah (1979), A Tale of Two Cities (1980), The Borgias (1981), Jemima Shore Investigates (1983), Angels (1983), Boon (1986), Inspector Morse (1987) and The Assassinator (1992). He regularly played Adam Charlton in Andy Robson (1982-83).

Fulton Mackay (Dr Quinn) Aug 12 1922 to Jun 6 1987 (stomach cancer)
Career highlights
Distinctive character actor Fulton made his screen debut in Sarah Simple (1949), followed by roles in I'm a Stranger (1952), Brand (1959), The Army Game (1960), Mess Mates (1960), Coronation Street (1961), Tempo (1963), Witch Wood (1964), Between the Lines (1964-65, as presenter), The Heart of Midlothian (1966), Frontier (1968), Paul Temple (1971), Nothing But the Night (1973), Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1973), Shoulder to Shoulder (1974), Rob Roy (1977), King of the Castle (1977), If You Go Down in the Woods Today (1981), Strangers (1981), Britannia Hospital (1982), Shelley (1983), To Catch a King (1984), Looks Familiar (1984), Mann's Best Friends (1985) and A Wreath of Roses (1987). Fulton will be best remembered for his role as stuffy prison warden Mr Mackay in the sitcom Porridge (1974-77), its big screen version (1979) and its TV spin-off Going Straight (1978). Other recurring roles included DCI Inman in Special Branch (1969-70), Sam Wyatt in The Foundation (1977-78) and the Captain in the UK version of Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock (1983-84). Fulton also wrote a couple of screenplays - Dalhousie's Luck (1980, under the pseudonym of Aeneas MacBride) and The Great Kopalski (1966) and The House on the Hill (1981).
Awards
1984: Officer of the order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama
Facts
Fulton was considered for the role of the Fourth Doctor in 1974. He was married to actress Sheila Manahan. He has a flower named after him in Hyde Park, London.

Alan Mason (Corporal Nutting) Feb 11 1931 to Dec 25 2015
Career highlights
Alan's debut came in The Golden Spur (1959), followed by roles in The Avengers (1962), Strange Report (1969), BJ and the Bear (1979), Jane (1982), Big Deal (1984), Albion Market (1985), The Chef's Apprentice (1989), Inspector Morse (1998) and Casualty (2002/05).
Facts
Alan's wife was actor Diana Bishop.

Bill Matthews (Davis)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Davis in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970)
Played: Prison officer in The Mind of Evil (1971)
Played: Draconian in Frontier in Space (1973, uncredited)
Played: Extra in Planet of the Spiders (1974, uncredited)
Career highlights
Other work includes Quatermass and the Pit (1958-59), A for Andromeda (1961), Maigret (1962), Adam Adamant Lives! (1967), Doomwatch (1970) and Spy Trap (1975).

Peter Miles (Dr Lawrence) Aug 29 1928 to Feb 26 2018
Doctor Who credits
Played: Dr Lawrence in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970)
Played: Professor Whitaker in Invasion of the Dinosaurs (1974)
Played: Nyder in Genesis of the Daleks (1975)
Played: Tragan in The Paradise of Death (1993, radio)
Career highlights
Peter made his first appearance in The Ballad of the Artificial Mash (1968), followed by Softly Softly (1968), The Borderers (1970), Colditz (1972), The Sweeney (1975), Survivors (1975), The Hill of the Red Fox (1975), The Eagle Has Landed (1976, uncredited as Hitler), Disraeli (1978), Blake's 7 (1978-79, as Rontane), The Whistle Blower (1986), Little Dorrit (1987), Bergerac (1990), The Punk (1993) and Monarch (2000).
Facts
Peter was also an accomplished jazz singer, and enjoyed a primetime set with his band at the 2006 Ealing Jazz Festival. He was a childhood friend of legendary singer Dusty Springfield - in fact, the first recording Dusty ever made was with Peter. He appeared in a South Bank Show special about Dusty in 2006.
In 2017 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Peter here.

John Newman (Spencer)
Career highlights
John, who gave up acting to become a theatre producer, had previously worked on Gunsmoke (1964), Object Z (1965), The Mind of Mr J G Reeder (1969), Special Branch (1969) and The Worker (1969).

Geoffrey Palmer (Masters) Jun 4 1927 to Nov 5 2020
Doctor Who credits
Played: Masters in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970)
Played: Administrator in The Mutants (1972)
Played: Captain Hardaker in Voyage of the Damned (2007)
Career highlights
Frighteningly prolific Geoffrey made his debut in St Ives in 1955, followed by roles in The Killing Stones (1958), Police Surgeon (1960), The Army Game (1959-60), The Odd Man (1960), Incident at Midnight (1963), Bootsie and Snudge (1960-63), The Saint (1963), The Baron (1966), Mrs Thursday (1967), Z Cars (1969), Now, Take My Wife (1971), Colditz (1972-73), Edward the Seventh (1975), Bill Brand (1976), The Sweeney (1978), Fawlty Towers (1979), Whoops Apocalypse (1982), Death of an Expert Witness (1983), Clockwise (1986), Executive Stress (1986), A Fish Called Wanda (1988), Blackadder Goes Forth (1989), The Madness of King George (1994), Mrs Brown (1997), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The Savages (2001), Stig of the Dump (2002), Dickens (2002), He Knew He Was Right (2004), Ashes to Ashes (2008), The Pink Panther 2 (2009), Lost Christmas (2011), Rev (2011), The Hollow Crown (2012), Parade's End (2012), Paddington (2014) and An Unquiet Life (2020). Geoffrey's curmudgeonly face will be best recognised for his recurring roles of Jimmy Anderson in the sitcoms The Fall and Rise and Reginald Perrin (1976-79) and its sequel The Legacy of Reginald Perrin (1996), Leo Bannister in The Last Song (1981-83), Ben in sitcom Butterflies (1978-83) and the 2000 reunion special, Major Harry Kitchener Wellington Truscott in Fairly Secret Army (1984-86), Harold Stringer in Hot Metal (1986/89) and Lionel Hardcastle in sitcom As Time Goes By (1992-2005).
Awards
2005: Officer of the order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama
Facts
In the 1980s Geoffrey was also known for his appearances in TV commercials for Scotch lamb ("Slam in the lamb"). Geoffrey's son is TV director Charles Palmer, who directed episodes of Doctor Who in 2007 and 2017. And there's another link to Doctor Who in that Charles's wife is actress Claire Skinner, who appeared in The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe in 2011. Geoffrey recites Walter Kauffman's translation of Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy on the introduction to the 12" Fruitness mix of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Welcome to the Pleasuredome (1985).

Derek Pollitt (Private Wright) Dec 16 1926 to Jul 11 2010
Doctor Who credits
Played: Driver Evans in The Web of Fear (1968)
Played: Private Wright in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970)
Played: Professor Caldera in Shada (1980, untransmitted)
Career highlights
Further work included Such is Life (1950), Strife (1960), Coronation Street (1966), The Body Stealers (1969), Bread (1971) and The Onedin Line (1978).
Facts
Derek sadly went blind in 1997 and moved into an RNIB hostel, but this didn't stop him raising money for a hospice in Llandudno, North Wales, by walking from John O'Groats to Land's End for a penny a mile (raising £1,301). His brother was fellow actor Clyde Pollitt, who appeared in two Doctor Who stories - The War Games (1969) and The Three Doctors (1972-73). His mother was Betty (Lloyd-) Davies, who was also a noted Welsh bard called Branwen Ellis. In 1955, Derek and his wife formed the Galleon touring theatre company, and ran two others with his brothers Brian and Clyde.

Gordon Richardson (Squire) Aug 12 1911 to Dec 18 1994
Career highlights
Gordon debuted in Paul of Tarsus (1960), then Court of Mystery (1961), Emergency Ward 10 (1962), David Copperfield (1966), The Expert (1969), Carry On Loving (1970), Emmerdale Farm (1972), Karate Killer (1976) and Kill and Kill Again (1981).
Facts
In the 1940s Gordon lived in the same lodging house on 129 Beaufort Street, Fulham, London as gay writer and raconteur Quentin Crisp. Gordon was said to be an eccentric homosexual, just like Crisp, and would hold parties in his flat, during which his party trick of taking out his glass eye and polishing it would delight and appall guests in equal measure! It was through Gordon's acquaintances that Crisp met many of the major influences in his life, including close friend and novelist Paul Bailey, and playwright Harold Pinter.

Richard Steele (Sergeant Hart) 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).

Harry Swift (Private Robins)
This is Harry's only credit.

Ian Talbot (Travis) Born Dec 19 1942
Doctor Who credits
Played: Travis in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970)
Played: Klout in The Leisure Hive (1980)
Career highlights
Debuted in Champion House (1968), then Up the Front (1972), The Jensen Code (1973), Drowning By Numbers (1988), Spatz (1991), Terry and Julian (1992), Degrees of Error (1995), As Time Goes By (1996), Midsomer Murders (2005) and Run for Your Wife (2012).
Awards
2008: Officer of the order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama
Facts
Until her death in 1996, Ian was married to actress Liz Gebhardt, best known for playing Maureen Bullock in the sitcoms Please, Sir! and The Fenn Street Gang (1968-73). Ian was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 2001 for Best Director, and was artistic director of the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park in London between 1987-2007.
In 2017 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Ian here.

CREW

Malcolm Hulke (writer) Nov 21 1924 to Jul 6 1979 Click here for Malcolm Hulke's entry on The Faceless Ones

Timothy Combe (director) Born Oct 17 1936
Doctor Who credits
Assistant floor manager: The Keys of Marinus (1964)
Production assistant: The Reign of Terror (1964), The Evil of the Daleks (1967, uncredited)
Directed: The Reign of Terror (1964, episode 6, uncredited), The Evil of the Daleks (1967, fight sequence in episode 7), Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970), The Mind of Evil (1971)
Played: Prisoner in The Mind of Evil (1971, uncredited)
Career highlights
Timothy later directed for Z Cars (1968-73), Ballet Shoes (1975), The Brothers (1976) and Angels (1979). He subsequently became an actors' agent.

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

Terrance Dicks (script editor) Apr 14 1935 to Aug 29 2019 Click here for Terrance Dicks's entry on The Invasion