The Monster of Peladon

Sarah Jane (Elisabeth Sladen),
Eckersley (Donald Gee) and
Alpha Centauri (Stuart Fell) watching
episode 1 of Robot, incredulous at
 Eckersley's similarity to the Fourth Doctor

Six episodes (Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six)
First broadcast Mar 23 to Apr 27 1974
Average audience for serial: 7.70m

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

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

Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith) Feb 1 1946 to Apr 19 2011 (pancreatic cancer) Click here for Elisabeth Sladen's entry on The Time Warrior

GUEST CAST

Alan Bennion (Azaxyr) Apr 18 1930 to Jul 27 2018
Doctor Who credits
Played: Slaar in The Seeds of Death (1969)
Played: Izlyr in The Curse of Peladon (1972)
Played: Azaxyr in The Monster of Peladon (1974)
Career highlights
Alan made his debut in 1967's Send Foster before going on to appear in Sexton Blake (1967, as the Scorpion), The Troubleshooters (1970), Psychomania (1971), Thriller (1974), The Wilde Alliance (1978), Juliet Bravo (1981), Oliver Twist (1985), Sorry! (1986), Spatz (1992), B&B (1992) and Holding the Baby (1997).
Facts
A nod to Alan is included in Gary Russell's 1994 Doctor Who novel Legacy, in which it is said Supreme Lord Izlyr retired to the planet Bennion.

Sonny Caldinez (Sskel) Jul 1 1932 to Apr 12 2022
Doctor Who credits
Played: Kemel in The Evil of the Daleks (1967)
Played: Turoc in The Ice Warriors (1967)
Played: Ice Warrior in The Seeds of Death (1969)
Played: Ssorg in The Curse of Peladon (1972)
Played: Sskel in The Monster of Peladon (1974)
Career highlights
Trinidadian Sonny's other appearances include Scott On... (1964), Virgin of the Secret Service (1968), The Spy Killer (1969), White Cargo (1973), The Man With the Golden Gun (1974), Mind Your Language (1978), Sexton Blake and the Demon God (1978), Arabian Adventure (1979), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1988) and The Fifth Element (1997).
Facts
Sonny, who is 6ft 4in, emigrated to the UK in 1952 and started working on the railways and as a wrestler, before moving into stuntwork and acting. He also worked for a time as bodyguard for music legend Michael Jackson. He moved to Spain in 2005.

Ysanne Churchman (Voice of Alpha Centauri) May 14 1925 to Jul 4 2024
Doctor Who credits
Played: Alpha Centauri (voice) in The Curse of Peladon (1972), The Monster of Peladon (1974), Empress of Mars (2017)
Played: Spider voice in Planet of the Spiders (1974)
Career highlights
Ysanne made her debut aged 13 in Gallows Glorious (1938), followed by roles in Craven House (1950), Murder in the Cathedral (1951), The Railway Children (1951 & 1957), Sara and Hoppity (1962), Space Patrol (1964), Swizzlewick (1964), Rainbow City (1967), Z Cars (1968), Sadie, It's Cold Outside (1975), Madame Bovary (1975), Beasts (1976), 1990 (1978), Artemis 81 (1981), Ghost in the Water (1982), Alice in Wonderland (1986), Starlings (1988), Lipstick on Your Collar (1993) and Oliver Twist (1999). She is a prolific voice artiste best known for playing Grace Archer in radio soap The Archers (1952-55), as well as being the voice for Children's Hour on BBC Radio.

Michael Crane (Blor) 1937 to Apr 18 2009
Doctor Who credits
Played: Blor in The Monster of Peladon (1974)
Played: Extra in Genesis of the Daleks (1975, uncredited)
Career highlights
Michael's other work includes Leo the Last (1970), The Onedin Line (1972), Big Zapper (1973), Gawain and the Green Knight (1973), From Beyond the Grave (1974), At the Earth's Core (1976), Blake's 7 (1980), Hawk the Slayer (1980), Sir Henry at Rawlinson End (1980), The Two Ronnies (1985), Defrosting the Fridge (1989) and Rumble (1995).

Graeme Eton (Preba) Sep 28 1936 to Apr 19 2016
Career highlights
Debuting in A Picture of Katherine Mansfield (1973), New Zealander Graeme regularly played Lieutenant Wakelin in Warship (1973-77), followed by roles in Shoestring (1980), The Professionals (1982), The Bretts (1987), London's Burning (1990), Gone to the Dogs (1991), Backup (1995), My Hero (2002), EastEnders (2004), Derailed (2005) and Doctors (2009).
Facts
Graeme was also an acting tutor, most notably working for Teach Yourself Acting, set up and run by fellow Doctor Who alumnus Ellis Jones.

Roy Evans (Miner) Born 1930
Doctor Who credits
Played: Trantis in The Daleks' Master Plan (1965-66)
Played: Bert in The Green Death (1973)
Played: Miner in The Monster of Peladon (1974)
Career highlights
After debuting in Touch of Death (1961), Roy went on to appear in Adam Adamant Lives! (1967), Oliver! (1968), Budgie (1971), Poldark (1975), Jabberwocky (1977), Dick Turpin (1979), The Elephant Man (1980), The Black Adder (1983), Porterhouse Blue (1987), Only Fools and Horses (1989), Forever Green (1992), Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1997), Children of the New Forest (1998), Fortysomething (2003) and Life Beyond the Box: Norman Stanley Fletcher (2003); he also appeared in Global Conspiracy (2004), an extra on the DVD for The Green Death in which he played the brother of the character he originally played.
Facts
Roy started out as a professional ballet dancer.

Max Faulkner (Miner) 1931 to Feb 13 2010 Click here for Max Faulkner's entry on The Ambassadors of Death

Stuart Fell (Alpha Centauri) Born 1942 Click here for Stuart Fell's entry on The Curse of Peladon

Frank Gatliff (Ortron) Dec 31 1927 to Jun 23 1990
Career highlights
Australian Frank's first credited role was in Captain Carvallo (1958), after which he appeared in Emergency (1959), Antony and Cleopatra (1959), Police Surgeon (1960), Crooks Anonymous (1962), Teletale (1963), The Ipcress File (1965), Till Death Us Do Part (1966), The Projected Man (1966), Department S (1969), Hark at Barker (1969-70, as Badger the butler, a role he reprised in the series His Lordship Entertains in 1972), Bless This House (1973), Ooh La La! (1973), Zodiac (1974), Whodunnit? (1974), Microbes and Men (1974), Rising Damp (1974), The Tomorrow People (1975), The Good Life (1975), The Molly Wopsies (1976), The New Avengers (1976), The Onedin Line (1976-77, as Harris), The Many Wives of Patrick (1976-78, as John Carnaby), Thundercloud (1979, as Dr Smith), Blake's 7 (1980), Then Churchill Said to Me (1982), The Cleopatras (1983), The Gentle Touch (1984), Miss Marple: Nemesis (1987) and CAB (1986-89, as Mr Hellman).

Donald Gee (Eckersley) Sep 28 1937 to Jan 14 2022
Doctor Who credits
Played: Major Ian Warne in The Space Pirates (1969)
Played: Eckersley in The Monster of Peladon (1974)
Career highlights
Donald debuted in 1965's Ferry Cross the Mersey, and later went on to appear in Z Cars (1965, as PC Walker), The Forsyte Saga (1967), The Avengers (1968), The Expert (1971), Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (1973), If There Weren't Any Blacks You'd Have to Invent Them (1974), Churchill's People (1975), One-Upmanship (1976-78), 1990 (1977), The Olympian Way (1981), Driving Ambition (1984), Wish Me Luck (1989), Coronation Street (1994-95, as Roger Crompton), Oh, Doctor Beeching! (1996), Doctors (2001) and Killing Me Softly (2002). Donald also had a regular role as village shopkeeper Mr Boynton in Born and Bred (2002-05).
Facts
Donald was married to award-winning stage and radio playwright Shirley Gee (nee Thieman).

Nick Hobbs (Aggedor) Click here for Nick Hobbs's entry on The Curse of Peladon

Rex Robinson (Gebek) Jun 26 1926 to Apr 13 2015
Doctor Who credits
Played: Dr Tyler in The Three Doctors (1972-73)
Played: Gebek in The Monster of Peladon (1974)
Played: Dr Carter in The Hand of Fear (1976)
Career highlights
Debuting in The Merry Wives of Windsor (1955), Rex's other work includes Champion Road (1958), The Big Pull (1962), The Trial and Torture of Sir John Rampayne (1965), Mrs Thursday (1967), Brett (1971), Warship (1973), Six Days of Justice (1973-75), Within These Walls (1978), Terry and June (1980), Just Good Friends (1984), Superman IV (1987), Bread (1987) and Shadow of the Noose (1989).
Facts
Rex was married to his The Three Doctors co-star Patricia Prior.
In 2014 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Rex, and his wife Patricia Prior, here.

Gerald Taylor (Vega Nexos) Oct 11 1940 to Dec 4 1994 Click here for Gerald Taylor's entry on The Daleks

Nina Thomas (Thalira) Born Jul 25 1952
Career highlights
Nina made her debut in First Sight (1972), and has since appeared in Public Eye (1973), The Fortunes of Nigel (1974), Dead Cert (1974), Flame (1975), The Prince and the Pauper (1976), The Sweeney (1976), Rooms (1977), Thomas and Sarah (1979), The History of Mr Polly (1980), The Last Song (1981), Brookside (1989), Boon (1990), The Upper Hand (1992), Wilderness (1996), Peter Ackroyd's London (2004) and Doctors (2004).

Terry Walsh (Guard captain) May 5 1939 to Apr 21 2002 (cancer) Click here for Terry Walsh's entry on Terror of the Autons

Ralph Watson (Ettis) Jan 20 1936 to Jun 20 2021
Doctor Who credits
Played: Technician in The Underwater Menace (1967)
Played: Captain Knight in The Web of Fear (1968)
Played: Ettis in The Monster of Peladon (1974)
Played: Ben in Horror of Fang Rock (1977)
Career highlights
His first credit was Front Page Story (1965), then The Three Musketeers (1966), The Anniversary (1968), Barlow at Large (1973), Edward the Seventh (1975), Battle of the Sexes (1976), When the Boat Comes In (1976), Dave Allen At Large (1976-78), Hazell (1979), One By One (1985), Prospects (1986), Boon (1989), Spender (1992), The Glass Virgin (1995), Shooting Fish (1997), A Soldier's Tunic (2004) and Casualty (2007).
Facts
In the early 1980s Ralph worked as a teacher in London.
In 2016 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Ralph here.

CREW

Brian Hayles (writer) Mar 7 1931 to Oct 30 1978 Click here for Brian Hayles's entry on The Celestial Toymaker

Lennie Mayne (director) Nov 8 1927 to May 20 1977 (drowned)
Doctor Who credits
Directed: The Curse of Peladon (1972), The Three Doctors (1972-73), The Monster of Peladon (1974), The Hand of Fear (1976)
Career highlights
Lennie also directed series such as Mickey Dunne (1967), Vendetta (1968), The First Lady (1969), The Borderers (1970), The Troubleshooters (1969-70), Brett (1971), Doomwatch (1971-72), Warship (1973), The Brothers (1974-75) and The Onedin Line (1976-77). He also choreographed for shows such as Rush Hour (1958), Cribbins (1965) and Call It What You Like (1965), and was credited as a dancer performing on 1960's Dial for Music.
Facts
Australian Lennie, who was married to actress Frances Pidgeon (who appeared in The Hand of Fear), was tragically drowned in a boating accident soon after finishing The Hand of Fear, when a dinghy he was using on the English Channel with two other yachtsmen (one of whom was actor Ian McCulloch, who was in Warriors of the Deep (1984)) was capsized by a freak wave, and the search-and-rescue team were unable to find him. It is his whistling you can hear in Sarah Jane actress Elisabeth Sladen's final scene in The Hand of Fear, as Sladen couldn't whistle.

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