The Robots of Death

SV7 (Miles Fothergill) bathed
in lavender

Four episodes (Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four)
First broadcast Jan 29 to Feb 19 1977
Average audience for serial: 12.73m

REGULAR CAST

Tom Baker (The Doctor) Born Jan 20 1934 Click here for Tom Baker's entry on Robot

Louise Jameson (Leela) Born Apr 20 1951 Click here for Louise Jameson's entry on The Face of Evil

GUEST CAST

David Bailie (Dask) Dec 4 1937 to Mar 6 2021
Career highlights
South African born David made his screen debut in Flame in the Streets (1961), followed by roles in Ransom for a Pretty Girl (1966), The Fenn Street Gang (1971), Adam Smith (1972), The Creeping Flesh (1973), Son of Dracula (1974), Legend of the Werewolf (1975), Warship (1977), Blake's 7 (1978), Cutthroat Island (1995), Gladiator (2000), Shadows in the Wind (2009), Tribe (2011), Sinbad (2012), Traveller (2013), The Timber (2015), The Beyond (2017), The House That Jack Built (2018) and In the Trap (2019). His most high profile success was playing Cotton in the three Pirates of the Caribbean films (The Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man's Chest and At World's End, 2003-07) and the short Tales of the Code: Wedlocked (2011).
Facts
The gap in David's CV in the 1980s is down to the fact he was running his own furniture-making business at the time, but he decided to return to acting in the early 1990s, at which point he had to have a cancer removed from his lip, prompting David to have to relearn how to speak. Latterly, he was also a portrait photographer. David's other claim to Doctor Who fame was having played an incarnation of the Celestial Toymaker in two Big Finish audios - 2009's The Nightmare Fair (an adaptation of a cancelled 1986 TV script) and Solitaire (2010).

Mark Blackwell Baker (Robot) Born Nov 28 1953
Career highlights
Mark's further work includes The Dragon's Opponent (1973), The Duchess of Duke Street (1977) and All Creatures Great and Small (1978).

John Bleasdale (Robot) Jun 29 1946 to Jul 16 2003
Career highlights
John's other work includes Village Hall (1974), Where the Heart Is (1979), Open All Hours (1982), We'll Meet Again (1982), Middle English: Interference (1985), Grange Hill (1985), Rockcliffe's Babies (1987), Ruth Rendell Mysteries (1990), A Touch of Frost (1992), To Play the King (1993), Bugs (1995), Wilde (1997), Harbour Lights (1999) and The Bill (1984/1994/2001).

David Collings (Poul) Jun 4 1940 to Mar 23 2020
Doctor Who credits
Played: Vorus in Revenge of the Cybermen (1975)
Played: Poul in The Robots of Death (1977)
Played: Mawdryn in Mawdryn Undead (1983)
Career highlights
David debuted in Crime and Punishment (1964), then took roles in Gideon's Way (1965), The Troubleshooters (1966), Point Counterpoint (1968), The Possessed (1969), Strange Report (1969), Scrooge (1970), UFO (1970), Elizabeth R (1971), The Regiment (1972), For the Love of Ada (1972), Mahler (1974), The Love School (1975), Treasure Island (1977), Midnight is a Place (1977-78), The Thirty-Nine Steps (1978), Breakaway (1980), Look and Read: Dark Towers (1981), Blake's 7 (1981), Airline (1982), The All Electric Amusement Arcade (1983), By the Sword Divided (1985), The Return of the Antelope (1988), Through the Dragon's Eye (1989), Boon (1991), Love Hurts (1992), The Darling Buds of May (1993), Press Gang (1989/93), Persuasion (1995), The Ruth Rendell Mysteries (1995), Wren: The Man Who Built Britain (2004), The Invisible Woman (2013) and Holby City (2015). He is perhaps best remembered as Silver in the telefantasy series Sapphire and Steel (1981-82), but fewer people might know he dubbed the English voice for the character of Monkey in the 1978-80 Japanese series of the same name (originally Saiyuki, based on the Chinese novel Journey to the West).
Facts
David's ex-wife was fellow actor Karen Archer, while his son Samuel is also an actor, perhaps best known to TV viewers as Tom in Hex (2005).
In 2017 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with David here.

Mark Cooper (Robot)
Career highlights
Mark's other acting work includes Man About the House (1975), The Upchat Connection (1978), Hawk the Slayer (1980) and CATS Eyes (1986). Note: IMDb lists Mark as having moved behind the camera to become a producer, but as I am unsure of whether this is the same man (it's a very common name), I'll await confirmation.

Brian Croucher (Borg) Born Jan 23 1942
Career highlights
Former Butlin's entertainer Brian made his screen debut in The Jazz Age (1968), after which he appeared in numerous productions, including The Ten Commandments (1971), Burke & Hare (1972), Made (1972), Cranford (1972), The Jensen Code (1973), The Hanged Man (1975), The New Avengers (1976), The XYY Man (1977), Out (1978), Sykes (1979), The Gentle Touch (1980), Jangles (1982), The Young Ones (1984), Edge of Darkness (1985), Grange Hill (1990-91), Shopping (1994), Wycliffe (1998), New Tricks (2010), Outside Bet (2012), COOLIO Time Travel Gangster (2014), Londinium (2016), The Murderers (2017) and Stan Lee's Lucky Man (2018). He may be best remembered as the second actor to play Blake's 7 baddie Travis in the 1979 series, and he also had regular roles as Chief Superintendent Barry Wyatt in Rockcliffe's Babies (1988) and Ted Hills in over 100 episodes of EastEnders (1995-97). He made a return to the world of Doctor Who in 1994 when he played Kurt in the fan spin-off video Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans.
Facts
Brian can also be seen in the 2014 video for Tori Amos's single Trouble's Lament. Brian is married to children's book illustrator Christina Balit.
In 2014 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Brian here.

Gregory de Polnay (D84) Born Oct 17 1943
Career highlights
Debuted in The Spanish Farm (1968), then Contrabandits (1968), Skippy (1969), The Rovers (1970), The Group (1971), Boney (1973), Angels (1976), Space: 1999 (1976), Poldark (1977), The Other One (1977), Tenko (1981), The Fourth Arm (1983), Missing from Home (1984), One By One (1985), Howards' Way (1987), Selling Hitler (1991), Boon (1991) and London's Burning (1992). Gregory also had a running role as Detective Sergeant Mike Brewer in Dixon of Dock Green (1974-75).
Facts
Gregory now works as an acting tutor and vocal coach. In 1987 Gregory had to give up acting for a time after a serious on-stage accident in America when he broke his hip and pelvic girdle while playing Malvolio in Twelfth Night. If you've ever pondered on the true face of D84, here's Gregory pictured in a 1976 episode of Space: 1999, and pictured more recently.
In 2016 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Gregory here.

Rob Edwards (Chub) Born May 24 1949
Doctor Who credits
Played: Xoanon voice in The Face of Evil (1977)
Played: Chub in The Robots of Death (1977)
Career highlights
Debuting in Gangsters (1976), Rob's further credits include Just William (1977), The Fourth Arm (1983), By the Sword Divided (1983-85), The Practice (1986), Aliens in the Family (1987), Campion (1989), Mother Love (1989), Soldier Soldier (1993), Harry (1995), Dangerfield (1996), Hamlet (1996), Trail of Guilt (1999), Dalziel and Pascoe (2006), Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk to Finchley (2008), The Thick of It (2005-12), Dancing on the Edge (2013) and Holby City (2017).
Facts
He was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 2000 for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as Scar in The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre (he lost to Simon Russell Beale).
In 2016 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Rob here.

Miles Fothergill (SV7)
Career highlights
Miles's acting career didn't last long as he gave it up to go into public relations, but his other credits comprise Blake's 7 (1978), Breakaway (1980) and The Olympian Way (1981).
Facts
Miles was also chosen as the first male presenter on British Satellite Television, the forerunner to Sky TV, in the mid-1980s. If you're curious about SV7's true appearance, here's Miles in his Blake's 7 role. He later moved to Spain.

Russell Hunter (Uvanov) Feb 18 1925 to Feb 26 2004 (lung cancer)
Career highlights
Scotsman Russell made his debut in 1950's The Gorbals Story, followed by roles in Lilli Marlene (1951), Angels One Five (1952), The Brave Don't Cry (1952), Dixon of Dock Green (1955), Para Handy - Master Mariner (1960), As You Like It (1963), Redcap (1966), Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970), Up Pompeii (1971), Ace of Wands (1971), Crown Court (1973), Whodunnit? (1973), Five Red Herrings (1975), Rule Britannia! (1975), Mind Your Language (1979), Scotland's Story (1984), First Among Equals (1986), The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1988), Lovejoy (1992), The Negotiator (1994), A Touch of Frost (1996), Deacon Brodie (1997), Skagerrak (2003), American Cousins (2003) and Born and Bred (2003). His most memorable role was as Lonely in the series Callan (1967-72), its 1974 film version and its 1981 spin-off Wet Job, while another long-running role was as Harry in The Gaffer (1981-83).
Facts
Director Peter Jackson used many of the mannerisms and facial expressions of Russell's character Lonely from Callan as the basis for the computer-generated Gollum/ Smeagol in his Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-03) - the likeness is admittedly undeniable. Former shipyard worker Russell had the honour of having appeared at the first ever Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1947, in The Plough and the Stars, and despite being very ill, his last theatrical appointment was at the 2003 Edinburgh Fringe, in 12 Angry Men. He was married three times, first to actress Marjorie Thomson (best known as Grace Lachlan in over 100 episodes of Scottish soap Take the High Road); secondly to actress Caroline Blakiston (known to sci-fi fans as Mon Mothma in Return of the Jedi, and who Russell referred to as his "best friend" ever after they'd divorced); and thirdly to actress Una McLean (known as Molly O'Hara in River City). In his later years Russell reprised the role of Uvanov for a series of audio plays based around the world of Kaldor City.

Peter Langtry (Robot) Born 1950
This is Peter's only credit. His real name is Peter de Breuilly. He went on to become a headteacher on the island of Jersey.

Jeremy Ranchev (Robot)
Career highlights
Jeremy's other work includes Secret Agent (1965), Goodbye, Mr Chips (1969) and Angels (1978).

Tania Rogers (Zilda)
Career highlights
Tania made her debt in Gangsters in 1975, followed by roles in Crown Court (1976), Dixon of Dock Green (1976), The XYY Man (1976), Out (1978), The Stud (1978), Minder (1980), Late Starter (1985) and Testament (1988).

Pamela Salem (Toos) Jan 22 1944 to Feb 21 2024
Doctor Who credits
Played: Xoanon voice in The Face of Evil (1977)
Played: Toos in The Robots of Death (1977)
Played: Rachel Jensen in Remembrance of the Daleks (1988)
Career highlights
Indian-born Pamela had one of the most familiar faces on British TV, her career starting with 1969's Happy Ever After, then Out of the Unknown (1971), Jason King (1971), The Onedin Line (1972), The Carnforth Practice (1974), Van der Valk (1977), Blake's 7 (1978), The Bitch (1979), Flesh and Blood (1980), Buccaneer (1980), Into the Labyrinth (1981-82), Never Say Never Again (1983, as Miss Moneypenny to Sean Connery's 007), The Tripods (1984), Ever Decreasing Circles (1984), Magnum P.I (1985), Howards' Way (1986), Succubus (1987), All Creatures Great and Small (1978/80/88, as Zoe Bennett), EastEnders (1988-89), French Fields (1989-91), Perfect Scoundrels (1992), ER (1996), Gods and Monsters (1998), Party of Five (2000), Licensed by Royalty (2003), The West Wing (2005, as the British PM!), Big Love (2010), Pig (2011) and Down's Revenge (2018).
Facts
Pamela originally auditioned for the role of companion Leela in The Face of Evil, but instead got a guest role in the following story. She was married to prolific Irish actor Michael O'Hagan until his death in 2017, while her sister is puppeteer and poet Gillie Robic.

Richard Seager (Robot) Born Feb 26 1951
Career highlights
South African born Richard's other work includes Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1978), Secret Army (1978/79) and Anne Devlin (1984).

Tariq Yunis (Cass) Oct 16 1946 to Aug 26 1994
Career highlights
Indian Tariq's debut was in a 1969 Wednesday Play called Birthday, but his career really took off in the 1970s with roles in The Regiment (1973), Sykes (1974), It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1975), Gangsters (1976), Rooms (1977), Strangers (1979), Terry and June (1979), Hammer House of Horror (1980), Minder (1982), On the Line (1982), Caught in a Free State (1984), Tandoori Nights (1985-87, as Alaudin), We'll Think of Something (1986), The Deceivers (1988), News at Twelve (1988), Scandal (1989), Shalom Salaam (1989), Nice Work (1989), Inspector Morse (1990), House of Cards (1990) and Bollywood (1994).

Facts

Birth surname spelt Yunus. Tariq's brother is Pakistani politician and columnist Kunwar Khalid Yunus, who has served as a Member of the National Assembly in Pakistan four times between 1988-2008 (for the Muttahida Qaumi Movement). Tariq studied for a geology degree, but two months before his exams (in 1962) headed to the UK with just £10 in his pocket. He got a job as a milkman's helper, then as a card sharp, before getting into acting. Andrew Davies' 1988 Screen Two TV play Lucky Sunil was inspired by Tariq's journey from India to the UK at so young an age. Before returning to India, Tariq co-founded Equity's Afro-Asian Committee. While directing a play at Bombay's Prithvi Theatre in 1994, Tariq fell ill with typhoid and died of a heart attack while in the house of his friend Jalal Agha, son of Bollywood star Agha (Jalal himself died of a heart attack six months later, aged 49).

CREW

Chris Boucher (writer) Feb 15 1943 to Dec 11 2022
Doctor Who credits
Wrote: The Face of Evil (1977), The Robots of Death (1977), Image of the Fendahl (1977)
Career highlights
Chris started out as a satirical and comedy sketch writer for the likes of Braden's Week (1968) and The Saturday Crowd (1969), later writing for Dave Allen At Large (1971), Romany Jones (1973), That's Life! (1973), Shoestring (1980), Juliet Bravo (1982), Home James! (1987) and The Bill (1990). Chris also played a major role in developing drama in the late 1970s and 80s, becoming script editor and occasional writer on Blake's 7 (1978-81), script editor of Bergerac (1983-87), series deviser of Star Cops (1987) and script editor on The Bill (1987). In more recent years Chris wrote novels and audio dramas based upon the worlds he created in Blake's 7 and Doctor Who (including Last Man Running, Corpse Marker, Psi-ence Fiction and Match of the Day).

Michael E Briant (director) Born Feb 14 1942 Click here for Michael Briant's entry on Colony in Space

Philip Hinchcliffe (producer) Born Oct 1 1944 Click here for Philip Hinchcliffe's entry on The Ark in Space

Robert Holmes (script editor) Apr 2 1926 to May 24 1986 (chronic liver ailment) Click here to see Robert Holmes's entry on The Krotons