The Sun Makers

The Gatherer (Richard Leech) is thrown
off the top of a tall building, but doesn't
go without demonstrating his famous
impression of Kenneth Williams first

Four episodes (Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four)
First broadcast Nov 26 to Dec 17 1977
Average audience for serial: 8.83m

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

John Leeson (Voice of K-9) Born Mar 16 1943 Click here for John Leeson's entry on The Invisible Enemy

GUEST CAST

Adrienne Burgess (Veet) Born Nov 20 1947
Career highlights
Australian Adrienne first appeared in Affairs of the Heart (1974), followed by roles in Space: 1999 (1975), Dickens of London (1976), Blake's 7 (1979), Priest of Love (1981), Cold Warrior (1984), Just Good Friends (1984), The Bill (1989/93) and The Yellow Wallpaper (1989).
Facts
In 1992 Adrienne wrote a book on fatherhood and parenting, and has since become an international authority on the subject. Adrienne is currently policy advisor to Fathers Direct, the British information centre for fathers, and also contributes to family policy in the Lord Chancellor's Department, the Cabinet Office and Number 10 Downing Street. She has, since the 1960s, been a jobbing journalist in both Australia and the UK. She is married to actor Martin Cochrane (who appeared in The Caves of Androzani in 1984).
In 2013 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Adrienne and her husband Martin here.

Derek Crewe (Synge) Jun 6 1945 to May 16 2011
Career highlights
Debuting in Canterbury Tales (1969), Derek's first regular role was as Lefty in The Tomorrow People (1973), after which he appeared in The Fortunes of Nigel (1974), Z Cars (1975), Oil Strike North (1975), Secret Army (1979), All Creatures Great and Small (1980), The Citadel (1983), We Are Seven (1989/91), Archer's Goon (1992), All Quiet on the Preston Front (1995), Picking Up the Pieces (1998), Holby City (2003) and Grass (2003).
Facts
In the 1960s Derek was in a group called Roy and the Renegades which frequented the same venues in Liverpool as the Beatles (and it seems he was a very much loved member of his community in Llay, Wrexham - see this tribute page for evidence). In the late 1980s he appeared in a memorable TV commercial in the UK for Trebor Extra Strong Mints.

Carole Hopkin (Nurse) Born Dec 1945
Career highlights
This is Carole's only acting credit. Carole is nowadays known as Carole Morgan-Hopkin, of the renowned Morgan-Hopkin artistic family from Wales (her sister Mary Hopkin is the singer of Those Were the Days fame, making Mary's husband - famous music producer Tony Visconti - Carole's brother in law. Carole also used to be Mary's manager in the 1960s). Watercolourist Carole has lived and exhibited in London and the United States, and has featured in American Vogue. She is also an interior designer, having designed a lounge for fashion designer Oscar de la Renta and a Japanese garden for Beatle George Harrison (Carole and her sister Mary are lifelong friends of the Beatles, the latter having toured with them in the 1960s, with Carole as chaperone). Carole is also one of the backing vocalists on the Beatles classic Hey Jude (along with Mary and Yoko Ono).

Michael Keating (Goudry) Born Feb 10 1947
Career highlights
Michael's earliest credit was a 1969 episode of Special Branch, followed by roles in Doomwatch (1972), The Dragon's Opponent (1973), Yes, Minister (1981), Rainbow (1986), Capital City (1989), London's Burning (1990), Between the Lines (1993), Midsomer Murders (2009) and Micro Men (2009). He will forever be remembered as Vila Restal in the sci-fi show Blake's 7 (1978-81), the only character to appear in all 52 episodes. He has enjoyed a recurring role as Reverend George Stevens in soap EastEnders since 2005.
Facts
Michael's first job was as a mailing clerk for United Artists Film Corporation in London. One of his duties was to take telegrams to the Post Office in Soho, and it was during that period he took one to be sent to the US to announce that the Beatles were to make their first film, A Hard Day's Night!

Tom Kelly (Guard)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Guard in The Face of Evil (1977), The Sun Makers (1977)
Played: Vardan in The Invasion of Time (1978)
Career highlights
Debuting in Angels (1976), Tom's other credits include Blake's 7 (1978), The Lost Boys (1978), Julius Caesar (1979), Agony (1981), Chintz (1981), Shine on Harvey Moon (1984), The Green Man (1990) and The Bill (1992). He may be remembered by cult TV fans as the soldier Sam Pearce in the railway station adventure of Sapphire and Steel (1979).
In 2016 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Tom here.

Richard Leech (Gatherer Hade) Nov 24 1922 to Mar 24 2004
Career highlights
Irish-born Richard's first credit was in The Temptress (1949), followed by Tygers Hart (1954), The Dam Busters (1955), The Iron Petticoat (1956), Curse of the Demon (1957), Ice Cold in Alex (1958), A Night to Remember (1958), Tunes of Glory (1960), The Terror of the Tongs (1961), Ricochet (1963), Ghost Squad (1963), Walk a Tightrope (1965), three episodes of The Avengers (1962/63/67), The Devil in the Fog (1968), The Gold Robbers (1969), The Doctors (1969), Seeing and Believing (1964-70), Special Branch (1973-74), The Gathering Storm (1974), Bill Brand (1976), The New Avengers (1976), Rooms (1977), Smiley's People (1982), Gandhi (1982), The Nation's Health (1983) and A Handful of Dust (1988).
Facts
The godfathers to his two daughters are Noel Coward and Alec Guinness. Before becoming an actor, Richard worked as a doctor with his own surgery in 1946; he wrote a column for the magazine World Medicine for 30 years. He also owned English vineyard Rocks Country Wines, and was an authority on Rudyard Kipling. Richard, whose second wife was book editor and romance novelist Diane Pearson, became very deaf in his latter years, curtailing his acting.

Roy Macready (Cordo) Born 1934
Career highlights
Roy debuted in Paul Temple (1970), and then took roles in The Mating Machine (1970), Fathers and Sons (1971), The Moonstone (1972), Clayhanger (1976), Pinocchio (1978), Flickers (1980), The Deceivers (1981), Bognor (1981), Janet and Company (1982), Britannia Hospital (1982), Rentaghost (1982), Luna (1983-84), Foxy Lady (1984), Alice in Wonderland (1986), So Haunt Me (1992), Harry's Mad (1993), The Upper Hand (1995), Madame Bovary (2000) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014).

Colin McCormack (Commander) Dec 2 1941 to Jun 19 2004 (cancer)
Career highlights
Debuting in All's Well That Ends Well (1968), Colin then took work in Trial (1971), General Hospital (1972), Thriller (1973), Dixon of Dock Green (1974), Quiller (1975), Rooms (1977), Out (1978), The Spoils of War (1980), Kelly Monteith (1981-82), Yes, Minister (1981), Chocky (1984), The Chief (1990), EastEnders (1991), A Touch of Frost (1992), Spender (1993), First Knight (1995), The Knock (1994/97) and Longitude (2000).
Facts
Colin was married to actress and movement specialist Wendy Alnutt. Colin also tutored at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and his students included Ewan McGregor, Joseph Fiennes and Daniel Craig. His children are Katherine McCormack Wherry (a publicist on various blockbuster films) and composer/ pianist Andrew McCormack.

David Rowlands (Bisham) Born 1944
Career highlights
Welshman David debuted in The Wars of the Roses (1965-66), followed by Mr Aitch (1967), The Dickie Henderson Show (1968), Counterstrike (1969), Elephant's Eggs in a Rhubarb Tree (1971), On the Buses (1971), Bless This House (1972), Sir Yellow (1973), The Regiment (1973), Rising Damp (1975), The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1977), Pennies from Heaven (1978), The Two Ronnies (1976-80), The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy (1981), Bognor (1981), Metal Mickey (1981), The Cleopatras (1983), Blott on the Landscape (1985) and 'Allo 'Allo! (1992).
Facts
Qualified teacher David also worked as a reporter for BBC Radio Sussex.

Jonina Scott (Marn) Sep 24 1943 to Oct 7 2018
Career highlights
After debuting in Harriet's Back in Town (1973), Jonina's other roles were in The Paradise Run (1976), Running Blind (1979) and The Onedin Line (1979). She then married actor David Ashton (who appeared in Timelash in 1985) and moved to Iceland, where she appeared in 101 Reykjavik (2000) and The Seagull's Laughter (2001) as Jonina Ólafsdóttir, her birthname.

William Simons (Mandrel) Nov 17 1940 to Jun 21 2019
Career highlights
William debuted as a child actor in Ivory Hunter (1951), and later appeared in West of Zanzibar (1954), A Castle and Sixpence (1954), Rex Milligan (1956), Jo's Boys (1959), Francis Storm Investigates (1960), The Old Curiosity Shop (1962-63), Mr Rose (1968), Hadleigh (1971), The Guardians (1971), Coronation Street (1972), Wessex Tales (1973), Secret Army (1977), Parables (1978), Cribb (1980-81), Minder (1984), Juliet Bravo (1985), Late Starter (1985), Wish Me Luck (1989), A Bit of a Do (1989), The Woman in Black (1989), The Darling Buds of May (1992), Lovejoy (1992), Haggard (1990-92), Casualty (2014) and Celebrity Antiques Road Trip (2017). Between 1973-83 William played Martin O'Connor QC in Crown Court, and between 1990-94 he played Inspector Fox in the Inspector Alleyn Mysteries. However, his most indelible role is as the much-loved (PC) Alf Ventress in over 350 episodes of Heartbeat (1992-2009) and in its spin-off series The Royal (2003-04).
Facts
Since adolescence William suffered with severe acne, hence his famously pock-marked face, and was patron of the Changing Faces charity, in aid of those with facial disfigurements. In 2008, William was forced to leave his home of 14 years near Goathland, where Heartbeat was filmed, due to fan intrusion.

Henry Woolf (The Collector) Jan 20 1930 to Nov 11 2021
Career highlights
Henry made his acting debut in Jacks and Knaves (1961), and then Stranger in the City (1962), A Home of Your Own (1964), Marat/ Sade (1967), Great Catherine (1968), The Lion in Winter (1968), The Bed Sitting Room (1969), Figures in a Landscape (1970), The Edwardians (1972), Full House (1972), Steptoe and Son Ride Again (1973), Skinflicker (1973), Rutland Weekend Television (1975-76), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), Joseph Andrews (1977), Sykes (1978), Superman III (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1989), The Silver Chair (1990), Revenge of the Land (1999), Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story (2006), Smallfilm (2007) and Dancing Day (2018). He also hosted the 1970s children's TV series Words and Pictures, and was a lifelong friend of playwright Harold Pinter (who dedicated his play The Hothouse to him).
Facts
Henry, whose wife was actor Susan Williamson, moved to Canada in 1978, where he joined the staff of the University of Saskatchewan in 1983, and was eventually promoted to full professor in 1990. He also served as artistic director of the Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan Festival in Saskatoon between 1991-2001. In 1957, Henry directed the first production of Pinter's first play The Room, and reprised the role of Mr Kidd for an anniversary production in 2007. In 2005, Henry said of his time in Doctor Who: "I put the heroine in a steamer and was generally a nasty so-and-so. I ended up disappearing down a plughole but I loved it because I had an electric chair. I told the BBC I had to have lots of rehearsal time for it so I spent the morning scooting about in my chair. That was fun."
In 2016 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Henry here.

CREW

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

Pennant Roberts (director) Dec 15 1940 to Jun 22 2010 (cancer) Click here for Pennant Roberts's entry on The Face of Evil

Graham Williams (producer) May 24 1945 to Aug 17 1990 (shooting incident) Click here for Graham Williams's entry on Horror of Fang Rock