The Curse of Fenric

The Haemovores pose for their
publicity shots

Four episodes (Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four)
First broadcast Oct 25 to Nov 15 1989
Average audience for serial: 4.13m

REGULAR CAST

Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor) Born Aug 20 1943 Click here for Sylvester McCoy's entry on Time and the Rani

Sophie Aldred (Ace) Born Aug 20 1962 Click here for Sophie Aldred's entry on Dragonfire

GUEST CAST

Christien Anholt (Perkins) Born Feb 25 1971
Career highlights
Christien debuted in Reunion (1989), then appeared in Hamlet (1990), Press Gang (1991), The Power of One (1992), The Blackheath Poisonings (1992), Mama's Back (1993), Hard Times (1994), The 10 Percenters (1996), Cadfael (1996), Preaching to the Perverted (1997), Felicity (1998), The Waiting Time (1999), Adventure Inc (2003), Dark Corners (2006), Flyboys (2006), Ben 10: Race Against Time (2007), Doctors (2014), Severed Garden (2015), Holby City (2017) and The Laureate (2020). He had a regular role as Nigel Bailey in 66 episodes of Relic Hunter (1999-2002).
Facts
Christien's father was actor Tony Anholt. Here is a part-Hungarian/ part-English fan site for him!

Marek Anton (Vershinin)
Doctor Who credits
Played: The Destroyer in Battlefield (1989)
Played: Vershinin in The Curse of Fenric (1989)
Career highlights
Marek's further credits include 'Allo 'Allo! (1992), Love Hurts (1993) and The Famous Five (1996).
Facts
He now lives in Poland.

Joanne Bell (Phyllis)
Career highlights
Joanne debuted in a 1982 Play for Today called A Mother Like Him, then appeared in The Professionals (1982), Dodger, Bonzo and the Rest (1984), Living Doll (1987) and Bergerac (1989). Between 1983-85 Joanne played Sarah Wilks in school drama Grange Hill.

Tomek Bork (Captain Sorin) Born Sep 17 1952
Career highlights
Tomek got his earliest credit in Najwazniejszy dzien zycia (1974), then Tylko Beatrycze (1976), Wysokie loty (1980), Mr Palfrey of Westminster (1985), The Bill (1986), CATS Eyes (1986), The One Game (1988), Piece of Cake (1988), Gentlemen and Players (1989), Murder By Moonlight (1989), Saracen (1989), Capital City (1989), Sleepers (1991), Second Thoughts (1992), Taggart (1995), Doctors (2007) and Jak gleboki jest ocean (2013). He also played Andrzej Talar in the Polish series Dom between 1980-2000 (despite being the longest-running TV series in Poland, only 25 episodes were made over a length of 20 years).
Facts
Tomek (born in Poland as Tomasz Borkowy) came to the UK in 1978 unable to speak English but has made both his home and career in Britain since (he has homes in both Scotland and Spain). He is chief executive and artistic director of Universal Arts, which has been running and promoting Edinburgh Fringe Festival shows and Scottish talent since 1990.

Mark Conrad (Petrossian)
Career highlights
Further credits include Stacy's Knights (1983), Troubles (1988), Arrivederci Millwall (1989) and Cardiac Arrest (1994).

Peter Czajkowski (Prozorov) Born Apr 27 1958
Career highlights
Peter (whose surname is pronounced "Tchaikovsky", like the composer) debuted in The Bill in 1985, after which he appeared in Hanna's War (1988), Moon and Son (1992), Soldier Soldier (1993), Birds of a Feather (1994), Men Behaving Badly (1995), Goodnight Sweetheart (1998), Heartbeat (2001) and The Last Detective (2003).
Facts
After giving up acting Peter became a drama teacher at a school in London but still directs stage productions, both independently and as part of educational projects. Here he is on Twitter.

Aaron Hanley (Baby Audrey) Born 1988
Anybody know him? He was born in Tunbridge Wells, and was apparently the son of a local landlord. He is the youngest credited actor to have appeared in Doctor Who.

Janet Henfrey (Miss Hardaker) Born Aug 16 1935
Doctor Who credits
Played: Miss Hardaker in The Curse of Fenric (1989)
Played: Mrs Pitt in Mummy on the Orient Express (2014)
Career highlights
After debuting in Thark (1961), Janet's CV includes The Dream Maker (1963), Martin Chuzzlewit (1964), Silas Marner (1964), Stand Up, Nigel Barton (1965), A Tale of Two Cities (1965), Tickertape (1968), The Jazz Age (1968), Wessex Tales (1973), Great Expectations (1981), Jury (1983), The Jewel in the Crown (1984), Chocky (1984), Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV (1985), Oliver Twist (1985), Alice in Wonderland (1986), Henry's Leg (1986), The Singing Detective (1986), Simon and the Witch (1987-88), Mr Majeika (1988), Capstick's Law (1989), The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (1989), The Upper Hand (1991), Bernard and the Genie (1991), Moon and Son (1992), One Foot in the Grave (1993), Just a Gigolo (1993), Dragonworld (1994), The Famous Five (1995), No Bananas (1996), Mrs Dalloway (1997), The Moonstone (1997), Les Miserables (1998), Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998), Doomwatch: Winter Angel (1999), The Worst Witch (1999-2000), Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (2001), Tipping the Velvet (2002), My Uncle Silas (2001/03), The Omen (2006), Fairytale of London Town (2010), Metamorphosis (2012), Agatha Christie's Marple (2013), Father Brown (2014), Mr Turner (2014), Toast of London (2014), Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016), The Crown (2017), Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor (2019) and The New Pope (2019-20). She also regularly played housekeeper Mrs Bale in sitcom As Time Goes By (1993-2005).
In 2018 Toby Hadoke released his Who's Round interview with Janet here.

Marcus Hutton (Sergeant Leigh) Born Apr 1 1964
Career highlights
Marcus made his debut in Doctor Who, then appeared in Love Hurts (1992), Crocodile Shoes (1996), CI5: The New Professionals (1999), Hollyoaks (2007), Made in Dagenham (2010), Holby City (2011), Midsomer Murders (2014), Daye's Work (2016) and Saint Maud (2019). Marcus also enjoyed a recurring role as Nathan Cuddington in soap Brookside between 1998-2000. In 2010, he appeared in, as well as edited, directed and produced, the 11-minute short Dial N for Nurder.
Facts
He is now a prolific voiceover artist and has his own company and recording studio, and was for a time the face of the Swiss banking giant UBS. He has twice played the Duke of Buckingham in Big Finish audios (2002's The Church and the Crown and 2006's The Kingmaker).

Joann Kenny (Jean) Feb 11 1972 to Jan 3 2010 (multiple organ failure, pneumonia and alcoholic liver disease*)
Career highlights
Joann will perhaps be best remembered for playing Jane Bishop in school drama Grange Hill between 1985-88; her only other acting credit was The Bill in 1989.
Facts
As part of the Grange Hill cast she appeared on the Just Say No anti-drugs single in 1986, which peaked at number 5 on the chart. She can also be seen in the videos for The Mobiles' 1981 single Drowning in Berlin and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's Genetic Engineering (1983). You can watch a video tribute to Joann here. * Some reports claim she died of cancer, but her death certificate apparently reads as this.

Dinsdale Landen (Dr Judson) Sep 4 1932 to Dec 29 2003 (mouth cancer and pneumonia)
Career highlights
Debuted in While Parents Sleep (1957), then appeared in Great Expectations (1959), Operation Snatch (1962), We Joined the Navy (1962), They All Died Laughing (1964), The Mask of Janus (1965), Rasputin: The Mad Monk (1966), The Spies (1966), Mickey Dunne (1967), The Avengers (1968), World in Ferment (1969), Jason King (1972), Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World (1973), Thriller (1973/74), Cilla's Comedy Six (1975), Rooms (1975), The Glittering Prizes (1976), Fathers and Families (1977), Devenish (1977-78), The New Avengers (1977), International Velvet (1978), Pig in the Middle (1980), Freud (1984), Morons from Outer Space (1985), The Irish RM (1985), Woof! (1991), Lovejoy (1993/94), The Buccaneers (1995), The Wingless Bird (1997) and The Inspector Lynley Mysteries (2004).
Facts
Dinsdale was a very intuitive, observant actor and used to travel on the London Tube watching how people behaved so he could feed it into his performances. He largely retired from acting in 1998 after being diagnosed with mouth cancer, which was in remission at the time of his death. Dinsdale was married to the actress Jennifer Daniel, with whom he wrote a book in 1985 called The True Story of H P Sauce!

Alfred Lynch (Commander Millington) Jan 26 1931 to Dec 16 2003 (cancer)
Career highlights
Alfred debuted in Wideawake (1957), then found work in Big Guns (1958), Look Back in Anger (1959), Operation Snafu (1961), The Password is Courage (1962), 55 Days at Peking (1963), The Hill (1965), Hereward the Wake (1965), Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1965), The Sea Gull (1968), The Blockhouse (1973), The Fortunes of Nigel (1974), Going Straight (1978), Murder at the Wedding (1979), The Good Companions (1980-81), The Deliberate Death of a Polish Priest (1987), Bulman (1985/87), Floodtide (1987), Bergerac (1990), The Krays (1990), Lovejoy (1993), Pie in the Sky (1995) and Monsignor Renard (2000). He had a regular role as Squadron Leader Jimmy Briggs in Manhunt (1970).
Facts
His partner since the 1950s was actor James Culliford, who appeared in Frontier in Space (1973). After recording his scenes for Doctor Who in October 1972, James suffered a stroke, and Alfred looked after him until James died in 2002. Alfred once had a fling with ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev.

Nicholas Parsons (Reverend Wainwright) Oct 10 1923 to Jan 28 2020
Career highlights
Nicholas is best known for his presenting work on both radio and TV. His earliest role in this regard was on What's It All About? (1955), followed by series such as They're Off! (1956), The Eurovision Song Contest (1963), All Kinds of Music (1970), Sale of the Century (1971-84), The Saints Went Marching Out (1980), The All New Alphabet Game (1987), Roland's Rat Race (1988), Laughlines (1990), Just a Minute (1994-99/2012 on TV and on radio continuously since 1967) and Have I Got News for You (2005). However, his acting credentials stem back far further, both straight roles and comedy, beginning in Hay Fever (1946), then Spring at Marino (1951), The Passing Show (1951), The Eric Barker Half-Hour (1951-53), Here and Now (1955-56), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1956), Brothers in Law (1957), Too Many Crooks (1959), Doctor in Love (1960), Carry On Regardless (1961), Murder Ahoy (1964), The Arthur Haynes Show (1957-65, on TV and radio), Night Train to Surbiton (1965), The Wrong Box (1966), The Ghost Goes Gear (1966), The Ugliest Girl in Town (1968-69), The Benny Hill Show (1968-71), The Very Merry Widow and How (1969), Spy Story (1976), The Morecambe and Wise Show (1978), Rod and Emu's Saturday Special (1983), Roland Rat: The Series (1986), Bodger and Badger (1991), Kappatoo (1992), Cluedo (1993), Agatha Christie's Marple (2010) and Good Omens (2019). He also provided the voice for Sheriff Tex Tucker in Gerry Anderson's Four Feather Falls (1960) and narration for The Wotwots (2010).
Awards
2004: Officer of the order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama and broadcasting
2014: Commander of the order of the British Empire (CBE) for charitable services
Facts
Nicholas's first wife was actress Denise Bryer, best known for her voice work on Four Feather Falls and Terrahawks (1983-86, as Mary Falconer and Zelda). His father was a doctor and is thought to have been the GP who delivered future British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1925. In 1976 Nicholas was asked by the Liberal Party to stand in the Yeovil constituency, but declined so he could concentrate on his entertainment career. Instead the party chose Paddy Ashdown, who went on to win the seat in the 1983 General Election, and become leader of the Liberal Democrats between 1988-99.
This is Your Life: Nicholas was the subject of Thames TV's This is Your Life on March 1st, 1978, surprised by host Eamonn Andrews in the bar of the White House Hotel in London. Fellow Doctor Who actor Sneh Gupta was a guest at the tribute. Link to The Big Red Book entry.

Cory Pulman (Kathleen Dudman) Born Apr 21 1963
Career highlights
Cory debuted as Mandy Whitworth in Coronation Street (1984), then appeared in Fresh Fields (1985), Hot Metal (1986), Robin of Sherwood (1986), Boon (1988), Surgical Spirit (1990) and Midsomer Murders (1997).
Facts
Cory's mother was actress Barbara Young, and her father was TV scriptwriter Jack Pulman. Her sister is Liza Pulman, member of the comedy cabaret act Fascinating Aida. Cory is now known by her married name of Cory Pulman-Jones and is Director of Performance Drama at The Leys boarding school in Cambridge.

Anne Reid (Nurse Crane) Born May 28 1935

Doctor Who credits

Played: Nurse Crane in The Curse of Fenric (1989)

Played: Florence Finnegan in Smith and Jones (2007)

Career highlights

Anne made her debut in 1957 in The Benny Hill Show, then popped up in The Machine Breakers (1957), Hancock's Half Hour (1957-59), Buggins' Ermine (1972), Nightingale's Boys (1975), Heydays Hotel (1977), Strangers (1978), The Mallens (1979-80), My Father's House (1981), The Practice (1985), Bleak House (1985), Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV (1986), Victoria Wood (1989), Josie Smith (1991), Rich Tea and Sympathy (1991), Roughnecks (1994), Seaforth (1994), Wallace and Gromit in A Close Shave (1995, as the voice of Wendolene), Spark (1997), Playing the Field (1998-99), Peak Practice (1993/99), Linda Green (2001), Dalziel and Pascoe (2001-02), The Mother (2003), Rose and Maloney (2004), Bleak House (2005), The Booze Cruise trilogy (2003-06), Hot Fuzz (2007), In Love with Barbara (2008), Cemetery Junction (2010), Marchlands (2010), Prisoners' Wives (2013), Inside No 9 (2014), Our Zoo (2014), Electric Dreams (2017), The Snowman (2017), A Woman of No Importance (2018), Years and Years (2019), Sanditon (2019), The Nest (2020) and SAS: Red Notice (2021). She has had a number of recurring roles, starting with Valerie Barlow in soap Coronation Street (1961-71), Wendy Holmes in Firm Friends (1992-94), Jean in Dinnerladies (1998-2000), Brenda Thornhill in Life Begins (2004-06), Vera Small in Ladies of Letters (2009-10), Clarice Thackeray in Upstairs, Downstairs (2010-12), Queenie in Hold the Sunset (2018-19) and Celia in Last Tango in Halifax (2012-20).
Awards
2010: Member of the order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to drama

Facts

Anne was nominated for a Best Actress BAFTA, British Independent Film Award, Chlotrudis Award and European Film Award for The Mother in 2004: however, she only won a London Critics' Circle Film Award. Her husband, until his death in 1981, was Head of Drama at Granada TV Peter Eckersley; their son is film editor Mark Eckersley.

Stevan Rimkus (Captain Bates)
Career highlights
After debuting in The Chinese Detective (1982), Stevan went on to appear in Taggart (1983), Cal (1984), Three Wishes for Jamie (1987), Heart of the Country (1987), Prick Up Your Ears (1987), Les Girls (1988), Wild Flowers (1989), London Kills Me (1991), El CID (1992), The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992), Elidor (1995), Dangerfield (1999), Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang) (2000), Trial and Retribution (2002), Doctors (2002), American Cousins (2003), Hidalgo (2004), Modigliani (2004), Monarch of the Glen (2004), The Rising: Ballad of Mangal Pandey (2005) and Houdini (2014).

Raymond Trickett (Ancient Haemovore) Born Mar 5 1962
Career highlights
Raymond's other - principally action or stunt - work includes Life Without George (1988), EastEnders (1988-89), French Fields (1989), Medics (1990), Covington Cross (1992), Blue Ice (1992), May to December (1992-93), Birds of a Feather (1997), Supply and Demand (1998), Messiah (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), Power Rangers SPD (2005), Children of Men (2006), The Bank Job (2008), The Russian Spy (2012), Axeman (2013), Dead Bullet (2015), Shadows of the Dead (2016), Silence (2018) and Axeman: Redux (2020).

CREW

Ian Briggs (writer) Born Oct 31 1958
Doctor Who credits
Wrote: Dragonfire (1987), The Curse of Fenric (1989)
Career highlights
Ian's further screen writing work includes Casualty (1990) and The Bill (1990).

In 2019 Toby Hadoke released the first of a three-part Who's Round interview with Ian here.

Nicholas Mallett (director) May 6 1945 to Jan 30 1997 (AIDS-related illness)
Doctor Who credits
Directed: The Trial of a Time Lord Parts 1-4 (1986), Paradise Towers (1987), The Curse of Fenric (1989)
Career highlights
Nicholas started out as a production assistant on series such as Oppenheimer (1980) and Icebound in the Antarctic (1982) but then graduated to directing on series such as Late Starter (1985), Black Silk (1985), Crossroads (1987-88), Children's Ward (1989), Ruby (1991), The Bill (1993-95) and Take the High Road (1993-95).

John Nathan-Turner (producer) Aug 12 1947 to May 1 2002 (liver failure) Click here for John Nathan-Turner's entry on The Leisure Hive

Andrew Cartmel (script editor) Born Apr 6 1958 Click here for Andrew Cartmel's entry on Time and the Rani