Classic Doctor Who writer Robert Banks Stwert has died

Robert Banks Stewart, creator of the Zygons, has sadly passed away.

Aside from writing two Fourth Doctor adventures – Terror of the Zygons and The Seeds of Doom – he co-created the well-remembered Shoestring (1979–80) starring Trevor Eve as a detective on the edge, and created the enormously popular Jersey-based cop show, Bergerac (1981–89). He also scripted episodes of the most iconic series of the 60s and 70s including Danger Man, The Avengers, Callan and The Sweeney and served as a producer on huge hits such as Hannay, The Darling Buds of May and Lovejoy.

But Doctor Who fans will remember Robert for his two fantastic stories from the 70s. The first, Terror of the Zygons, introduced the shapeshifting Zygons, a popular foe who returned in the 50th anniversary special and more recently, in a series 9 two-parter.

His second adventure, The Seeds of Doom, is a cracking six-parter full of wit, energy, terrific dialogue and superb characters. The alien menace of the story – the Krynoids – only made a single television appearance but they remain one of the best-loved monsters from the show’s early years.

Robert Banks Stewart (1931 - 2016)

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Happy Birthday McCoy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 

SYLVESTER McCOY! 

 

Born Percy James Patrick Kent-Smith in Dunoon, on the Cowal peninsula, to an Irish mother and English father, killed in action in World War II a couple of months before his son was born.

 

He came to prominence as a member of the comedy act "The Ken Campbell Roadshow". His best known act was as a stuntman character called "Sylveste McCoy" in a play entitled An Evening with Sylveste McCoy (the name was coined by actor Brian Murphy, part of the Roadshow at the time), where his stunts included putting a fork and nails up his nose and stuffing ferrets down his trousers, and setting his head on fire.

As a joke, the programme notes listed Sylveste McCoy as played by "Sylveste McCoy" and, after a reviewer missed the joke and assumed that Sylveste McCoy was a real person, Kent-Smith adopted this as his stage name. Some years later, McCoy added an "r" to the end of "Sylveste". Notable television appearances before he gained the role of the Doctor included roles in Vision On (where he played Pepe/Epep, a character who lived in the mirror), an O-Man in Jigsaw and Tiswas. He also appeared in Eureka, often suffering from the inventions of Wilf Lunn and as Wart, assistant to StarStrider in the CITV series of the same name. McCoy also portrayed, in one-man shows on the stage, two famous movie comedians: Stan Laurel and Buster Keaton. He also appeared as Henry "Birdie" Bowers in the 1985 television serial about Scott's last Antarctic expedition, The Last Place on Earth.



McCoy also had a small role in the 1979 film Dracula opposite Laurence Olivier and Donald Pleasence, and has sung with the Welsh National Opera.

 McCoy became the Seventh Doctor after taking over the lead role in Doctor Who in 1987 from Colin Baker. He remained on the series until it ended in 1989, ending with Survival. As Baker declined the invitation to film the regeneration scene, McCoy briefly wore a wig and appeared, face-down, as the 6th Doctor. He played the Doctor in the 1993 charity special Dimensions in Time, and again in 1996, appearing in the beginning of the Doctor Who television movie starring Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor.

 In his first series, McCoy, a comedy actor, portrayed the character with a degree of clown-like humour, but script editor Andrew Cartmel soon changed that when fans argued that the character (and plots) were becoming increasingly lightweight. The Seventh Doctor developed into a much darker figure than any of his earlier incarnations, manipulating people like chess pieces and always seeming to be playing a deeper game. A distinguishing feature of McCoy's performances was his manner of speech. He used his natural slight Scottish accent and rolled his rs. At the start of his tenure he used proverbs and sayings adapted to his own ends (e.g. "There's many a slap twixt cup and lap" — Delta and the Bannermen), although this characteristic was phased out during the later, darker series of his tenure.

Newly regenerated Seventh Doctor revealing his choice of suitable attire

Happy Birthday Tom

Happy birthday to former Doctor, Tom Baker who is 81 today.

Official Series 34 trailer

I apologize for the lack of updates since April of this year. I stopped because photographs of actors I had posted have been removed and this peeved me off, especially as I gave the source of the image with each post. I shall try and keep abreast of news, anniversaries, etc.

First up, here is the official Doctor Who series 34 BBC trailer, which most people have already seen by now. I have to say, judging by these clips in the trailer, we are in for a great ride with Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor.

On a far less happy note, yesterday, 26th July, marked the second anniversary of the passing of Mary Tamm who lost her fight with cancer. She was 62. 

Happy Birthday David

Today, 18th April,  is the 43rd birthday of tenth Doctor David Tennant (MacDonald)

Happy Birthday David 

With Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith in the fiftieth anniversary special Day Of The Doctor

Happy Birthday Doctor 12

Yesterday was the birthday of one Peter, today, is the birthday of Peter number 2, Peter Capaldi that is. 

Peter Dougan Capaldi is 56 years old today.

 

With Jenna Coleman on set in Caerdydd

Happy Birthday Doctor 5

Today, 13th April is  the 63rd birthday of fifth Doctor Peter Davison.  He played the Doctor from 1981 to 1984.

Happy Birthday

 

Caves Of Androzani

Kate O'Mara Dead

Former Dynasty star Kate O'Mara has died at a Sussex nursing home at the age of 74 after a short illness. O'Mara was best known for playing Alexis Colby's scheming sister Cassandra "Caress" Morrell in the soap in the mid-80s, but also had a recurring role in Doctor Who as renegade Time Lord The Rani,  as well as starring in Howards' Way and Triangle. 

Her agent Phil Belfield said: "She was extraordinary, she had so much energy and vitality with a love for theatre and acting. A shining star has gone out and Kate will be dearly missed by all who knew and have worked with her."

  

Doctor Who actor Colin Baker tweeted: "Oh my goodness. Kate O'Mara is no longer with us. Sad sad news. A delightful, committed and talented lady and actress. We are the poorer".

Throughout the 1970s she starred in a number of television series including The Return of the Saint, and The Brothers. During the 1990s she also had a recurring role in the ITV prison drama Bad Girls and also had a role in Jennifer Saunders 90s comedy series Absolutely Fabulous, where she played Jackie, the sister of Patsy,  played by Joanna Lumley.

Kate O'Mara is fondly remembered for her role as The Rani in Doctor Who during the 1980s. She first appeared as The Rani in the 1985 story The Mark Of The Rani alongside Colin Baker as the Doctor and Anthony Ainsley as the Master. Kate returned to the role in 1987s Time And The Rani, this time with Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor. Last year, which was Doctor Who's 50th anniversary, she said she would like to reprise the role,

''I'd love to come back as The Rani another time around.

She had been married and divorced three times -once to fellow Doctor Who actor Jeremy Young - and she was a strong advocate of animal welfare issues. During her acting career she also wrote two autobiographies; Vamp Until Ready and Game Plan: A Woman's Survival Kit.

Patrick Troughton

Patrick George Troughton

25th March 1920 - 28th March 1987

The Doctor

1966 - 1969

Remembering Mary Tamm

Mary Tamm would have been 64 years old today. 

(1950 - 2012)

Mary Tamm is still fondly remembered for portraying the first incarnation of Romanadvoratrelundar or Romana for short, in Doctor Who back in 1978/79 during The Keys To Time serial; alongside then Doctor Tom Baker. 

Mary Tamm was married to Marcus Ringrose from 1978 until her death in 2012 from cancer. Sadly, a few hours after giving an eulogy at her funeral, Marcus died. They left behind their daughter Lauren and grandson Max.

Her autobiography, First Generation, was published in September 2009 by Fantom Films. Prior to her death, Mary had been working on volume two of her autobiography titled Second Generation, which will be on sale in April 2014, and can be pre-ordered 28th March 2014 from Amazon.

Remembering Nicholas Courtney (16 December 1929 – 22 February 2011)

Today, 22nd February 2014 is the third anniversary of the death of Nicholas Courtney who passed away in 2011. Courtney is best remembered for his role as Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart in Doctor Who as head of U.N.I.T. (United Nations Intelligence Taskforce now known as UNified Intelligence Taskforce) 

 h 

William Nicholas Stone Courtney (16 December 1929 – 22 February 2011). Courtney was born in Cairo, Egypt, the son of a British diplomat, and was educated in France, Kenya and Egypt. On his mother's side Courtney was descended from the New Zealand Politician John Cuff. He did his national service in the British Army, leaving after 18 months as a private, not wanting to pursue a military career. He next joined the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, and after two years began doing repertory theatre in Northampton. From there he moved to London in 1961.

 According to his official Web site, he died following a long illnes at the age of 81.

His first television work was in the 1957 series Escape. Prior to Doctor Who, Courtney made guest appearances in several cult television series, including The Avengers (1962, 1967), The Champions (1968) and Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (1969) and as a racing driver in Riviera Police (1965).

Director Douglas Camfield originally considered Courtney for the role of Richard the Lionheart in The Crusade (1965), a role that ultimately went to Julian Glover. Though Camfield made sure to keep Courtney in mind for future casting. Courtney would make his first appearance in the series, when Camfield cast him in the 1965 serial The Daleks' Master Plan, where he played Space Security Agent Bret Vyon opposite William Hartnell as the Doctor.

We first met the Brig when he was a mere Colonel during Patrick Troughton's tenure as the Second Doctor (1966-1969) in The Web Of Fear. 

Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart was the second commander of the British Army forces opposing the Great Intelligence's assault on London. He replaced the deceased Colonel Pemberton. He was the sole survivor of a Robot Yeti assault at Holborn before heading down to the London Underground to take command. It was at this time that Lethbridge-Stewart first met the Doctor, in his second incarnation. Lethbridge-Stewart showed a quick, decisive manner and a ready acceptance of events, even believing the story about the TARDIS from the start.

Courtney became a fan favourite  during Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor era (1970 -1974), when he starred in 101 episodes, and by now, he had been promoted to Brigadier.

Having found the Doctor's help to have been invaluable, the Brigadier set out to recruit a full-time scientific advisor to UNIT. He approached Dr. Elizabeth Shaw, who was initially skeptical of both the offer and the idea of aliens. During this time, the Brig met the Doctor again, this time a patient in the local hospital. The Doctor had a forced regeneration thrust upon him by the Time Lords and exiled to 20th century Earth. The Brigadier took on the new Doctor as UNIT's scientific advisor, with Liz Shaw as his assistant (Spearhead From Space).

Following his retirement from U.N.I.T, he took on the post as an A-level maths teacher at Brendon Public School. In 1977, the Brigadier saw and touched hands with his own future self from 1983. The time differential shorted out, causing an energy discharge. The Brigadier fell unconscious and spent the next six years in a state of partial amnesia, having forgotten ever meeting the Doctor. In 1983, when his pupils included the humanoid alien Vislor Turlough, the Brigadier encountered the Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison), whom he did not recognise, and met his past self from 1977. Thus completed the temporal paradox. (Mawdryn Undead).

During the 1990s, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewert chose to  come out of retirement, albet briefly; to assist  Brigadier Winifred Bambera and UNIT battle an invasion from a parallel universe led by the sorceress Morgaine. Once again, he met the Doctor, now in his seventh incarnation (Sylvester McCoy). Together they defeated Morgaine. Lethbridge-Stewart distinguished himself during these events, singlehandedly taking on the Destroyer and dispatching him, armed only with a revolver loaded with silver bullets. (Battlefield)

 Lethbridge-Stewart died sometime before 2020.

Eccleston's Milestone

Today, Sunday, 16th February former Doctor Who star Christopher Eccleston turned 50!

Born into a working class family in the Langworthy area of Pendleton, Salford, Lancashire, Eccleston is the youngest of three sons of Elsie and Ronnie Eccleston. His brothers, Alan and Keith, are twins, eight years his senior. The family lived in a small terraced house in Blodwell Street until the late 1960s, when they moved to Little Hulton. At the age of 19, he was inspired to enter the acting profession by television dramas such as Boys from the Blackstuff.

Eccleston is married and became a father to his first child, Albert, in February 2012. He is an atheist. He is a supporter of Manchester United, and was a regular marathon runner until 2000. In September 2007, as part of their £9.5m build scheme, Salford's Pendleton College named their new 260-seat theatre the "Eccleston Theatre". Eccleston is an avid charity worker, becoming a Mencap charity ambassador on 28 April 2005, and is also a supporter of the British Red Cross.

Eccleston made his film debut in the 1991 film Let Him Have It, based on the true story of Derek Bentley, who was wrongly convicted and hanged for the murder of a police officer in 1953. Bentley was an illiterate young adult with developmental disabilities who fell into a gang led by a younger teenager named Chris Craig (Paul Reynolds). The two become trapped by the police, who tell Chris to put down his gun. Bentley says, "Let him have it, Chris." Chris begins firing, killing one officer and wounding another. Because he is a minor (under 18), Chris is given a minor sentence, but Bentley, although he did not shoot anyone, is sentenced to death, on the basis that his statement to Chris was an instigation to begin shooting.

The film's end titles state that Bentley's sister, Iris, was still fighting for his pardon. The BBC reports that seven years after the film was made and after numerous unsuccessful campaigns to get Derek Bentley a full pardon, his conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal on 30 July 1998, one year after Iris' death. 

A regular role in the television series Cracker (1993–94) brought him recognition in the UK and, after he told TV bosses of his desire to leave the series, they killed off his character in October 1994, making him a victim of the serial killer Albie Kinsella (Robert Carlyle). His final episode being based around the tragic events of the Hillsborough stadium in 1989. In 1996, he took the part of Trevor Hicks - a man who lost both of his daughters in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster - in the television drama film Hillsborough, penned by Jimmy McGovern. In real life, he was the best man to Trevor Hicks at his marriage in March 2009. 

Other tv roles include: Our Friends In The North, Boon, Poirot, Clocking Off, The Borrowers, Lucan  and of course as the Ninth Doctor in Doctor Who when the show returned in 2005 thanks to Russell T Davies. 

His film credits include: Shallow Grave, Elizabeth, The Others, 28 Days Later, and Malekith in the 2013 Thor 2: The Dark World

Lis Sladen gone but not forgotten

Today, 2nd February would have been the 68th birthday of Elisabeth Sladen. Hard to believe it will be three years come 19th April since she lost her battle with the evil that is cancer.

Happy Birthday Tom!

Happy 80th Birthday Tom Baker

  (Photo copyright: Sue Jerrard at http://www.tom-baker.co.uk/)

Thomas Stewert Baker was born in Liverpool on 20 January 1934, the eldest of three children. His father was a steward in the Merchant Navy, and his devoutly Catholic mother worked as a barmaid and cleaner. The family was poor but aunts, uncles and cousins were kind and supportive, so it was not an unhappy childhood.

During the war, Tom's mother chose to keep him at home rather than send him away with the evacuees as she couldn’t bear to be separated from him.  As the war brought no harm to him or his family, Tom found it an exciting time, and became such a dedicated collector of shrapnel and salvage that he was presented with a certificate by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool. He also became an altar boy revelling in the stupefying smell of incense, the incomprehensible mutter of Latin and the thrill and danger of Hell compared to which World War seemed fun.

 (Tom aged 22)

Tom was not at all academic and struggled with everyday school work, failing the eleven plus. At 15, much to the delight of his family, he joined a religious order, the De la Mennais Brothers originating from Ploërmel in Brittany in France, and he dedicated himself to the monastic life. However as the years went by, disillusionment overwhelmed him, and at 21 he decided to leave. Tom later wrote about his time in the monastery in his autobiography “Who on Earth is Tom Baker?”

Tom Baker played the Doctor; a time travelling Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of  Kasterborous from 8th June 1974 to 21st March 1981. A total of 172 appearances as the Doctor.

After Jon Pertwee's very successful four year run as the Doctor, fans of Doctor Who were about to see the Doctor as they had never seen him before. The fourth Doctor would be playedby an actor who was unknown to the general public and had been working on a building site waiting for his big break. That actor was to be Tom Baker!

Tom Baker, some would say, was a man destined to play the Time Lord  from Gallifrey, an alien who wandered the cosmos in a battered old Police Box, which can travel in both space and time. Fortunately for the Doctor Who loving public, Barry Letts, after searching high and low, chose to follow his gut instinct and cast this wide eyed unknown. Tom Baker would become one of the most successful Doctors in the programme's fifty year history. 

After 7 years on our screen as The Doctor, the longest actor in the role, that even today in 2014, that when anyone mentions Doctor Who, they usually think of a scarf, Jelly Babies, Sonic Screwdriver and of course his robot dog companion K9. In short they are thinking of the fourth Doctor; such is the lasting impression of Tom Baker
Something was happening to Doctor Who. Tom Baker was in place, and his chemistry with Elisabeth Sladen would mean that she would shine like she had never shone before. Philip Hinchcliffe took over as producer whilst Robert Holmes would be handed script editing duties. Doctor Who was about to get a whole lot scarier and a little bit darker.

As for the age of this incarnation of the Doctor, he was 748 at the start of this regeneration  and later on he consistently said he was "something about 750", and was about 757 or 749 when he travelled with Sarah Jane Smith, a further year older when travelling with Leela and 756 with Romana during her first incarnation. She soon corrected him by saying he was actually 759. Before they assembled the Key to Time, he turned 760. Another time, he said he was possibly 730, but couldn't remember his actual age. In essence, this Doctor claimed  to be anything from 400 to a tad over 1000 years old during his life.  Romana told the Doctor that after the first couple hundred years, it would be hard to remember your exact age. This would explain the Doctor's problem with remembering his exact age.


Tom Baker was to become THE Doctor, the definite  article you might say ....

Happy Birthday Wendy

Wendy Padbury, born 7 December 1947 in Warwickshire, England, played companion Zoe Heriot from The Wheel in Space to The War Games and again in The Five Doctors.

Happy 66th Birthday Wendy

Padbury came to prominence as an actor in 1966, when she joined the cast of the long-running ATV soap opera Crossroads. She played the role of Stephanie "Stevie" Harris, foster daughter to the show's main character, Meg Mortimer (Noele Gordon). 

She was cast as the Second Doctor's new companion, Zoe Heriot, in Doctor Who in 1968. She became very close to her co-stars Frazer Hines and Patrick Troughton. Padbury tells many fond stories about the practical jokes they played on each other during rehearsals; perhaps the most famous tale she told about this was when, in rehearsal, she fell asleep. As she was wearing a kilt, Patrick Troughton undid the clasp and then woke her up. Startled, she leaped up and the kilt fell off. In those days, the rehearsals for Doctor Who were held in a Church hall - the moment Wendy leaped up and screamed was the exact moment the Vicar walked into the hall. Wendy now says, very fondly of Patrick Troughton, that he had deliberately timed it so! 

Her connection with Doctor Who, after she left the programme (at the same time as Hines and Troughton) was not quite over. She appeared in Doctor Who and the Daleks in Seven Keys to Doomsday (1974), a stage play at the Adelphi Theatre London based on the television series, in which she played a companion named Jenny, opposite Trevor Martin as the Doctor. She made a cameo appearance, again opposite Hines and Troughton in Doctor Who's twentieth anniversary story, The Five Doctors. She is now retired and lives in France.

Info

Belated Verity Birthday

Yesterday, 27th November 2013, would have been Verity Lambert's 78th Birthday.

Verity was born in Hampstead, London in 1935. She is best known of course for producing the longest running science fiction and worldwide phenomenon that is Doctor Who from 1963 to 1967. 

 

Verity owned her own production company, Cinema Verity. She was awarded an OBE in 2002 for services to film and television, making her the first producer of Doctor Who to be made an OBE. She was due to receive a lifetime achievement award at the Women in Film and Television Awards in December 2007, but died before the award could be presented to her. It was awarded posthumously. She died the day before the show's 44th anniversary in 2007.

As part of the 50th anniversary celebration, Jessica Raine (Call The Midwives and Doctor Who episode Hide) played Verity Lambert in Mark Gatiss' An Adventure In Space And Time, which told the story of the creation of Doctor Who.

Doctor Who has paid  tribute to Verity Lambert at least three times since it's Russell T Davies brought the show back in 2005. In 2007's episode Human Nature, the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant), when he was made human by the chameleon arch, and became John Smith, identifies his mother by the name Verity. The 2007 Christmas special Voyage of the Damned ends with an on-screen dedication to Lambert, who had died in November that year. In the 2009 episode The End of Time included a character named Verity Newman (as an homage to both Verity Lambert and series creator Sydney Newman), the great-granddaughter of Joan Redfern from Human Nature and the author of A Journal of Impossible Things.

 

Happy Birthday Gillan

Happy 26th Birthday to former Doctor Who companion Karen Sheila Gillan who is 26 years old today!

 

Karen is best known for playing Amy (Amelia) Pond/Williams alongside outgoing Doctor Matt Smith from 2010 until 2012. Her cousin Caitlin Blackwood portrayed young Amelia on first meeting the Doctor.

Karen Sheila Gillan was born on 28th November in 1987. Born and raised in Inverness, to parents Raymond John and Marie, Karen stayed here until the age of 16, when she left home to go to Edinburgh to study acting. Whilst in Edinburgh, Karen attended the Telford College to study acting, and later moved to London to the prestigious Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts. However, before achieving her degree, Karen left to star in Rebus – she needed to be a member of Equity, which isn’t possible whilst in College.

Karen got her first career break in modelling, and has modelled in a number of shows including 2007′s London Fashion Week for designer Allegra Hicks’ autumn/winter catwalk show. Karen has also modelled for the Dainty Doll make-up range launch party, which was founded by Girls Aloud member Nicola Roberts – this was shown in the television episode The Passions of Girls Aloud, and originally aired on 4th April 2008.

In 2009 it was announced that Karen would be the new companion to the newly announced Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, for Series 5 of Doctor Who. Her character was to be called Amy Pond. The first episode of this new series aired in April 2010, to a mostly positive response both for Matt and Karen. However, some fans were unhappy with the new direction, particularly Amy Pond’s wardrobe choices which were deemed a little risqué for family viewing. But, as Karen pointed out several times in interviews, Amy’s choices only mirrored what girls of her age were actually wearing on the streets of the UK.

Read more on Karen at her fan site here

Happy Birthday Doctor!

Today, 28th October is the birthday of outgoing Doctor, Matthew Robert Smith; who turns 31 today

Happy Birthday, Matt!

Matthew Robert "Matt" Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor and director. He is best known for his role as the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor in the British television series Doctor Who, for which he received a BAFTA Award nomination in 2011.

Smith initially aspired to be a professional footballer, but spondylosis forced him out of the sport. After joining the National Youth Theatre and studying Drama and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia, he became an actor in 2003, performing in plays like Murder in the Cathedral, Fresh Kills, The History Boys and On the Shore of the Wide World in London theatres. Extending his repertoire into West End theatre, he has since performed in the stage adaptation of Swimming with Sharks with Christian Slater, followed a year later by a critically acclaimed performance as Henry in That Face.

Before his role in Doctor Who, Smith's first television role came in 2006 as Jim Taylor in the BBC adaptations of Philip Pullman's The Ruby in the Smoke and The Shadow in the North while his first major role in television came as Danny in the 2007 BBC series Party Animals. Smith, who was announced as the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor in January 2009, is the youngest person to play the character in the British television series. On 1 June 2013, it was announced that Matt Smith would leave the series and the eleventh Doctor would regenerate in the 2013 Christmas special.

Happy Birthday Polly!

Today, 20th October, is the birthday of former Doctor Who companion Anneke Wills, who is 72 years young!

 

Anneke was born on October 1941, in Berkshire. Her parents Anna and Alaric Willys (she later changed her name to Wills) had planned to buy a house in the South of France but World War II ended that idea. Alaric was a gambler whose debts forced Anna to take on a string of jobs while he became a captain in the British army and an absent figure. Anna worked as a companion to a blind aristocrat, gardener, teacher – moving Anneke and her brother Robin around the country several times. Anneke won her first role at the age of 11 while she was living on a houseboat in Bray, Berkshire. The film was called Child’s Play and she gave the £9 fee to her mother. Deciding she wanted to be an actress she then studied drama at the Arts Educational School in London and quickly became one of the busiest actresses of her generation, early roles included an appearance as Roberta in the first TV version of The Railway Children in 1957.

At 17 she began a relationship with Anthony Newley while working on the TV series The Strange World of Gurney Slade. Later, she married Michael Gough, the distinguished actor who played The Celestial Toymaker in Doctor Who. During the Sixties Anneke spent much of her time at the famous Troubadour Coffee Shop and The Establishment, and was part of the so-called Chelsea Set, counting among her close friends many of the leading lights of the Sixties.
 
In 1966, she was offered the role of Polly Wright in Doctor Who. She played Polly from 1966 to 1967 alongside William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton as the Doctor – the first in a long line of glamorous Doctor Who girls. Polly joined the crew of the TARDIS in The War machines and left with Ben Jackson (Michael Craze) in The Faceless Ones.   In 1970 Anneke gave up acting and moved to Norfolk, throwing herself into motherhood and gardening. During this time she travelled to Vietnam and Laos, and spent a lot of time at Poona, India, at the ashram of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. She and her son Jasper visited the ashram many times in the 1970s and early 80s.




The Tenth Planet

Anneke remarried twice and lived in California and in an artists colony on Hornby Island in Canada before returning to the UK in the mid-1990s. She is still involved in the worlds of Doctor Who, being a popular guest at conventions, and being employed by the BBC and Big Finish to record various Doctor Who related audio and DVD projects.

Other television credits include appearances in The Avengers and as Evelyn in Strange Report. However she left the latter series when it was planned to switch filming to Hollywood.

Anneke will be attending the premiere of An Adventure In Space And Time - the drama about the genesis of Doctor Who – on Tuesday 12th November.

Happy birthday Doctor & Ace

The Doctor and Dorothy 'Ace' McShane aka Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred both have birthdays today. McCoy is 70 and Aldred is 51. 

Sylvester was born Percy James Patrick Kent-Smith on 20th August 1943 in Dunoon, Scotland. He had numerous on stage and TV roles before landing the part of the seventh incarnation of the Doctor replacing Colin Baker.

Sophie Aldred was born in Greenwich, England on 20th August 1962. Aldred was cast as Dorothy 'Ace' McShane in 1987 replacing Bonnie Langford as the Doctor's companion. 

Sylvester and Sophie's on-screen appearances as The Doctor and Ace spanned 9 episodes from 1987 - 1989. Ace first appeared in Dragonfire and her final appearance in Survival  as she and The Doctor walked off back to the TARDIS. 

Doctor Who was cancelled by Jonathan Powell who replaced Michael Grade as BBC1 Controller; and had utter contempt for then Doctor Who producer / head writer John Nathan-Turner. 

The pair have continued with their Doctor Who roles with Big Finish Audio.

Final scene of Survival with voice over from Sylvester McCoy which was recorded on 23rd November 1989.

And, if a double Doctor Who birthday was something special; today would have been the 81st birthday of The Master Anthony Ainsley (20th August 1932- 3rd May 2004).


The Master and the Doctor bid their farewells in Survival