Statistics


On This Day (USA) - 14 February



Doctor Who And The Silurians: Episode 3 premiered on BBC One in 1970 at 5:15pm BST, watched by 7.50 million viewers.

The creature from the caves, wounded and dangerous, is on the loose on Wenley Moor. Dr Quinn attempts to recover it and is unwilling to listen to the Doctor's warnings.


The Seeds of Doom: Part Three premiered on BBC One in 1976 at 5:56pm GMT, watched by 10.30 million viewers.

The Doctor and Sarah track down the remaining Krynoid pod to the estate of Harrison Chase. The millionaire botanist intends use the pod to change a human victim into a Krynoid.


The Keeper of Traken: Part Three premiered on BBC One in 1981 at 5:09pm GMT, watched by 5.20 million viewers.

Death Comes To Time: Planet Of Blood (pt 1) premiered on BBC Online in 2002 at 12:00pm GMT

Eastenders (Valentines 2008) premiered on BBC One in 2008 at 7:30pm GMT

Bradley is shocked to find Stacey on his doorstep with a proposition for him. Tanya is left reeling after the divorce hearing doesn't go to plan, and Mo and Charlie revisit the past.


Torchwood Declassified Series Two: Episode 5 premiered on BBC2 in 2008 at 7:51pm GMT, watched by 0.82 million viewers.

 Birthdays
Simon Pegg was 54 - 17 credits, including The Editor in The Long Game

Simon Pegg is an English actor, comedian, writer, film producer, and director. 

He played the Editor in the 2005 story The Long Game. He also narrated the first series of Doctor Who Confidential.

He is best known for having co-written and starred in various Edgar Wright features, mainly Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and the comedy series Spaced.

He also portrayed Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the 2009 Star Trek film, Benji Dunn in Mission: Impossible III and its sequel Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, and Thompson in The Adventures of Tintin. Much of his major work has been in collaboration with some combination of Wright, Nick Frost, Jessica Hynes, and Dylan Moran. He also starred in and co-wrote Paul (with Frost) and Run Fatboy Run (with Dylan Moran).

He will reprise his role as Scotty in Star Trek Into Darkness and will star in Wright's next film The World's End.


Michael E Briant was 82 - 10 credits, including Director for Death to the Daleks

Michael E. Briant (born in Bournemouth, Hampshire, England) is best known as a British television director, but he is also a producer and actor.

Briant went full time to the Italia Conti Stage School in Archer Street, London W1 when he was 12. Three months later he gave his first professional performance as an elf and a rainbow child at the Royal Festival Hall. The following year he played the lead Crispian.

As a child/young actor he worked extensively in the theaters, film and television - touring for Carl Clopet, regularly appearing at Bromley Rep and playing leads in many television productions. In his teens he became an ASM and played several roles at the Little Theater - Great Yarmouth.

He married the French actress Monique Pillier and now has two children Veronique and Laurent.

When Michael was 21 he joined the BBC as an AFM in Drama department and a year later became a Production Assistant. At 23 he took the Directors Course and whilst still on the staff as a PA directed series like Newcomers, Z Cars & Doctor Who. After 3 years of bouncing between PA and Director. Ronnie Marsh - head of Serials offered him a years worth of directing work and he became a freelance TV drama director.

During his time on Doctor Who, he directed six serials, including three fondly-remembered adventures The Sea DevilsThe Green Death and his personal favourite The Robots of Death, which was also his last involvement with the series. However, he is most proud of his subsequent direction of the BBC drama series Secret Army for which he directed episodes between 1978 and 1979. He later directed four of the six episodes of its sequel, Kessler and the thriller series Blood Money in which he cast many of the actors from Secret Army, before moving to the Netherlands to direct television there. 

He won an Emmy for directing A Tale of Two Cities for which he also wrote the adaptation. After considerable success directing many shows for Gerard Glaister he formed a production company Linked Ring Films and produced and directed the feature, Tangiers (1985).

A single production in the Netherlands led to a stream of work in Amsterdam where he introduced the British methods of making Drama and Situation Comedy. All his productions in Aalsmere won awards including Best Drama.

In order to fulfill a lifetime ambition he set sail in his own yacht and with a camera in one hand and a sextant in the other proceeded to make a circumnavigation in between other directing assignments. The film he shot during the voyage became the very popular series Blue Water Destinations and Blue Water Cruising. He now has his own edit and dubbing facility as well as digital cameras and sound equipment.


Mark Eden (died 2021 aged 92) would have been 96 - 3 credits, including Marco Polo in Marco Polo

Mark Eden was a British actor.

Born in London, Eden appeared in repertory theatre in England and Wales and at the Royal Court Theatre. 

His many television and film roles included the Doctor Who serial Marco Polo (1964) in which he played Marco Polo. 

He played Number 100 in The Prisoner in 1967, and Inspector Parker in the TV adaptations of several Lord Peter Wimsey stories in the 1970s. He also had a long running role in Coronation Street (1986-1989) in which he played Alan Bradley. His exit from this role was famously being knocked down by a Blackpool tram. At the location there is now a tram stop which recalls this scene.


 Deaths

Neil Seiler (died 2003 aged 77) - 2 credits, including Commander Stewart in Death to the Daleks

Neil Seiler appeared in two Doctor Who stories: as a Radio Operator in The Sea Devils and Commander Stewart in Death to the Daleks.

Also worked on Days of HopeSoftly Softly: Task ForceMarked PersonalZ CarsCaptain Kronos - Vampire HunterSix Days of JusticeCrown CourtPlay for TodayThe Villains