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On This Day (USA) - 30 April



The Gunfighters: A Holiday for the Doctor premiered on BBC One in 1966 at 5:50pm BST, watched by 6.50 million viewers.

The Doctor, Steven and Dodo arrive in Tombstone in America's Wild West. Mistaken for the infamous Doc Holliday, the Doctor unwittingly walks into a trap.


Dalek premiered on BBC One in 2005 at 6:59pm BST, watched by 8.63 million viewers.

Rose finds herself caught in the middle of a fight to the death when the Time Lord's oldest and deadliest enemy rises once again.

Doctor Who Confidential follows at 7.45pm on BBC3.


The Daleks premiered on BBC Three in 2005 at 7:45pm BST

This episode goes behind the scenes of Dalek

The Daleks have been the nemesis of the Time Lord since they first appeared - complete with sucker, ray gun and bad attitude - in 1963. Sylvester McCoy, Colin Baker, Peter Davison and Christopher Eccleston are among the Doctors talking about four decades of attempting to avoid extermination.


Day of the Moon premiered on BBC One in 2011 at 6:00pm BST, watched by 7.30 million viewers.

Breaking the Silence premiered on BBC Three in 2011 at 7:00pm BST

This episode goes behind the scenes of Day of the Moon

Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill take us on a wild west tour, deep in the heart of the American desert. The Doctor Who crew are filming in a very unusual location of super-size scale and Confidential brings covers the entire journey from the States to the stars. Alex Kingston speculates about the mysterious River Song and The Silence have their say on one of the scariest monsters to date. Featuring interviews with Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill and Alex Kingston.


 Birthdays
Steven Mackintosh was 57 - credited as Gazak in Timelash

Steven Mackintosh is an English actor.

Mackintosh was born in Cambridge, the son of Dorothy (née Parris) and Malcolm Mackintosh.He has a sister, Lynda Ellingham (née Mackintosh). He is married to the actress Lisa Jacobs and they have two children, Martha and Blythe.

Mackintosh's first film appearance was in Stephen Frear's 'Prick up Your Ears'. His other films include 'Memphis Belle' 'Twelfth Night' and Land Girls with Rachel Weisz and Anna Friel. Steven played Winston in Guy Ritchie's film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. His other notable films include Roger Michell's 'The Mother', 'The Jacket', 'Good' with Viggo Mortensen, 'Underworld Evolution' and 'Underworld Rise of the Lycans'. He played Tony in Rupert Wyatt's feature 'The Escapist', Kertzer in Film 4's 'The Scouting Book For Boys' and Fred, the nephew of Ebeneezer Scrooge, in 'The Muppet Christmas Carol'.

Mackintosh’s television credits include a small role as the doomed rebel Gazak in the Doctor Who serial Timelash in 1985, in Hanif Kureishi's acclaimed ‘The Buddha of Suburbia’, ‘Our Mutual Friend’, ‘The Other Boleyn Girl’ and ‘England Expects’. Steven played ‘The Street’ in ‘Prime Suspect’ opposite Helen Mirren and was nominated for a BAFTA for his role in the BBC film ‘Care’. Steven played Peter Mandleson in “Mo” with Julie Walters and D.I Sexton in Criminal Justice for BBC 1. He also did a reading of a few excerpts from Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials for an interview with the author.

Biography from the Wikipedia article, licensed under CC-BY-SA


Leslie Grantham (died 2018 aged 71) would have been 77 - credited as Kiston in Resurrection of the Daleks (as Les Grantham)

Grantham was born in Camberwell, London. At the age of 15 he enlisted in the Royal Fusiliers regiment of the British Army, but in 1966 he attempted to rob a German taxi driver, Felix Reese, in which the driver suffered a fatal gunshot. Though claiming he didn't know the gun was loaded, he was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment in the UK.

During his time in prison Grantham he acted in several plays and was then encouraged to take up acting by actress Louise Jameson during a visit she made to Leyhill where he resided, and they later became good friends.

Training at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art after his release in 1977, his first meaty role on television was to be Kiston in Doctor Who; however, his breakthrough into fame came when he appeared in the premiere of Eastenders in 1985 as Den Watts, a character that quickly gained infamy through plots involving his tempestuous relationship with wife Angie - whose Christmas 1986 episode received record-breaking audiences - and the notable teenage pregnancy plotline. He left the show in 1989 - allegedly shot - but returned again in 2003 until he was finally killed off in 2005 following a reported scandal at the BBC.

Other roles have included Danny Kane in The Paradise Club (alongside Don Henderson), The Uninvited (that he also produced), and The Stretch. He has also played the role Private Walker in the stage adaptation of Dad's Army.


 Deaths
Nigel Terry (died 2015 aged 69) - credited as General Cobb in The Doctor's Daughter

Nigel Terry was an English stage and film actor probably best known by film audiences for his portrayal of King Arthur in John Boorman's Excalibur (1981). 

He played General Cobb in the Doctor Who episode "The Doctor's Daughter" 

Terry appeared in many productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Round House Theatre and the Royal Court Theatre. Among his roles was Bosola in the 1989 Royal Shakespeare Company production of John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi. 

He appeared in approximately a dozen films, like The Lion in Winter (1968) playing Prince John. He also appeared in Derek Jarman's Caravaggio (1986), where he played the title character. He appeared in Troy (2004) playing the Trojan high priest and Prince Telephus, as well as the 2006 Hallmark Channel production of Blackbeard as a marooned sailor.

His main US and British television appearances include Covington Cross, a series set in medieval times. He also appeared in Casualty as Denny, and as Gabriel Piton in Highlander: The Series. He also played Sam Jacobs in a two-part Waking the Dead episode called Anger Management.

He lived in Cornwall near St Ives from 1993 to be closer to his parents; he died in 2015 from emphysema.


George Murdock (died 2012 aged 81) - credited as Preacher in Dead of Night(TW)

George Murdock has appeared in many television series, quite often as a judge. As well as Torchwood, other sci-fi shows include The X Files and Battlestar Galactica

Arguably his most famous role is that of "God" in Star Trek V - The Final Frontier.


Richard Steele (died 2004 aged 77) - 3 credits, including Sergeant Hart in Doctor Who And The Silurians

Actor who appeared in many British Dramas including early episodes of Doctor Who


Marcus Dods (died 1984 aged 66) - credited as Conductor for The Aztecs

Marcus Dods was the Incidental music Conductor for the 1964 story Doctor Who serial The Aztecs.

Was the conductor on over 90 television series and Films including the Life of Brian.