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On This Day (USA) - 5 March



The Ark: The Steel Sky premiered on BBC One in 1966 at 5:15pm GMT, watched by 5.50 million viewers.

Arriving in the future on a spaceship carrying the remains of the Earth's population, the Doctor, Steven and Dodo are accused of bringing the plague when Dodo's cold turns deadly.


The Talons of Weng-Chiang: Part Two premiered on BBC One in 1977 at 6:37pm GMT, watched by 9.80 million viewers.

The Doctor and Leela take refuge at the home of Professor Litefoot. But the agents of Weng-Chiang are not far behind.


Something Borrowed premiered on BBC Three in 2008 at 9:50pm GMT, watched by 0.98 million viewers.

 Birthdays
Lucian Msamati was 48 - credited as Guido in The Vampires of Venice

Lucian Msamati, sometimes credited as Wiina Msamati, is a British-Zimbabwean film,television and theatre actor.

Lucian Gabriel Wiina Msamati was born in the United Kingdom and brought up in Zimbabwe by his Tanzanian parents, a doctor and a nurse, he is the eldest of four siblings. His primary education began at Olympio Primary School in Dar-es-SalaamTanzania, and continued at Avondale Primary School in Harare, Zimbabwe. After secondary education at Prince Edward School in Harare, he studied towards a BA Honours Degree in French and Portuguese at the University of Zimbabwe from 1995-1997.

After University he took a 'day-job' as an advertising copywriter and freelance radio presenter. He enjoyed success in both in addition to being an in-demand voice-over artist, compere and after-dinner speaker.

In 1994 Msamati and school friends, Shaheen Jassat (deceased), Craig and Gavin Peter, Kevin Hanssen, Roy Chizivano, Sarah Norman founded what would become Zimbabwe's acclaimed Over The Edge Theatre Company in Harare, later joined by Erica Glyn-Jones, Zane E Lucas, Chipo Chung, Karin Alexander and Michael Pearce. Renowned for their biting, witty satirical material and their accomplished productions of classical and contemporary work, Over The Edge was the first multi-racial professional theatre company in Zimbabwe. The company celebrated its 10th anniversary in December 2004 having flown the Zimbabwe flag across Europe, the US and South Africa. The last few years have seen individual members pursuing other interests.Though not officially disbanded, there are no immediate plans of an Over The Edge reunion.[1][2] From 1998 to 2001, the company performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe inEdinburghScotland; some plays were written by Msamati

In November 2010 Lucian was appointed Artistic Director of acclaimed British-African theatre company, Tiata Fahodzi

He has also appeared in several television productions, including episodes of the television series Ultimate Force and Spooks. In 2008 he took on his most prominent role, playing JLB Matekoni in the BBC/HBO-produced series The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. He has guest starred in episodes of the BBC television series Ashes to Ashes and Doctor Who. He currently stars in the HBO seriesGame of Thrones, based on the series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin as Salladhor Saan, a pirate-turned-lord.

Msamati appeared in the film The International (2009).[3]


Matt Lucas was 50 - 16 credits, including Nardole in The Husbands of River Song

Matt Lucas is an English comedian, screenwriter, actor and singer, best known for his work with David Walliams in the television show Little Britain.

He portrayed the scorekeeping baby George Dawes in the comedy panel game Shooting Stars and both Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee in Alice in Wonderland and its sequel, Alice Through the Looking Glass.

In May 2007, he was placed seventh in the list of the UK's 100 most influential gay men and women by British newspaper The Independent. In 2015 Lucas wrote Pompidou for BBC Two. 


James Moran was 52 - 6 credits, including Writer for The Fires of Pompeii

James Moran is a British screenwriter for television and film, who wrote the horror-comedy Severance. He works in the horror, comedy, science-fictionhistorical fiction and spy thriller genres.

Born in York,  Moran's first produced work came as the result of a competition run by the Sci Fi Channel. The competition asked for writers to submit short science-fiction themed film scripts. Moran won, and his entry Cheap Rate Gravity was produced and shown both on the sci-fi channel and in front of full length movies, including Final Destination 2.

Moran scripted the 2005 film Severance, which concerns office workers on a team building trip being stalked by a masked killer. 

Moran's television writing debut was writing episodes for Doctor Who, and its spin-off, Torchwood. He lobbied his agent for many years to get him a job on either show. Moran's first Torchwood episode, "Sleeper", was the second to be transmitted in the second series, and concerns a burglary that goes wrong, revealing a plot that leaves the whole planet in danger. There are many allusions to terrorism during the episode, and filming on several controlled explosions in Cardiff was almost disrupted by a real terrorist attack in Glasgow. "Sleeper" was broadcast by BBC Two on 23 January 2008. Moran also co-wrote the Torchwood episode, "Day Three" of "Children of Earth" with Russell T Davies which was first broadcast on 8 July 2009.[9]

Moran's Doctor Who episode, "The Fires of Pompeii" – set during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius – was broadcast on 12 April 2008 as part of the revived programme's 4th series.

Moran also wrote episodes for the ITV series Primeval, the BBC One series Spooks, its BBC Three spin-off Spooks: Code 9, and the NBC series Crusoe.

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


Nicholas Smith (died 2015 aged 81) would have been 90 - credited as Wells in The Dalek Invasion of Earth

Nicholas Smith was an English actor who is best known for playing the bald, jug-eared manager Mr. Rumbold in the BBC sitcom Are You Being Served?

His father was a chartered surveyor and he attended a preparatory school and St. John's School, Leatherhead. He learnt to play musical instruments, studied singing and trained as an actor at RADA. He then appeared in repertory theatres, on the West End stage, At the Bristol Old Vic and on Broadway.

His earliest TV roles were as a non-speaking extra in various ITV programmes. He got his first speaking role in 1964, in the BBC's Doctor Who serial The Dalek Invasion of Earth. Smith persuaded the serial's director Richard Martin to expand the role, so that his character, Wells, appeared in three of the serial's six episodes instead of only one or two as originally scripted.

This was followed by small roles in many other adventure series, such as The Saint, The Avengers, The Champions and Ace of Wands.

Are You Being Served? began in 1972, with Smith playing Mr. Cuthbert Rumbold, the manager of the menswear and ladieswear departments in a large fictional London store called Grace Brothers. He remained with the programme until its end in 1985, as well as appearing in the spin-off film in 1977, and the sitcom sequel Grace & Favour - known as "Are You Being Served? Again!" in the United States - in 1992 and 1993.

From September 1972, in contrast to his contemporaneous work in Are You Being Served?, he also had a semi-regular role as PC Yates in the series Z-Cars. His last appearance as Yates was in February 1975. He had a cameo in the film The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother as Sigerson Holmes' servant.

In 1979, he appeared in Worzel Gummidge as Mr Foster, the Headmaster of the school.

In 1986 he played Sir John Treymayne in the British tour of Me And My Girl , a role played in the West End by his Are You Being Served? co-star Frank Thornton.

He appeared in the TV mini-series Martin Chuzzlewit. In 2005 Nicholas Smith was also featured in a supporting role as Vicar Clement Hedges in the Academy Award-winning film, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. In 2008, he appeared as a vicar in Last of the Summer Wine.

In 2010, he appeared in children's TV programme M.I. High as Professor Quakermass.

Smith also wrote music and poetry. He was the father of actress Catherine Russell.

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


Gertan Klauber (died 2008 aged 76) would have been 92 - 2 credits, including Ola in The Macra Terror

George Gertan Klauber was a British character actor.

He played small roles in many of the Carry On films and appeared in numerous television productions, often playing minor villains, including episodes of The SaintThe ProfessionalsDanger ManThe Avengers twice in Doctor Who as The Galley Master in The Romans and as Ola in The Macra Terror and as mad king George III in Blackadder the Third..

He was married to the British actress Gwendolyn Watts.

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


Bruce Wightman (died 2009 aged 83) would have been 99 - 4 credits, including William de Tornebu in The Crusade

Bruce Wightman appeared in several Doctor Who stories: as William de Tornebu in The Crusade, Scott in The Daleks' Master Plan, and a Radio Operator in Terror of the Zygons.


Arthur Howell (died 2003 aged 82) would have been 104 - credited as Fight Arranger for The War Games

Arthur Howell was Fight Arranger for the 1969 story The War Games.

He was a stunt performer in several early stories.

In 1964 he married June Palmer, possibly the most famous Harrison Marks model in the 1960's. Together they started and ran Strobe Studios in ClaphamSouth London, an LLC licensed model agency and photographic studio that advertised in many of the photographic magazines, such as Practical Photography

Also worked on Robin Hood: Prince of ThievesAgatha Christie: PoirotYoung Sherlock HolmesKrullOctopussyAn American Werewolf in LondonSuperman IISupermanStar Wars: Episode IV - A New HopeYou Only Live TwiceCasino RoyaleThunderballThe Indian Tales of Rudyard KiplingGoldfingerFrom Russia with LoveDr. NoThe Guns of NavaroneAgatha Christie: PoirotSmugglerStar Wars: Episode IV - A New HopeThe ProtectorsThe AvengersMan in a SuitcaseWhirlpoolA Touch of the Casanovas


 Deaths
Philip Madoc (died 2012 aged 77) - 7 credits, including War Lord in The War Games

Philip Madoc is a Welsh actor who is best known in Doctor who for his role as Solon in the 1976 story The Brain of Morbius. He had three other roles appearing in fifteen episodes of the series.

Other roles include the title character in the BBC Wales drama The Life and Times of David Lloyd George, SS Officer Lutzig in the WW2 serial Manhunt (1969), and the vicious Huron warrior Magua in a serialisation of The Last of the Mohicans (1971). 

He reprised the character of Lutzig somewhat in a later episode of the comedy Dad's Army, "The Deadly Attachment", where he played a U-boat Captain held prisoner by the Walmington-on-Sea platoon of the Home Guard. 

Philip Madoc's ability to give life to German villains also surfaced in the Kenneth Branagh/Emma Thompson TV series The Fortunes of War directed by James Cellan-Jones. He also appeared in an episode of Porridge ("Disturbing The Peace") by comparing his "large sexual appetite" with that of the frog. He also appeared in a controversial episode of The Goodies ("South Africa"), which satirised apartheid.

Film roles include Operation Crossbow (1965), The Quiller Memorandum (1966) and Operation Daybreak (1975).

In 1966 he appeared in the movie Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD, a big screen remake of the 1965 story The Dalek Invasion of Earth.

He appeared twice in the drama series UFO, once as the partner of Ed Straker's estranged wife and once as the captain of a British warship under attack by the aliens.

He had a brief appearance as Commander Anton Gorski in the pilot episode of Space: 1999 (1975) who was replaced by Commander John Koenig for the remainder of the series.

Madoc also starred in the 1990s detective series A Mind to Kill as DCI Noel Bain. This series was made simultaneously in Welsh and English from 1994 - 2002.

Madoc's voice can be heard reading Bible quotations on a variant of the VoCo alarm clock and has also starred as Ellis Peters' medieval detective Brother Cadfael in the BBC Radio 4 Adaptations of Monk's Hood, The Virgin in the Ice and Dead Man's Ransom based on the novels by Ellis Peters.

In 2007 he appeared as "Y Llywydd" The President in S4C gangster series Y Pris, where he acts and speaks in his native Welsh.

Madoc is also a linguist who studied languages at the Universities of Wales and Vienna and has worked as an interpreter. He is patron to a St Albans based theatre school for children Best Theatre Arts.

Madoc also was the narrator for the Discovery Channel documentary series Egypt Uncovered.