Statistics


On This Day (USA) - 24 May



The War Games: Episode Six premiered on BBC One in 1969 at 5:15pm BST, watched by 4.20 million viewers.

The Doctor sends Zoe to the war zones to assemble a resistance force. The Doctor remains in Central Control to steal the processing machine, but the War Chief is one step ahead.


Good as Gold premiered on CBBC in 2012 at 5:45pm BST

 Birthdays
Frazer Fennell-Ball will be 40 - 2 credits, including Third Assistant Director for The Lost Boy(SJA)

Jo Joyner will be 47 - 2 credits, including Fenice in The War Master: Self-Defence

Jo Joyner is an English actress who is best known for her role as Tanya Branning in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, in which she has appeared since June 2006.

She played Lynda Moss in the Doctor Who television stories Bad Wolf and The Parting of the Ways.

Before starring in EastEnders, her most noted role was as Beth Nicholls in the popular nursing drama No Angels. 

Joyner has also appeared in the feature-length drama Night Flight, and on television in Fat Friends, Silent Witness, Clocking Off, the 2004 BBC adaptation of North and South and as one of the stars of the Five comedy sketch show Swinging (2005). For her performances in the latter Jo Joyner won a Rose d'Or international award for 'Best Female Comedy Performer'.


Naomi Ryan will be 47 - credited as Cassandra in Asylum of the Daleks

Naomi Ryan is a British actress who has appeared in Dream Team as Ashleigh King, Mile High as Lehann Evans and Coronation Street where she played Underworld factory worker Bobbi Lewis.

She played Cassandra in the 2012 Doctor Who story Asylum of the Daleks

She also has a recurring role in EastEnders making her first appearance in July 2007 as a policewoman.

In 2008, she appeared in the new ITV soap opera Echo Beach as the character Jacqui Hughes.

In April 2009, Ryan appeared in a six-part storyline of The Bill as Becky James, a teacher, involved in the sequel "Back to School".

In September 2011, Ryan starred in the New Autumn TK Maxx Television Advert.


William Sasso will be 49 - credited as Pete in The TV Movie

William "Will" Sasso is a Canadian actor and comedian, most notable for his five seasons as a cast member on MADtv from 1997 to 2002 and for starring as Curly in the 2012 film reboot of The Three Stooges.

Early life

Sasso was born in Ladner, British Columbia, Canada. His parents are Italian immigrants. He graduated from Delta Secondary School in Delta, British Columbia in 1993. He credits his determination to become an actor and his respect for comedy to an "unhealthy addiction to television".

Career

At the age of 15 he landed his first agent and quickly began booking roles in television and film. Before moving from Vancouver to Los Angeles, California, Sasso starred for five seasons as quirky teen Derek Wakaluk on the award-winning Canadian dramatic series Madison.

MADtv

By the end of its second season (1996–1997), MADtv experienced its first big cast turnover. Three of the show's repertory performers (Bryan Callen, Orlando Jones and Artie Lange) left the cast. As a result, in 1997, casting executives at FOX had to cast replacements for the show. Sasso (along with Alex Borstein and Aries Spears) was selected to join the MADtv third season cast as a regular cast member.

Sasso is known for quirky characters such as the accident prone handyman Paul Timberman, Eracist member Hugh, singer Michael McCloud, Talkin' American host Rui Peranio and Mexican luchador Señor Bag of Crap.

Sasso also does many celebrity impersonations, including impersonations of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chris Farley, Steven Seagal, Bill Clinton, Drew Carey, Elton John, Elvis Presley, Hulk Hogan, Fred Durst, George W. Bush, James Gandolfini (as himself and Tony Soprano), James Lipton, Jesse Ventura, Kenny Rogers, Michael McDonald, Lance Bass, Louie Anderson, Paul Shaffer, Randy Newman, Richard Simmons, Robert De Niro, The Rock, Steve Austin, Wayne Newton, William Frawley (as Fred Mertz from I Love Lucy), and William Shatner (as himself and as James T. Kirk).

Will began developing several network television projects with Disney/Touchstone for ABC in 2001 and in 2002, Sasso left MADtv to pursue the next stage of his career.

Professional wrestling

Sasso is a professional wrestling fan, and has made appearances with multiple American pro wrestling promotions.

Sasso engaged in a worked shoot angle with former world champion wrestler Bret Hart, which began on February 6, 1999 during Hart's second guest appearance on MADtv. In a sketch lampooning the election of Jesse Ventura to gubernatorial office, Hart "broke character" and attacked the cast members for making light of wrestling, apparently injuring Sasso. He then appeared in a later episode at the curtain call during the ending credits and again attacked Sasso in an "unscripted" assault. Sasso then appeared at ringside during the February 8, 1999 episode of WCW Monday Nitro, where Hart again attacked him. Sasso retaliated by interfering in Hart's match against Roddy Piper, making him lose the match and the WCW United States Championship. This led to a grudge match on the February 15, 1999 episode of Nitro, where Sasso appeared with castmate Debra Wilson, who turned on Sasso, making it a one-sided match.

Sasso's impersonation of Steve Austin impressed the WWF (as it was then still known, before its name changed to WWE) so much that they asked him to be part of the February 7, 2002 episode of WWF SmackDown!, appearing alongside Chris Jericho and Austin himself, as a means to promote Austin's upcoming "MADtv" appearance.

On the live April 9, 2012 broadcast of WWE Raw, he appeared along with the other actors in The Three Stooges movie, alternating between Curly and Hulk Hogan impersonations. He was chokeslammed by Kane.

Sasso also appeared on a WWE Main Event promo for Dolph Ziggler.

Recent years

Since leaving MADtv, Sasso's television appearances include four seasons as Carl Monari on Less than Perfect, as well as a role in Robson Arms. Sasso also played the role of Fortunio Balducci in Southland Tales. Sasso starred in $h*! My Dad Says, based on the Twitter feed Shit My Dad Says created by Justin Halpern. The show premiered in the fall of 2010 and its cancellation was announced on May 15, 2011.

He also appeared in the 2002 Sum 41 music video "Still Waiting" as the manager for the band.

Sasso hosted the 2006 Canadian Comedy Awards in London, Ontario as well as the festival's "Sketch & Improv Showcases". Additionally, he was a host at the 2005-2006 NHL award ceremony. Sasso appeared on the CSI episode "The Chick Chop Flick Shop". He also appeared in the Childrens Hospital episode "Frankfurters".

As of February 20, 2012, he hosts Ten Minute Podcast with Chris D'Elia and Bryan Callen.

Sasso began posting on Vine, creating a running gag of being uncontrollably able to reproduce lemons out of his mouth. In addition, he posts videos in characters impersonating the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill Cosby, Hulk Hogan and Robert De Niro. As of September 2014, he has two million followers.

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


Rob Edwards will be 75 - 6 credits, including Xoanon in The Face of Evil

Rob Edwards  is an English actor.

His television credits include: Doctor Who (the serials The Face of Evil and The Robots of Death), An Englishman's CastleSecret ArmyThe Fourth ArmBy the Sword DividedThe PracticeCasualtyA Touch of FrostDangerfieldMidsomer Murders and Dalziel and Pascoe.

He attended RGS Worcester and Pembroke College, Oxford before training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He then joined theRoyal Shakespeare Company in Stratford. He has performed in many productions including the television and film production of Henry V and Henry IV as Prince John. Recent stage appearances include Hippolito in Women Beware Women by Thomas Middleton with the RSC in 2006, before which he played the role of Scar in Disney's The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre in London for several years.

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


Jim Broadbent will be 75 - credited as The Doctor in Doctor Who and The Curse Of Fatal Death(Misc)

James "Jim" Broadbent is an English film, television and theatre actor. He is known for his roles in Topsy-Turvy (1999), Iris (2001) for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Moulin Rouge! (2001) for which he received the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Bridget Jones' Diary (2001), Hot Fuzz (2007), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), The Iron Lady (2011), Cloud Atlas (2012) and Le Week-End (2013). He also appeared in Harry Potter films as Horace Slughorn.

On television, Broadbent has starred as penal reformer Lord Longford in the drama Longford (2006), earning the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film.

Broadbent was born in Holton cum Beckering, in Lincolnshire, the second son of Doreen "Dee" Broadbent (née Findlay), a sculptor, and Roy Laverick Broadbent, an artist, sculptor, interior designer and furniture maker who turned a former church into a theatre named after him. Broadbent's parents were both amateur actors who co-founded the Holton Players acting troupe at Holton cum Beckering; the two have been described by the BBC as conscientious objectors who "worked the land" rather than participate in World War II. He had a twin sister who died at birth. Broadbent was educated at Leighton Park School, a Quaker school in Reading, and briefly attended art college before transferring to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art from which he graduated in 1972.

Broadbent's early stagework included a number of productions for The National Theatre of Brent, as the downtrodden assistant Wallace to Patrick Barlow's self-important actor/manager character Desmond Olivier Dingle. Broadbent and Barlow played many male and female character roles in comically less-than-epic tellings of historical and religious stories such as The Complete Guide to Sex, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Revolution!!, and All The World's A Globe. These were hits at the Edinburgh Fringe, in London, and on tour. Later stage work included the original productions of Kafka's Dick (1986) and Our Country's Good (1988) at the Royal Court Theatre and work for the Royal National Theatre including "The Government Inspector". Work on the stage with Mike Leigh includes Goosepimples and Ecstasy.

Broadbent had worked with Stephen Frears in The Hit (1984) and Terry Gilliam in Time Bandits (1981) and Brazil (1985) before establishing himself in Mike Leigh's Life Is Sweet (1990). He proved his ability as a character actor in films including The Crying Game (1992), Enchanted April (1992), Bullets over Broadway (1994), The Borrowers (1997), and Little Voice (1998) before taking a leading role in another Mike Leigh film, Topsy-Turvy (1999), playing dramatist Sir William S. Gilbert. He played "The Shy Doctor" in the 1999 Comic Relief parody Doctor Who sketch, Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death. In 2001, Broadbent starred in three of the year's most successful films: Bridget Jones's Diary; Moulin Rouge!, for which he won a BAFTA; and Iris, for which he won an Oscar for his portrayal of John Bayley.

Broadbent voiced Madame Gasket from the 2005 film Robots. Broadbent also appeared as DCI Roy Slater, an associate character in the enormously popular sitcom Only Fools and Horses. The character appeared in three episodes over an eight-year period. He had originally been offered the lead role of Del Trotter in the series, but he turned it down due to other commitments. He has also played a role in the Inspector Morse series. Other comic roles include the lead role in the sitcom The Peter Principle and occasional guest appearances in Not The Nine O'Clock News, Only Fools and Horses, and Victoria Wood As Seen on TV. He played Don Speekingleesh in The Queen of Spain's Beard in the first series of The Black Adder in 1983. He also played the role of Prince Albert in Blackadder's Christmas Carol, first broadcast in 1988. He joined Rowan Atkinson in his Spider-Man spoof Spider-Plant Man, as a disgruntled Batman, jealous of Spider-Plant Man's success.

Broadbent played the title role in the Channel 4 drama Longford in October 2006, earning a BAFTA TV Award, a Golden Globe, and a 2007 Emmy nomination for his performance as Frank Pakenham (1905–2001), Earl of Longford, which was centred on the late Lord's ultimately unsuccessful campaign for the parole of Myra Hindley from her life imprisonment for the Moors Murders.

Broadbent appeared as Inspector Frank Butterman in Hot Fuzz in 2007.

He appeared in the original radio production of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, playing the character Vroomfondel. He was also a regular in Stephen Fry's radio comedy show Saturday Night Fry, which aired on BBC Radio 4 in 1988.

Broadbent played Dean Charles Stanforth in the fourth film in the Indiana Jones series, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull; King William IV in The Young Victoria; and Horace Slughorn in the sixth Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, as well as the final movie in the series Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. In 2008, he starred as pro-Newtonian physicist Sir Oliver Lodge in the fact-based single drama Einstein and Eddington, for the BBC.

In 2009, he portrayed Sam Longson, chairman of Derby County football club in the 1960s and 1970s, in the film The Damned United; the starring character in the film was football manager Brian Clough, played by Michael Sheen.

In 2010, he provides the voice for the character Major Mouse in a series of radio adverts and one produced for television for energy company; E.ON for their 'eonenergyfit.com' website campaign. He also starred as the older Logan Mountstuart in the TV adaptation of William Boyd's novel Any Human Heart.

He had a lead role in Exile, a BBC One drama, starring John Simm and written by Danny Brocklehurst.

In 2012 he played Denis Thatcher opposite Oscar-winner Meryl Streep as the former Prime Minister in The Iron Lady.

Broadbent is married to painter and former theatre designer Anastasia Lewis. He is an atheist.

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


Graham Williams (died 1990 aged 45) would be 79 - 19 credits, including Producer for Horror of Fang Rock

Graham Williams was a British television producer and script editor, whose was producer of Doctor Who from 1977-1980, responsible for 72 episodes.

Williams worked as script editor for The View From Daniel Pike (1971), Sutherland's Law (1973), Z-Cars (1975-1976) and Barlow at Large (1975) before joing Doctor Who as producer. 

He was appointed to the role by Bill Slater, then BBC Head of Serials. He followed Philip Hinchliffe, who had been responsible for one of the  most successful periods of the show's history, but who had been criticized for the levels of violence. 

Williams was instructed by BBC drama bosses to tone down the violence. Williams later said of his time on Doctor Who: "It all went wrong right from the start, when I was told to make the show more funny, and less violent. Unfortunately, this would have required a lot of money, of which we had practically sod all. Tom Baker, however, thought it was a splendid idea, and kept putting in all these bad puns and terrible jokes, which didn't get any better when I brought Dougie Adams in."

Although the viewing figures dipped somewhat during Williams' first two seasons, they remained fairly healthy and in 1979, the series achieved ratings as high as 16.1 million viewers - although this was partly attributable to the strike which took ITV, the BBC's main competitor, off the air.

Williams also wrote significant portions of the script for two stories beset by writing problems, City of Death and The Invasion of Time.

During his period on the programme, Williams worked closely with three script editors: the experienced Robert Holmes; Anthony Read; and Douglas Adams, who penned some of the most well-regarded stories of the Williams era and who went on to write hugely popular novels and scripts such as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Williams left the series after three years, handing over to John Nathan-Turner who had worked under him as Production Unit Manager.

During Nathan-Turner's reign as producer, Williams was approached by script editor Eric Saward to write a story for Colin Baker's second season. The script was at an advanced stage when it was abandoned, as were all the scripts initially commissioned for that season, after the series was put on hiatus in February 1985. In 1989 Williams wrote a novelisation of his story, The Nightmare Fair.

In 1985, he helped design the Doctor Who text video game Doctor Who and the Warlord.

His work on the series is examined in some detail in the documentary 'A Matter of Time' (included in the 2007 BBC DVD release of The Key to Time series), which includes excerpts from two interviews with Williams, conducted at 1980s Doctor Who fan conventions.

He left the BBC in the early 1980s and went on to produce drama series for ITV, including Supergran, before leaving television in the late 1980s to run a country hotel in Tiverton, Devon.

He died in a shooting accident at that hotel on 17 August 1990. He left a widow, Jacqueline, and three children.

wikipedia


Fiona Walker will be 80 - 3 credits, including Lady Peinforte in Silver Nemesis

Fiona Walker is an English actress, known for numerous theatre and television roles between the 1960s and 1990s.

She appeared in two Doctor Who serials, 24 years apart - The Keys of Marinus in 1964 and Silver Nemesis in 1988. 

Her best remembered TV part is poaaibly the role of Agrippina in the BBC adaptation of I, Claudius (1976), directed by Herbert Wise. She was an acidic Mrs Elton in BBC2's 1972 adaptation of Jane Austen's Emmaand played the ill-fated Stella Mawson in Anglia's first P. D. James' adaptation, Death of an Expert Witness(1983), also directed by Wise. Other television appearances have included All Creatures Great and Small (1978), Bleak House (1985), Agatha Christie'sPoirot (1993).

Walker married Herbert Wise in 1988. Her children, Charlie Walker-Wise and Susannah Wise, are also actors.

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


Robert Russell (died 2008 aged 71) would be 88 - 2 credits, including The Caber in Terror of the Zygons

Robert Russell appeared in two Doctor Who stories: as a Guard in The Power of the Daleks and the Caber in Terror of the Zygons.

Also worked on Strange HorizonsBlack ArrowHammer House of Mystery and SuspenseThe Sign of FourThe Chinese DetectiveOliver TwistIvanhoePrisoners of ConscienceJuliet BravoScarf JackSorry!The Enigma FilesSilver Dream RacerThe Onedin LineQueen of the BluesDick TurpinThe Feathered SerpentBlakes 7Anna KareninaI Didn't Know You CaredPlay for TodayThe Prince and the PauperDouble ExposureSpace: 1999The Legend of Robin HoodChurchill's PeopleThe SweeneyPublic EyeThe Black ArrowSpring and AutumnMasqueradeHunter's WalkThe Fortunes of NigelThe ProtectorsSpy TrapArthur of the BritonsAdam SmithMan at the TopSitting TargetThe Persuaders!Z CarsMan in the WildernessThe GuardiansThe Breaking of BumboCarry on LovingEyewitnessManhuntRandall and Hopkirk (Deceased)The Spy KillerDepartment SThe ChampionsDixon of Dock GreenWitchfinder GeneralOrlandoThe AvengersInspector ClouseauThe GamblersBedazzledThe InformerRobberyThe WhisperersSoftly SoftlyThe Wednesday PlayThe SaintNo Hiding PlaceTheatre 625OthelloOut of the UnknownBlackmailArmchair Mystery TheatreShadow of FearSuspenseThe Edgar Wallace Mystery TheatreThe Sinister ManPolice Surgeon


Freddie Earlle (died 2007 aged 83) would be 100 - credited as Aldo in Warriors' Gate

Scottish actor born in Glasgow

Diminutive music hall veteran and actor/writer/director who began performing on stage as a comedian and was once partnered with his first wife Freda Mundy as "Mundy and Earl", appearing and sharing the bill with Laurel and Hardy, Frank Sinatra and Gypsy Rose Lee, among others.

Appeared in The Bill and Coronation Street.


 Deaths
Burt Kwouk (died 2016 aged 85) - 2 credits, including Lin Futu in Four To Doomsday

Burt Kwouk OBE was an English actor of Chinese descent, known for many television appearances and for his role as Cato in the Pink Panther films.

Ha played Lin Futu in the 1982 Doctor Who story Four to Doomsday.

Kwouk was born in ManchesterEngland, but was brought up in Shanghai until he was about 17 years old. He graduated from Bowdoin College in the USA in 1953. One of Kwouk's earliest film roles was inThe Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958) where he played the leader of a prison revolt who later aids the main character in heroically leading orphans to safety.

He has appeared in numerous films and television programmes. He may be most famous for playing Cato (Fong), Inspector Clouseau's man-servant. The running gag was that Cato was ordered to attack Clouseau when he least expected it to keep him alert, usually resulting in Clouseau's flat being wrecked. Amid the chaos, the phone would ring and Cato would answer it with "Hello: Inspector Clouseau's residence," before dutifully handing the phone to his employer.

He was a stalwart of the ITC television film series when an oriental character was required. He co-starred in 12/13 episodes of The Sentimental Agent (1963).

Kwouk has appeared in three James Bond films. In Goldfinger (1964) he played a Chinese counterpart of Bond's; in the spoof Casino Royale (1967) he played a general and in You Only Live Twice (1967) Kwouk played the part of a Japanese operative of Blofeld.

In 1968 he appeared in The Shoes of the Fisherman opposite Laurence Olivier and Anthony Quinn. Kwouk also appeared as the honourable but misguided Major Yamauchi in the 1980s World War II television drama Tenko.

A reference to his appearances in several films with Peter Sellers is found in the opening scene of The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu where Sellers says to him "your face is familiar."

Kwouk featured in many UK television productions that called for a man of Oriental appearance. As a result, he became a familiar face in the United Kingdom and appeared as himself in The Harry Hill Show as well as several of Hill's live tours.

In 2000 he appeared in an episode of the syndicated western TV series Queen of Swords playing Master Kiyomasa an aged Japanese warrior priest starring with Sung-Hi Lee who played his female pupil Kami. Filmed at Texas HollywoodAlmeriaSpain.

From 2001 to 2004 he provided voice-overs on the spoof Japanese betting show Banzai and subsequently appeared in adverts for the betting company, Bet365.

From 2002 to the show's end in 2010, he had a regular role in the long-running series Last of the Summer Wine, as Entwistle (2002-2010). His later work also includes voice acting in the audio theatre and video game genres.

He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to drama.

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


Robert Holmes (died 1986 aged 60) - 46 credits, including Script Editor for Robot

Robert Holmes was an English television scriptwriter, who for over twenty-five years contributed to some of the most popular programmes screened in the UK and is considered one of the best writers to have worked on Doctor Who.

In 1944, at the age of eighteen, Holmes joined the army, fighting with the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders regiment in Burma. He became the youngest commissioned officer in the entire British army during the Second World War. After the end of the war, Holmes returned to England and left the army, deciding to join the police. He trained at Hendon Police College, graduating the top of his year and joining the Metropolitan Police in London, serving at Bow Street Police Station. While serving at a Police officer that Holmes developed an interest in writing as a career. He worked for a time writing and editing short stories for magazines, before receiving his first break in television when he contributed an episode to the famous medical series Emergency Ward 10 (1957).

Holmes found himself working almost exclusively in television drama after 1957. He began contributing episodes regularly to the adventure series Knight Errant before becoming that programme's Story Editor in 1959. He wrote several episodes of another medical drama, Dr. Finlay's Casebook, before in the early 1960s writing for a range of crime-related dramas: Dixon of Dock Green, The Saint, Ghost Squad, Public Eye. Iin 1965 that he first began writing in the science-fiction genre, when he contributed scripts to Undermind, a body-snatching drama fromITV. He also worked in film for the only time, storylining the movie Invasion, which had also been inspired by Nigel Kneale's 1955 Quatermass II serial.

During the late sixties and seventies and early eighties Holmes has penned some of the most highly regarded stories for Doctor Who, including writing the story voted by the fans as the best ever, The Caves of Androzani. In 1970 he created the Autons for the introduction story for Jon Pertwee and in 1974 created The Sontarans. He wrote the first story featuring The Master .

Holmes served as as script editor three years, seeing Doctor Who through one of its most successful eras in terms of both viewing figures and critical acclaim. Despite this, a number of stories came under fire for being excessively violent or too frightening in tone by Mary Whitehouse and her National Viewers' and Listeners' Association. A scene from Holmes's story, The Deadly Assassin, caused controversy when the Fourth Doctor's head is held under water as the cliffhanger,

During a break from the series he wrote for the BBC science-fiction show Blake's 7, the police series Juliet Bravo and an adaptation of the science-fiction novel Child of the Vodyoni, which was screened as The Nightmare Man in 1981. He also script-edited detective series Shoestring (TV series).

His final story for Doctor Who was the first four-part segment of Trial of a Time Lord Season. He has began writing the final segment of the season, but died before completion

His last work to be broadcast was an episode of the detective series Bergerac.

  Russell T Davies praised Holmes' talents, saying "Take The Talons of Weng Chiang, for example. Watch episode one. It's the best dialogue ever written. It's up there with Dennis Potter. By a man called Robert Holmes. When the history of television drama comes to be written, Robert Holmes won't be remembered at all because he only wrote genre stuff. And that, I reckon, is a real tragedy." Davies has also mentioned that Holmes' story The Ark in Space is his favourite story from the original series.