Statistics


On This Day (USA) - 17 January



Spearhead From Space: Episode 3 premiered on BBC One in 1970 at 5:15pm BST, watched by 8.30 million viewers.

Sam Seeley has found one of the meteorites but the Autons want it back and are closing in. General Scobie visits Auto Plastics, playing into the hands of Channing.


The Brain of Morbius: Part Three premiered on BBC One in 1976 at 5:45pm GMT, watched by 10.10 million viewers.

Sarah has been blinded and the Doctor asks the Sisterhood for help. Morbius, fearful that the Time Lords have tracked him down, tells Solon to install his brain in a new body.


Warriors' Gate: Part Three premiered on BBC One in 1981 at 5:11pm GMT, watched by 8.30 million viewers.

The Paradise Of Death: Episode Five premiered on Radio 4 Extra in 2003 at 6:00pm GMT

 Birthdays
Sharon Duce was 74 - credited as Control in Ghost Light

Sharon Duce (born SheffieldYorkshire) is a British actress, .

Her biggest role was alongside Ray Brooks in the BBC comedy drama Big Deal (1984).

She played Control in the 1989 story Ghost Light.

She is the wife of Dominic Guard.


John Alkin was 77 - credited as Lomand in Planet of Fire

John Alkin (born in Rugby, Warwickshire) was a British actor turned spiritual healer.

Alkin is best remembered for 2 roles, namely that of DS Tom Daniels in The Sweeney, and as barrister Barry Deeley in the long running daytime TV Drama Crown Court. He also appeared extensively as a guest star in numerous TV Shows such as Z-CarsTimeslipMinder and Doctor Who.

John left acting in the mid eighties to set up a spiritual healing centre with his wife.

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


Malcolm Clarke (died 2003 aged 60) would have been 81 - 7 credits, including Incidental Music for The Sea Devils

Malcolm Clarke was a British composer and a member of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop for 25 years from 1969 to 1994.

He composed the incidental music for the 1972 Doctor Who serial The Sea Devils; only the second score that the workshop provided for the series. 

The Radiophonic Workshop was not commissioned to produce music again for Doctor Who until 1980. Clarke returned to the series to compose the music for the 1982 serial Earthshock, and continued to work on the series on a regular basis until 1986, composing the music for Enlightenment, Resurrection of the Daleks, The Twin Dilemma, Attack of the Cybermen and Terror of the Vervoids.

His most critically acclaimed work was probably 1976's radio piece August 4th 2026, based on a short story by Ray Bradbury.


John Cater (died 2009 aged 77) would have been 92 - credited as Professor Krimpton in The War Machines

John Cater played Professor Krimpton in the Doctor Who story The War Machines.

Also worked on BonekickersThe Last DetectiveMidsomer MurdersAlien AutopsyChuckleVisionBad GirlsThe BillThe Trial of the King KillersRoom 36CasualtyThe BriefDoctors and NursesDoctorsDown to EarthFogboundAnazaptaCrossroadsWhere the Heart IsThe ResidentsIn a Land of PlentyThe 10th KingdomGoodnight, Mister TomSilent WitnessBramwellRasputinSavage HeartsHarry's MadMidnight Movie2point4 ChildrenLove HurtsWycliffe and the Cycle of DeathJeeves and WoosterThe ChiefMaigretLipstick on Your CollarFull StretchThe Darling Buds of MaySitting PrettyCovington CrossHaggardAnglo Saxon AttitudesT-Bag's Christmas TurkeyPrisoner of HonorMinderScreen OneLovejoyLife After LifeDunrulinRuth Rendell MysteriesOne Foot in the GraveT-Bag and the Pearls of WisdomBergeracThe Return of ShelleyThe Woman in BlackAbout FaceShalom SalaamTicket to RideInspector MorseTurn on to T-BagHome to RoostTheatre NightA Dorothy L. Sayers MysteryCrazy Like a Fox: The MovieUnnatural CausesChance in a Millioneturn to Treasure IslandThe December RoseJack of DiamondsDeath of an Expert WitnessNumber 10Anyone for Denis?P.O.S.HThe SetbacksLittle Lord FauntleroyJust LizThe Other 'ArfAgonyThe Jim Davidson ShowRising DampThe GlumsThe House on Garibaldi StreetThe Famous History of the Life of King Henry the EightLeave It to CharlieThe Mill on the FlossNews from NowhereThe LosersBernieThe SweeneyRosieThe Duchess of Duke StreetThe SquirrelsI, ClaudiusNobody's HouseHappy Ever AfterCentre PlayA Touch of the CasanovasThe Naked Civil ServantWillow CabinsMadame BovaryThe Rough with the SmoothChurchill's PeopleThrillerFurther Up Pompeii!Late CallThe Confederacy of WivesSouth RidingNew Scotland YardCaptain Kronos - Vampire HunterGreat MysteriesFollyfootPlay for Today7 of 1Dr. Phibes Rises AgainAlcock and GanderZ CarsBudgieThe Abominable Dr. PhibesComedy PlayhouseThe Dick Emery ShowThe ExpertThat's Your FuneralRoads to FreedomDad's ArmyThe Mating MachineThe Black TulipUp Pompeii!LootCanterbury TalesDepartment SFraud SquadITV PlayhouseRogues' GalleryITV Sunday Night TheatreSoftly SoftlyDecline and Fall... of a BirdwatcherVirgin of the Secret ServiceThe Revenue MenThe Secret AgentNo Hiding PlaceMr. RoseWrite a PlayThe AvengersGirl in a Black BikiniThe BaronThirty-Minute TheatreTheatre 625OrlandoITV Play of the WeekArmchair TheatreTake a Pair of Private EyesSerjeant Musgrave's DanceThe Wednesday ThrillerThe Man in Room 17The Flying SwanDanger ManCraneThe VillainsThe Plane MakersDiary of a Young ManThe Hidden TruthDial RIXA Little Big BusinessBBC Sunday-Night PlayThe VictoriansITV Television PlayhouseOut of This WorldRichard the LionheartBBC Sunday-Night Theatre

He was married to Wendy Gifford.


 Deaths
Derek Fowlds (died 2020 aged 82) - credited as Claude in The Elixir of Doom(BF)

Derek Fowlds is an actor, best known for his roles as Bernard Woolley in Yes Minister/Yes Prime Minister, Oscar Blaketon in Heartbeat, and to 'older' children of the 1970s as Mr Derek alongside Basil Brush.

His autobiography, A Part Worth Playing, was published by Fantom Publishing in 2016.


Windsor Davies (died 2019 aged 88) - credited as Toby in The Evil of the Daleks

Windsor Davies (born Canning Town, West Ham, London) was a British actor, well known for playing the part of Battery Sergeant Major Williams in the 1970s/1980s British sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum.

Davies was born to Welsh parents, and he returned to his parents' native Nant-y-Moel when the Second World War began in 1939. He attended Ogmore Grammar School and Bangor Teacher Training College. He then worked as a teacher and did national service before going into acting. 

He played Mog in the classic Welsh film Grand Slam and played the role of sailor Taffy in the first of the BBC-series The Onedin Line (1971).He became well known for playing the part of Battery Sergeant Major Williams in the British sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974-81). One of his catchphrases was "Shut Up!" delivered with an ear drum shattering military scream. The other was the phrase "Oh dear, how sad, never mind", delivered in a dry, ironic manner, and used when others around him had problems. As a spin-off from the series, Davies and co-star, Don Estelle had a number one hit in the UK with a semi-comic version of "Whispering Grass". He played major roles in two later Carry On films, Behind in 1975 and England in 1976. He later re-established himself as a sitcom actor with the role of antique dealer Oliver Smallbridge in Never the Twain, with Donald Sinden.

He is also known for providing the voice of Sergeant Major Zero in Gerry Anderson's Terrahawks television series which broadcast from 1983 to 1986; and appeared in the Doctor Who story The Evil of the Daleks as Toby in 1967. He auditioned to be the voice of the UK's speaking clock in 1984 but lost out to fellow actor Brian Cobby.

Davies has never been short of voice-over work - and his distinctive, deep voice can be heard in such projects as New Zealand's Pink Batts house insulations and confectionery ads for Cadbury's Wispa. In the 1970s, Davies read an edition of Radio Four's Morning Story programme. Davies played a sergeant in the Highland Regiment in Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall with Jim Dale and Spike Milligan. This film was released in 1972.

Windsor Davies starred in two Carry On films, Carry On Behind (1975), playing the part of Butcher Fred Ramsden and then in Carry On England (1976), playing Sergeant Major 'Tiger' Bloomer.

He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1976.

Davies retired from acting in his 70s and he and his wife lived in France. He is survived by his five children (his wife Eluned died in September 2018).

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


Philip Bond (died 2017 aged 82) - 2 credits, including Ganatus in The Daleks

Philip Bond was a British actor best known for playing Albert Frazer in 24 episodes of the 1970s BBC nautical drama The Onedin Line.

Born in Burton-on-Trent, Bond attended the University of Oxford and studied at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. In 1957 he played Sir John Marraby in the musical Zuleika, based on the novel Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm. His first television role was in the series ITV Television Playhouse (1958-1961). 

He went on to appear in, among others, The Saint (1963), Redcap (1965), No Hiding Place (1965), Armchair Theatre (1966), Man in a Suitcase (1967-8), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1968), The Champions (1968), The Avengers (1969), Doomwatch (1971), Jason King (1971), The Onedin Line (1971-2), Dial M for Murder (1974), Z-Cars (1969-1975), Warship (1974-6), Crown Court (1977), The Children of the New Forest (1977), The Sandbaggers (1980), Shoestring (1980), Only Fools and Horses (1985), Bergerac (1987), Lovejoy (1993), Shakespeare: The Animated Tales (1994), The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (2001), Casualty (2007), and Midsomer Murders (2007).

Bond's film roles included Count Five and Die (1957), Orders to Kill (1958), Foxhole in Cairo (1960), I Want What I Want (1972), and Fever Pitch (1997). 

He was survived by his partner Elizabeth, children Matthew, Samantha and Abigail, and grandchildren Molly, Tom, Nancy, Bill and Ivan.


Andrew Tourell (died 2004 aged 57) - credited as Constable Cummings in Black Orchid

Robert Robertson (died 2001 aged 70) - credited as Collinson in The Ambassadors of Death

Robert Robertson was a Scottish actor and director. He was best known for playing Doctor Stephen Andrews in the television show Taggart.

He was born in St. Andrews, Fife. 

He appeared in 1970 Doctor Who story The Ambassadors of Death. 

He died after suffering a heart attack while reading a Robert Burns poem on stage in Perth.