'Radio Times' TV Review 0f 2020

That venerable publishing colossus, Christmas perennial, and loyal Doctor 
Who supporter, the Radio Times, has revealed the results of their annual,
multi-channel survey. Their top forty shows of the year have again been

elected by the magazine's critics, and Jodie Whittaker's second season

has been placed at a respectable number thirty-four. RT writer Huw

Fullerton comments:

34. Doctor Who

After Jodie Whittaker's first series put an emphasis on all-new monsters and stories, her second run did an abrupt volte-face, bringing back a host of familiar villains and adding new twists as the Time Lord faced a deeply personal challenge.

If the shock return of the Master (played by a scenery-chewing Sacha Dhawan) in the very first episode and a comeback for the Judoon and the Cybermen weren’t enough, series 12’s fifth episode – which saw a surprise new incarnation of the Doctor, played by Jo Martin, unmasked – blew us all away. We can only imagine how they’re going to top it in the (now-filming) series 13.

Doctor Who Vs. Nativity 3

Shown on channel 5 today, this

British comedy (subtitled Dude

Where's My Donkey?) was the

second sequel to 2009 festive

film Nativity! Marc Wootton and

Jason Watkins reprised their

series roles as Mr. Poppy and

Gordon Shakespeare.

The fourth instalment, Nativity

Rocks! opened in cinemas in late

 2018, and followed a stage

version, Nativity! The Musical,

which premiered in Birmingham

before a UK tour. Filmed on location in Coventry, London and New York, Nativity 3 (again written by

Debbie Isitt) was released in late 2014 - it featured Catherine Tate,

and eleven other Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

• for Watkins see my blog for Nativity!
• Martin Clunes (Mr. Shepherd) was Lon in Snakedance
• Adam Garcia (Finch) was Alex Klein in The Christmas Invasion
• Niky Wardley (Bella) voiced Tamsin Drew for seven Big Finish stories (from Situation Vacant until To the Death), then Bex Young for Technophobia, Hannah Bennett for School of Blood (both 2016), and Natalie Morrison for Donna Noble: Kidnapped! (2020) - she also made a cameo appearance in The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot
• Celia [Diana Savile] Imrie (Mrs. Keen here & Nativity Rocks!) was [Rosemary] Kizlet in The Bells of Saint John, then voiced Dr. Elizabeth Bradley for The Fifth Citadel (2013), Madame Tissot for Gallery of Ghouls, and Livia for Gallifrey: Enemy Lines (both 2016)
• Ralf Little (Charlie) voiced Guy Fawkes for The Gunpowder Plot, and was Steadfast in Smile
• Stewart Wright (Henry) was Alan in The Lie of the Land
• Duncan Preston (Dad) voiced the titular alien in the Doctor Who and Crayola sketch for Victoria Wood as Seen on TV
• Simon Lipkin (Chief Elf here; Jerry in Nativity Rocks!) was Nollarr in The Girl Who Died
• Lloyd Bass was also stuntman on The Time of the Doctor, Twice Upon a Time and Spyfall
• Curtis Rivers was also a stunt double on Utopia, The Sound of Drums and Torchwood

Doctor Who Vs. Coronation Street at 60, Part 12: 2000-2003

Langley (Adam Mitchell in The Long
Game) was sacked by Granada in
2017 and written out of the show.

From 1999 to 2001, many real life

issues dominated Corrie storylines

- these involved rape, fostering,

child abduction, internet grooming,

cervical cancer and teenage

pregnancy. Such plots proved

unpopular and producer Jane

Macnaught was replaced by

Carolyn Reynolds.

The Street marked its fortieth

anniversary by broadcasting

a live, hour-long episode on

December 8th 2000.

The show also faced strong 

competition from rival soap

EastEnders, so Kieran Roberts

was appointed as new producer

in 2002 - his aim was to inject

gentler stories and more humour.

That year saw the introduction of the soap's first regular gay character,

Todd Grimshaw (played by Bruno Langley), and one the biggest ever

storylines - the crimes of Richard Hillman. As that plot reached its 

climax in February 2003, Corrie achieved the highest audience of the

decade with over 19 million viewers.

These four years on the cobbles featured Mary Tamm (as Diana

Black in episode 5357), Bernard Cribbins (Wally Bannister) and

twenty-nine other Doctor Who cast/crew connections:

• Naomi Ryan (Bobbi Lewis, 2000-02) was Cassandra in Asylum of the Daleks
• Nigel Betts (Weir here; Eddie, 2007) was Mr. Armitage in Into the  Dalek, The Caretaker and Dark Water
• Liam Fox (Man here & 2005; Partridge, 2008) voiced Wunshooz and Mang for Big Finish's Purgatory 12 (2020)
• Gabrielle Glaister (Debs) voiced Maggie Bishop for The Forsaken (2015), Cowley for The High Price of Parking (2017), and Veronica Bland for Braxiatel in Love (2018)
• Jane How (Extra) was Rebec in Planet of the Daleks
• Davyd Harries (Judge) was Shapp in The Armageddon Factor
• Philip Bird (Gregory) made his TV debut as a Swampie in The Power of Kroll
• Melanie Kilburn (Evelyn Sykes/Elliott, 2000-02) voiced Hooley for The Dread of Night (2018)
• Peter Guinness (Sykes) voiced Mr. Dread for Dreamland, Childeric for The Holy Terror (2000), Baron Teufel for The Beast of Orlok (2009), and Rovus for The Star Men (2017)
• Toby Hadoke (Vicar here; Baxter, 2004; Doctor, 2009) voiced Mike Bretherton for Hexagora, Farel for Robophobia (both 2011), Dorrick for The Sands of Life, War Against the Laan, The Dalek Contract, The Final Phase (all 2013), The Pursuit of History and Casualties of Time (both 2016), Carruthers Summerton for Jago & Litefoot 10 (2015), the Lux and Oscar McLeod for Tales from New Earth, and V26 for The Sons of Kaldor (both 2018) - he was also Cyril in An Adventure in Space and Time
• Stephen Beckett (Matt Ramsden, 2001 & 2006) voiced Richard, Duke of Gloucester for The Kingmaker (2006)
• Martyn Read (Judge) was a Security Guard in (part 1 of) Silver Nemesis
• Leena Dhingra (Mina) was Miss Chandrakala in The Unicorn and the Wasp, and Nani Umbreen in Demons of the Punjab
• Julia Haworth (Claire Casey/Peacock) was Kat in Defenders of Earth
• Alan Wareing was also director of The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, Ghost Light and Survival, following a stint as PA on The Keeper of Traken, and production manager on Timelash
• Keith Drinkel (Gregory here; Bob, 2005) was Flight Engineer Scobie in Time Flight, and voiced Henry Hallam for Catch 1782 (2005), and the Cinder for Frostfire (2007)
• Nichola McAuliffe (Anita) was Vivien Rook in The Sound of Drums
• William Ash (Johnny) was Riley Vashtee in 42, and voiced Sam for The Condemned (2008)
• Geoffrey Leesley (Clegg) voiced Paramount Minister Mortund for Arrangements for War (2004)
• Michelle Newell (Gill) was one of twenty-six actresses who auditioned for the role of Leela in 1976
• Maureen Lipman (Lillian here; Evelyn, from 2018) was the Wire in The Idiot's Lantern
• Roy Hudd (Archie Shuttleworth, 2002/03, 2006, 2010) voiced Max Miller for Pier Pressure (2006)
• Jonathan Owen (Reverend) voiced Antranak for The Eye of the Scorpion (2001), Hamiyun for Her Final Flight (2004), and Napoleon Bonaparte for The Curse of Davros (2012)
• Sasha Behar (Maya Sharma, 2003/04) was Spurrina in The Fires of Pompeii, then voiced the Presidential Aide for Songs of Love, Tessno and Ladonne for Stop the Clock (both 2017), and Admiral Eno for The Lifeboat and the Deathboat (2019)
• George Baker (Newton) was Decider Login in Full Circle
• James Quinn (DI Mannery here; DS Willets, 2013) was Bill in Flatline
• Chris Finch (Foster) was a Time Lord Soldier in The Last Day and The Day of the Doctor
• Nicky Goldie (Mrs. Parry here; Jade, 2010) voiced the Spillager Empress for Winter for the Adept, Valeria Hedone for The Fires of Vulcan (both 2000), Inquisitor Danby for Excelis Rising (2002), and Polk for The Moonrakers (2020)
• Susan Twist (Donna here; Lydia, 2017) was Mrs. Merridew in Wild Blue Yonder

Doctor Who Vs. Coronation Street at 60, Part 11: 1996-1999

By 1997, the Street's viewing figures were

lagging behind rival EastEnders, with the

programme yet again perceived as dated.

ITV bosses were keen to make sweeping 

changes, and sought to attract a younger

audience. 

Outgoing produced Sue Pritchard was

replaced by Brian Park, and his short reign

saw the culling of many established cast 

members, starting with the sacking of Peter

Baldwin (who had played Derek Wilton since

 1975).

Park's controversial tenure saw the arrival

of the unpopular Battersby family, the intro-

duction of Hayley Patterson (the first trans-

gender character in British soap history),

and he was responsible for the infamous

'Weatherfield One' storyline when Deirdre

was jailed (watched by 19 million viewers).

David Hanson, the show's next producer,

oversaw another landmark for Corrie, when

 its first Asian family, the Desais took over the corner shop in 1999,

following the death of Alf Roberts (played by Bryan Mosley since

1961). The year also saw another expansion of the outdoor set (with

Victoria Street built to accommodate new businesses and flats), and

the appointment of another producer, Jane Macnaught.

These four years on the cobbles included scripts from Paul Cornell,

Gareth Roberts, and Phil Ford, and featured twenty-four other

Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

• Phil Collinson (the future producer of both Doctor Who and Corrie) appeared in episode 4302 as Bob Wright
• Jane Booker (Mrs. Hall) voiced Dron and Yetana for Big Finish's How to Make a Killing in Time Travel (2018)
• Su Douglas (Mrs. Bradley here; Meredith, 2012) voiced Countess Venhella for Benny's Story, Gem Weston for Fitz's Story (both 2009), Cook for The Broken Crown, Toad for Aladdin Time (both 2011), and Lady Raleigh for The Survivor (2019)
• Michael Walker (Motorist) was a Radar Operator in The Claws of Axos, and Miseus in The Time Monster
• James Garbutt (Wilf) was Ronson in Genesis of the Daleks
• Peter Kay (Shopfitter here; Eric Gartside, 2004) was Victor Kennedy, the Abzorbaloff in Love & Monsters
• Darryl Clark (PC here; Clerk, 2009; Seth, 2018) was Officer Will in Resolution
• Suranne Jones (Mandy here; Karen Phillips/McDonald, 2000 to 2004) was the eponymous subject of The Sarah Jane Adventures: Mona Lisa's Revenge, then played Idris (pictured) in The Doctor's Wife
• Derek Riddell (Newbould) was Robert MacLeish in Tooth and Claw
• Andrew Knott (Liam) voiced James O'Meara for 1963: Fanfare for the Common Men (2013), and Sean Casey for The White Room (2014)
• William Ilkley (Horrocks) was Tim Bass in The Mark of the Rani
• Jennifer [Hayes] Hennessey (DC Kay here; Bernie, 2009) was Valerie Brannigan in Gridlock, and Moira in The Pilot and Extremis
• John Normington (Groves) was Morgus in The Caves of Androzani, and Trevor Sigma in The Happiness Patrol
• Big Finish actor Michael Cochrane (Fay) was Charles Cranleigh in Black Orchid, Redvers Fenn-Cooper in Ghost Light, then voiced Lt. Col. Brook for No Man's Land (2006), Murgat for Brotherhood of the Daleks (2008), Colonel Spindleton for Trail of the White Worm and The Oseidon Adventure (both 2012), Chivers for The Time Machine (2013), and Geralk for The Fate of Krelos and Return to Telos (2015)
• Brigit Forsyth (Babs) was Ruth Maxtible in The Evil of the Daleks
• Victoria Alcock (Mary) was Angela Whittaker in Planet of the Dead, then voiced Marion for Power Play, and Winnie O'Connor for The Lonely Clock (both 2012)
• Julie Hesmondhalgh (Hayley Patterson/Cropper) was Judy Maddox in Kerblam!
• David Simeon (Dr. Bird) was Private Latimer in Inferno, and Alastair Fergus in (episode 1 of) The Daemons
• Stephen Billington (Greg Kelly) voiced Commander Bergam for Ice Station Alpha (2016)
• Suzanne Bertish (Viv) voiced Aldis for Nevernor (2020)
• Raji James (Collector) was Dr. Rajesh Singh in Doomsday and Army of Ghosts
• Elizabeth Rider (Kathleen here; Genna, 2006) provided the ATMOS voice for The Sontaran Stratagem, was Linda in The Time of the Doctor, and voiced Galatea for The Well-Mannered War (2015)
• Annie Hulley (Gwen) voiced the Newsreader for The Happiness Patrol (3)
• Jonathan Guy Lewis (Bentley) voiced Marcus Bray for After the Daleks (2021)

Date With History: 1980

Monday, December 8th:
John Winston Lennon,

aged 40, was shot four

times in the back by

Mark Chapman, who

earlier today had asked

the former Beatle for

his autograph. Lennon

was rushed from the

scene - the Dakota 

apartment building in

Manhattan - with his 

wife Yoko Ono, to St. Luke's Roosevelt 

Hospital Centre, where 

he died. 

Chapman pleaded guilty

to killing Lennon, and

blamed voices in his

head. He is currently 

serving a life sentence

in Attica prison, Wyoming county, NY.

Doctor Who Vs. Coronation Street at 60, Part 10: 1990-1995

The biggest change to the soap's schedule
since 1961 came in October 1989 with the
addition of a third weekly instalment.
Granada then decided to give the show a
dedicated production base, and the sets

were moved from the main TV studios

building to a refurbished warehouse near

the outdoor set. The new complex,

complete with individual dressing rooms,

now allowed the cast to rehearse on the

actual sets. 

Throughout 1990, new houses and

businesses (including the Kabin) began

to be integrated into storylines. A new

title sequence and videotape recording

were also introduced.

By 1992 however (just a year after

Carolyn Reynolds replaced Mervyn Watson as producer), Lord Rees

Mogg of the Broadcasting Standards Council saw the Street's all-

white cast as out of touch (the Desai family, the first regular ethic

characters, only appeared in 1999).

Then another prime-time rival launched on BBC1 that July, but

Eldorado was a flop and was cancelled after just a year on air.
The Street was victorious again in the next ratings battle, then

EastEnders debuted its own third weekly episode in 1994. Corrie

celebrated its thirty-fifth anniversary with its first one-hour special

and spin-off video release, both marking the wedding of Curly

Watts and Racquel (Kevin Kennedy and Sarah Lancashire).

These six years on the Street featured William Russell (pictured

as Ted Sullivan, from April to September 1992), and twenty-seven

other Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

• Patricia Maynard (Veronica) was Miss Winters in Robot - a role reprised for Big Finish's Sarah Jane Smith (2002)
• Tania Rodrigues (Joanne Khan) voiced Anarkali/Melissa/Isra Tech #2 for Scavenger (2014), Chief Panath for Jonah (2018), Visteron for Deeptime Frontier (2019), and Laker for Chase the Night (2020)
• Shirin Taylor (Jackie Ingram) was a Camper in (part 3 of) The Stones of Blood, and Customer in Dragonfire
• Andrew McCulloch (Travers) co-wrote Meglos
• Judy Holt (Mrs. Grice here; Lesley Kershaw, 2011/12) was Adam's Mum in The Long Game
• Milton Johns (Brendan Scott, 1991, 1993) was Benik in The Enemy of the World, Guy Crayford in The Android Invasion, and Kelner in The Invasion of Time
• Carl Forgione (Barrett) was Land in Planet of the Spiders, and Nimrod in Ghost Light
• Sally Faulkner (Mrs. Maxwell-Glover) was Isobel Watkins in The Invasion, and voiced Miss Tremayne for Winter for the Adept (2000)
• Tyrone Huggins (Dr. Bannerman) voiced Dr. Kenton Eastwood for Power Cell (2016)
• Dicken Ashworth (Horton) was Sezon in Timelash
• Catherine Cusack (Carmel) made her acting debut as the Blue Kang Leader [Drinking Fountain] in Paradise Towers
• Leslie Schofield (Brookes) was Leroy in The War Games (4), and Calib in The Face of Evil
• Colin Prockter (Halpern, 1992; Bostock, 1995; Maddocks, 2005; Clarky, 2008) was the Chef in The Long Game, and the Air Raid Warden in Victory of the Daleks
• Nigel Carrington (Brooks here; Waiter, 1989) voiced Emissary Godrin, Dr. Summersby and Announcer for The Valley of Death (2011), Sir Robert Harney for The Devil's Armada (2014), Pik Solus for Mistfall, Graham Finlay for New Horizons (both 2015), and Sir Peter Latcham for UNIT: Shutdown (2016)
• Brian Hibbard (Murray) was Kellor in Delta and the Bannermen
• Freddie Earlle (Owens) was Aldo in Warriors' Gate
• Alibe Parsons (Kathy) was Matroni Kani in Mindwarp
• Malcolm Terris (Firman) was Etnin in The Dominators (1), and the Co-Pilot in The Horns of Nimon
• Bernard Kay (Phillips) was Carl Tyler in The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Saladin in The Crusade, Inspector Crossland in The Faceless Ones, Caldwell in Colony in Space, and voiced Major Dickens for Night Thoughts (2006)
• Nicholas Blane (Stapleton here; Green, 1998; Judge, 2010) was Millington in Survivors of the Flux
• John Savident (Fred Elliott, 1994-2006) was the Squire in The Visitation (1)
• Owen Aaronovitch (Estate Agent here; Jon Lindsay, 1997/8) voiced Antonio Ferrando and Control Unit for Fiesta of the Damned (2016)
• Michael Owen Morris was director of The Awakening too, following a stint on The Pirate Planet as production assistant
• Michael Kerrigan was also director of Battlefield and The Sarah Jane Adventures
• Ellie Haddington (Josie) was Professor Docherty in Last of the Time Lords
• Frank Mills (Billy Williams, 1995-97) was the Telescope Director in Terror of the Autons (1)
• Andy Devine (Photographer here; Jason, 2000) made his TV debut as an uncredited Draconian in Frontier in Space