Doctor Who Vs. The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes

This British film was produced, directed
and co-written by legendary Hollywood
film-maker Billy Wilder (1906-2002).
Robert Stephens (1931-1995), Colin
Blakely (1930-1987) and Christopher
Lee (1922-2015) portrayed Holmes,
Watson and Mycroft respectively.
Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss have

credited the relationship between Holmes

 and Watson seen here as their inspiration

when they created Sherlock.

Released by United Artists in late 1971,

the cult film was shown on Sky Arts

today, and featured eleven Doctor Who

cast connections:

• Graham Armitage (Wiggins here; Holmes for The Stories of Sherlock Holmes, 1979-85) was Barney in (episode 1 of) The Macra Terror
• Michael [Emrys] Elwyn [born Jones] (Cassidy) was Lt. Algernon Thomas Alfred Ffinch in The Highlanders
• James [Gordon] Copeland (Guide) was Selris in The Krotons
• Godfrey James (Carter) was Tarn in Underworld
• Robert [Chattey] Cawdron (Manager) was Dr. Bruno Taltalian in The Ambassadors of Death
• [Charles] Kenneth [Anton] Benda (Minister here; Butler in The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother) was the Minister in The Claws of Axos
• Philip Anthony [born Johnson] (Lieutenant here; PC Walters, Wisteria Lodge) was Roald in The Daleks' Master Plan (1)
• Christopher [Michael] Gable (Danseur) was Sharaz Jek in The Caves of Androzani
• Eric Francis (Gravedigger here; Magruder in Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson: The Case of Magruder's Murder; Merriman in The Baker Street Boys: The Adventure of the Disappearing Dispatch Case) was the First Elder in The Sensorites
• Willie Shearer (Submariner) was a Chumblie in Galaxy 4
• John Scott Martin (Scientist) was a stalwart of the classic series, with appearances in seventy-six episodes (usually as a Dalek operator) from The Web Planet to Remembrance of the Daleks