Doctor Who Vs. Edge of Darkness

Forty years ago this month, during

the peak of Cold War paranoia,

BBC1 viewers tuned into another

apparent crime series. But this

British political drama from Troy

Kennedy Martin was game-

changing television - no one had

seen TV like this before. A Holly-

wood version followed in 2010.

A rare repeat showing of the six-

part thriller (a BBC co-production

with Lionheart TV) concluded on

BBC4 last night - it featured Bob Peck (winner of the Best Actor

BAFTA for his role here as

Craven), Joanne Whalley, Joe Don Baker, and these eighteen Doctor Who

cast and crew connections:

• Charles Kay [born Piff] (Pendleton) was Julius Quilter in BBV Prod- uctions' Unnatural Selection (1996), then voiced the Curator for Big Finish's Excelis Rising (2002)
• Ian McNeice (Harcourt) portrayed Winston Churchill in The Beast Below, Victory of the Daleks, The Pandorica Opens, The Wedding of River Song - a role reprised for Big Finish's The Churchill Years, Their Finest Hour (2018), Subterfuge and Operation: Hellfire (both 2020), and voiced Zeus for Immortal Beloved (2007), and Reginald Harcourt for Renaissance Man (2012)
• Hugh Fraser (Bennett) was an Extra in The Smugglers, then voiced Zero for Spring (2007), Dr. Honri Kerrem for The Cradle of the Snake (2010), Tallister for War Against the Laan (2013), Edwin Tremayne for Moonflesh (2014), Dr. Schwartzmann/Rider for Criss-Cross, Sherringford Holmes for All-Consuming Fire (both 2015), Charles Kirkland for The Trouble with Drax (2016), Second Elder for Sphere of Influence (2020), and Castringham for The Empire Man (2022) and Rictus (2025)
• John Woodvine (Ross) was the Marshal in The Armageddon Factor, and voiced Galileo Galilei for The Galileo Trap and The Satanic Mill (both 2015)
• Zoe Wanamaker (Clemmy), Struan Rodger (Mac) and Michael Fitzgerald (John) all appeared in New Earth - as Lady Cassandra (reprised from The End of the World), the voice of the Face of Boe (here and Gridlock) and the Duke of Manhattan - Rodger was also Clayton in The Woman Who Lived, then voiced the Kasaavin in Syfall
• Sean [born James] Caffrey (McCroon) was Lord Palmerdale in Horror of Fang Rock
• Tim McInnerny (Shields) was Klineman Halpen in Planet of the Ood, and voiced Admiral Dolne for The Well-Mannered War (2015), and the eponymous role for Puccini and the Doctor (2024)
• Patrick [Lindesay Archibald] Godfrey (Oakley) was Tor in The Savages, and Major Cosworth in The Mind of Evil
• Brian [Henry] Croucher (Connors) was Borg in The Robots of Death, and Kurt in Shakedown, then voiced Cotton for Kaldor City (2001-03)
• [Harold] Neville Barber (Presenter) was Dr. [Humphrey] Cook in The Time Monsters
• [Henry] Kristopher Kum (Doctor) was Fu Peng in The Mind of Evil
• Harry Fielder (Policeman) was Guard (PP, ZZZ, 4L, 4P, 5A, 5F, 5Z), Crewman (SS, 4T), Vogan (4D), Assassin (4Q), Tigellan (5Q), and Krarg in Shada
• BBC newsreader Kenneth Kendall had a cameo in (episode 4 of) The War Machines too
• Mat Irvine was also VFX assistant on The Curse of Peladon (1) and Planet of the Spiders (1), then VFX designer on The Face of Evil, The Invisible Enemy (1), The Stones of Blood, The Creature from the Pit, Warriors' Gate, Warriors of the Deep and K9 and Company
• Graham Brown was also a SFX assistant on Resurrection of the Daleks and Attack of the Cybermen, uncredited VFX assistant on Full Circle (4), The Five Doctors, The Caves of Androzani (4) and Revelation of the Daleks (2), then VFX designer on The Curse of Fenric
• Tony [Jon] Auger was also VFX designer on Black Orchid and K9 and Company