Doctor Who Vs. Fairy Tale: A True Story

This British film told the compelling,

true story of the Cottingley fairies.

Cousins, Elsie Wright (1901-1988)

and Frances Griffiths (1907-1986)

photographed fairies at Cottingley

Beck, near Bradford in Yorkshire, in

1917.

The cast, led by Peter O'Toole (as Sir

Arthur Conan Doyle) and Harvey

Keitel (Harry Houdini), included Paul

McGann.

Hungarian-born escapologist, Houdini
(1874-1926), a known sceptic, was
determined to expose fake phen-

omena, whereas Sherlock Holmes

creator, Doyle (1859-1930) was a famed spiritualist, who believed in

the existence of the Cottingley fairies. 

Two photos were originally published with an article by Doyle in The Strand magazine at Christmas 1920, but the story continued to attract

fresh interest from 1966, and just before the cousins died, they finally

exposed the fairies as a hoax in 1983.

The Whoniverse has seen numerous mentions of Houdini and Doyle in

many media. Tim Beckmann voiced Houdini in Smoke and Mirrors, and

the illusionist appeared in The Space Cuckoos (both 2013). Doyle

(voiced by Steven Miller) starred in Big Finish's The Monstrous

Menagerie (2014). In the Torchwood episode, Small Worlds (2006),

Gwen Cooper is seen examining a Cottingley photo.

Released by Icon and Paramount in 1997, Fairy Tale was shown on

Sky Movies last night - it featured a cameo from Mel Gibson, and

sixteen other Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

• Florence Hoath (Elsie) played Nancy (pictured) in The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances
• Bill [Francis] Nighy (Gardner) was Dr. Black in Vincent and the Doctor
• Tim McInnerny (Ferret) was Klineman Halpen in Planet of the Ood, and voiced Admiral Dolne for Big Finish's The Well-Mannered War (2015)
• Anthony Calf (Hodson) was Charles in The Visitation, Colonel Godsacre in Empress of Mars, and voiced Lord Barset for Frozen Time (2007), and Cal for Zero Space (2018)
• Don [Francis] Henderson (Chalker) was Gavrok in Delta and the Bannermen
• Tom Georgeson (Reporter) was Kavell in Genesis of the Daleks, and Police Inspector in Logopolis
• Sean Buckley (Bandylegs) was a Barman in The Wedding of River Song
• Ann-Louise Plowman (Fairy) was Diana Goddard in Dalek
• Carol Noakes (Photographer) voiced Olerik for The Acheron Pulse (2012)
• Harry Fielder (Stagehand) was Guard (PP, ZZZ, 4L, 4P, 5A, 5F, 5Z), Crewman (SS, 4T), Vogan (4D), Assassin (4Q), Tigellan (5Q), and Krarg in Shada
• assistant John Munro was make-up artist on twenty-four instal- ments of the revived series (from The Runaway Bride to Journey's End)
• foley editor Michael Feinberg also edited ten episodes of The Sarah Jane Adventures, and The Lazarus Experiment
• stuntman Jim Dowdall had uncredited roles in Day of the Daleks, Genesis of the Daleks and Frontios
• Steve Griffin was stuntman on The Idiot's Lantern too
• stuntman Bill Weston was a Militiaman in The Smugglers
• stuntman Chris Webb was a Monoid in The Ark, and Guard in (episode 1 of) The Curse of Peladon