Doctor Who Vs. The Railway Children

Shown on BBC2 today,

this much loved period

drama was based on the classic children's novel

by socialist writer and

poet Edith Nesbit (1858

-1924). Published in

1906, the story centres on three Edwardian

siblings who embark on

a series of adventures

when they are forced to

move to rural Yorkshire

(after their father is wrongly accused of treason). The story has been adapted four times by the BBC (in 1951,

1957 and 1958), then by Carlton TV in 2000. The Corporation's 1968

adaptation starred Jenny Agutter who was later cast in this film remount,

which returned to UK cinemas in 2022. A BBC radio play and stage

musical followed in 1991 and 2005, and StudioCanal's sequel, The

Railway Children Return also opened in 2022.

Scripted and directed by Lionel Jeffries, the drama was released to great

acclaim in 1970, and starred Sally Thomsett, Gary Warren, Bernard

Cribbins, and eight other Doctor Who cast connections:

• Agutter (Bobbie here & The Railway Children Return; Mrs. Waterbury for ITV) voiced Sekhmet for Big Finish's The Bride of Peladon (2008)
• Dinah [Nadyejda Ginsburg] Sheridan (Mrs. Waterbury) was Chancellor Flavia in The Five Doctors
• William Mervyn [Pickwoad] (Old Gentleman) was Sir Charles Summer in The War Machines
• Iain Cuthbertson (Charles Waterbury) was Garron in The Ribos Operation
• Erik Chitty (Photographer) was Charles Preslin in (episode 1 of) The Massacre, and Co-ordinator Engin in The Deadly Assassin
• Dominic Allan (CID Man) was a Policeman in The Invasion (5)
• Richard [Leeper McClelland] Leech (Doctor) was Gatherer Hade in The Sun Makers
• Peter Russell [born Ellis] (Policeman) was Eldred in The Time Meddler

The BBC's eight-part series of 1957 featured Anneke

Wills (as Bobbie), and seven other Doctor Who links:

• Cavan Kendall (Peter) and Ivor Salter (Driver) both later appeared in The Myth Makers, as Achilles and Odysseus respectively - Salter was also Morok Commander in The Space Museum, and Sergeant Markham in Black Orchid
• John Baskcomb (Blacksmith) was Rossini in Terror of the Autons
• Alan Curtis (Farmhand) was Major Green in The War Machines
• Ysanne Churchman (Ruth) provided the voice of Alpha Centauri for both Peladon adventures and Empress of Mars, and voiced the titular arachnids for Planet of the Spiders
• Leonard Kingston (Extea) was a Militiaman in The Smugglers (4)
• Peter Sargent was also film cameraman on The Power of the Daleks, The Curse of Peladon (1) and The Sea Devils

The seven-part version of 1968 (placed 96th in the BFI's

100 Greatest British Television Programmes poll of 2000)

was directed by Julia Smith and starred another eight

Doctor Who guest actors:

• Gordon Gostelow (Perks) was Milo Clancey in The Space Pirates
• John Ringham (Dr. Forrest) was Tlotoxl in The Aztecs, Josiah Blake in The Smugglers, and Ashe in Colony in Space
• Frederick Treves (Father) was Lieutenant Brotadac in Meglos
• Mary Healey (Ruth) was a Killjoy in The Happiness Patrol (1)
• Bart Allison (Signalman) was Maximus Pettulian in The Romans (1)
• [William Aldred] Roy Denton (Valuer) was a Tribesman in 100,000 BC (2), and Extra in The Silurians (6)
• Colin Douglas (Farmer) was Donald Bruce in The Enemy of the World, and Reuben in Horror of Fang Rock
• Will Stampe (Driver) was the First Man in The Massacre (3)

Agutter even appeared in ITV's dramatisation (now as Bobbie's

mother), opposite Sir Richard Attenborough, Geoffrey Beevers 

and these seven further Doctor Who cast and crew links:

• director Catherine Morshead and writer Simon Nye both later held the same posts on Amy's Choice, the former also directed The Lodger
• Howard Burden was also costume designer on thirty adventures (from Asylum of the Daleks to Last Christmas)
• Jemima Rooper (Bobbie) voiced Izzy Sinclair for The Company of Friends (2009), and Mithia for The Time War 4 (2020)
• David Bamber (Dr. Forrest) was Captain Quell in Mummy on the Orient Express, and voiced Emperor Constantine for The Council of Nicaea (2005), and Colonel Ulrik and Whitmore for The Four Doctors (2010)
• JJ Field (Jim) voiced David McCallister for Blue Forgotten Planet (2009)
• Amanda Walker (Mrs. Ransome) was Old Ruby in 73 Yards

Doctor Who Vs. The Eagle Has Landed

Based on the book by Jack Higgins, ITC Enter-

tainment's classic British war film was released

at Christmas 1976, and starred Michael Caine,
Donald Sutherland (who replaced Richard Harris

as Liam Devlin), Robert Duvall, Anthony Quayle,

Donald Pleasence and Larry Hagman. BBC Radio

4's version followed in 1993.

The plot shared many similarities with that of the

wartime West End play, Warn That Man! and Ealing Studios' Went the Day Well? (1942). A sequel, The

Eagle Has Flown was published in 1991, and it was

reported in 2015 that ITV Studios planned to adapt

the novel for BBC1. Higgins (the pen name of Harry Patterson) died in 2022, aged 92. A genuine plot (codenamed Operation Willi) to kidnap the Duke

of Windsor (opposed to Winston Churchill in this

fictional scenario) was conceived by the SS in 1940.

Shown on BBC2 today, the film (distributed by Columbia Pictures) featured

Jean Marsh, and these nineteen Doctor Who guest stars:

• Jenny [Ann] Agutter (Molly) voiced Sekhmet for Big Finish's The Bride of Peladon (2008)
• John [Ronald Leon] Standing (Verecker) voiced Fenric for Gods and Monsters (2012), and Professor Threadstone for Vampire of the Mind (2016)
• [Frank] Denis Lill (Aide) was Dr. Fendelman in Image of Fendahl, and Sir George Hutchinson in The Awakening
• Tim [Michael John Leigh] Barlow (Wilde) was Tyssan in Destiny of the Daleks
• [John] Maurice Roeves (Corcoran) was Stotz in The Caves of Androzani
• Harry Fielder (Outrider) was a Guard (in PP, ZZZ, 4L, 4P, 5A, 5F, 5Z), Crewman (SS, 4T), Vogan (4D), Assassin (4Q), Tigellan (5Q), and Krarg in Shada
• Roy [Anthony] Marsden [born Mould] (Toberg) was Stoker in Smith and Jones
• Peter Miles (uncredited as Hitler) was Dr. Charles Lawrence in The Silurians, Professor Whitaker in Invasion of the Dinosaurs, then Nyder in Genesis of the Daleks, a role he reprised for The Trial of Davros and Guilt (2006) - he also voiced Tragan for The Paradise of Death, and Curator Gantman for Whispers of Terror (1999)
• Malcolm Tierney (Fleischer) was Dolland in Terror of the Vervoids
• Walter Henry [born Israel W Nagelkop] (PC) was an Extra in The Myth Makers (2) and The Silurians (6), Primord in Inferno, and Brother in The Masque of Mandragora
• Valentino Musetti, Bill Weston, Mark McBride, Steve Emerson, Rick Lester, Jim Dowdall, Richard Hammatt, Nick Hobbs and Bill Weston were all stunt performers here too

Doctor Who Vs. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The first part of this Star Wars sequel trilogy

(also known as Episode VII) was produced,

co-written, and directed by JJ Abrams. The

sci-fi epic (the follow-up to 1983's Return

of the Jedi), was announced after the Walt

Disney Company's acquisition of Lucasfilm in

2012, and saw no involvement from franchise creator, George Lucas. Harrison Ford, Mark

Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew, and

Anthony Daniels all reprised their respective

roles - Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Leia,

Chewbacca, and C3PO.

Released in late 2015, The Force Awakens

became the third highest grossing film ever,

and was followed by The Last Jedi in 2017,

and The Rise of the Skywalker (2019).

Shown on ITV2 tonight, the movie featured

Adam Driver (as Kylo Ren), Daisy Ridley (Rey), John Boyega (Finn), Andy

Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Max von Sydow, Tosin Cole (pictured as

Bastian), and these twenty-eight Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

• Simon [John] Pegg [born Beckingham] (Unkar) voiced Don Chaney for Big Finish's Invaders from Mars (2002), then was the Editor in The Long Game, and was Narrator of the first run of Doctor Who Confidential
• Kiran Shah (Teedo here; Panpick in The Last Jedi; Ghima in The Rise of Skywalker) was the Figure in Listen, and Emojibot in Smile
• Pip [Dean] Torrens (Kaplan) and Thomas Brodie Sangster (Officer) both appeared in Human Nature and The Family of Blood - as Head master [George] Rocastle and Tim Latimer - Torrens also voiced Charlie Gibbs for Eldrad Must Die! (2013), and Kenton for Break the Ice (2022), and Thomas Browne for 1901: The Unknown Mirror (2025), whilst Sangster voiced Kyle for The Mind's Eye (2007), and Miner for The Bride of Peladon (2008)
• Brian Vernel (Bala Tik) was Lucius in The Eaters of Light, and voiced Robert for Dethras (2017) 
• for Warwick Davis see Return of the Jedi
• Sebastian [Felipe Xavier Fernández Garcia] Armesto (Mitaka) was Broff in Bad Wolf, and voiced Anders for Grand Theft Cosmos (2008), and Garrison for Kidnapped! (2020)
• Harriet [Mary] Walter (Kalonia) voiced Beatrice Mapp for The Boy That Time Forgot (2008), then was Jo Patterson in Revolution of the Daleks
• Tim Rose (Ackbar) was a Millennium FX engineer on Let's Kill Hitler, Closing Time and Deep Breath
• Tom Edden (Officer) was a Pharmacist in Gridlock
• Victor McGuire (Patron) voiced Borton for In the Garden of Death (2018)
• Dave Chapman (BB-8 operator) was Dalek Voice on The Curse of Fatal Death
• Charlie Akin (Stormtrooper/Fighter) was a Soldier in Empress of Mars
• Bern Collaco (General) was an Operator in The Return of Doctor Mysterio, and Soldier in Thin Ice
• Nathalie Cuzner (PZ-4CO) was Cat Nun in Tardisode and New Earth, Extra in The Age of Steel, The End of Time (2), The Time of Angels, Flesh and Stone, Night Terrors, Oxygen and Torchwood: Children of Earth, Futurekind in Utopia, Silurian in The Hungry Earth, Cold Blood, The Pandorica Opens and Doctor Who at the Proms, Handbot in The Girl Who Waited, Droid in Deep Breath, and Performer in Demons of the Punjab
• Tobias James Samuels (Officer) was a Waiter in Voyage of the Damned
• Kevin Hudson (Rebel) had uncredited roles in twenty-nine stories (from The Long Game to The Timeless Children)
• Paul Kasey (Ello Asty) starred in thirty-eight episodes (from Rose to The Timeless Children)
• Mickey Lewis (General here; Trooper in Rogue One; Bridge Comms in The Last Jedi) was in seventeen instalments (from Asylum of the Daleks to Legend of the Sea Devils)
• Kate Fleetwood (Officer) was the voice of Ship for The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Mad Woman in the Attic
• Clem So (Fighter) was Mongolian in Asylum of the Daleks, Artisan in The Angels Take Manhattan, Tourist in The Day of the Doctor, Clock- work Droid in Deep Breath, Bank Client in Time Heist, Alien in Face the Raven and The Husbands of River Song, Gent in Thin Ice, Corpse in Oxygen, Guard in Extremis, and Pirate in Legend of the Sea Devils
• Robert Strange (Allium) was a Wraith Warrior in The Star Beast, Bogeyman in Space Babies, and Bot in The Robot Revolution
• Tom Bell (Prashee) voiced Fakrid/Jinkwa for The Highest Science (2014), Arran/Shift for The Age of Endurance (2016), Prog/Percy for Inside Every Warrior (2019), and Brian Sherborne for Intelligence for War (2023)
• Will [John] Willoughby (Guard) [born Haynes] was a stuntman on nine stories (from Rose to A Town Called Mercy) and Torchwood
• Jimmy Vee (R2-D2) was the Moxx of Balhoon in The End of the World, Pig in Aliens of London, Bannakaffalatta in Voyage of the Damned, the Skovox Blitzer in The Caretaker, and the Graske in Attack of the Graske, Music of the Spheres and The Sarah Jane Adventures
• Aidan Cook (Bobbajo/Tuggs) was Mummy in The Rings of Akhaten, Crooked man in Hide, Cyberman in Nightmare in Silver and The Time of the Doctor, Zygon in The Day of the Doctor, The Zygon Invasion and The Zygon Inversion, and the Vlinx in The Giggle, The Legend of Ruby Sunday and The Reality War
• Francesca Mills (Laparo) voiced Bethany for Swipe Right (2024)
• Dilu Miah (Puffer) was Goblin in The Church on Ruby Road
• Christina Chong (Deleted scene) was Lorna Bucket in A Good Man Goes to War

Doctor Who Vs. Spooks, Series 1

 

BBC1's popular spy drama began in the spring of 2002 with a six-

part series, endured for another nine seasons, and even spawned

a spin-off show for BBC Three (Spooks: Code 9), the feature film

Spooks: The Greater Good (2014), and an interactive video game.

The title of the show is a colloquialism for spies, and Spooks

originally aired in North America as MI5. Created by David

Wolstencroft and produced by Kudos, Spooks centred on a

fictional group of MI5 officers based at the service's London HQ,

Thames House.

The programme starred Matthew Macfadyen (as Tom Quinn), Keeley
 Hawes (Zoe Reynolds), David Oyelowo (Danny Hunter), Hugh Simon
(Malcolm Wynn-Jones), Rory MacGregor (Colin Wells), Jenny Agutter
 (Tessa Phillips), and Graeme Mearns (Jed Kelley), whilst Peter Firth
(Harry Pearce) was the only actor to appear in every series.

The death of Helen Flynn, played by Lisa Faulkner, in only the second
episode attracted controversy and the highest number of complaints
against the Corporation that year.

A run of the first, BAFTA winning season concluded on U&Drama

last night - it featured a total of thirty-one Doctor Who cast and

crew connections:

• Hawes (2002-04) played Ms. Delphox in Time Heist
• Agutter (2002/03) voiced Sekhmet for Big Finish's The Bride of Peladon
• Ken Bones (Burns) was the General in The Day of the Doctor and Hell Bent - a role reprised for Dreadshade (2020), Allegiance, The Mission, The Horror (all 2022), Manoeuvres and A Genius for War (both 2023) - he also voiced Dreislav/Thomas Bloodchild for The Bloodchild Codex (2013), and David/Anders Kristiansen for The Keeper of Light (2022)
• Esther [Jane] Hall (Ellie Simm, 2002/03) voiced Virginia [Fortuna] for The Galileo Trap (2015), Tazmeena/Bauze/Mum for The Two Masters, Pheenan for Absolute Power (both 2016), and Viv/Commentator for The Iron Legion (2019)
• Paul Broughton (Paul) was Neville Lewis in War of the Sontarans
• Royce Mills (McInnes) provided Dalek voices for the last three Dalek stories of the original run
• Derek Riddell (Steven) and stunt double Levan Doran both starred in Tooth and Claw, as Sir Robert MacLeish and stuntman - Riddell also voiced Lt. Commander Sandy McNish for The Oncoming Storm (2016)
• Karen Westwood [born Smith] (Karen) was Tabetha in The Big Bang
• Tom Goodman Hill (Thomas) was Reverand Arnold Golightly in The Unicorn and the Wasp
• Kevin [Robert] McNally (Osborne) was Hugo Lang in The Twin Dilemma, then Professor Eustacius Jericho in Flux - he also voiced Henry for Spider's Shadow (2008), Vakrass for The End of the Beginning, and Merrick Kingdom for Dalek Universe (both 2021)
• Julian [Neil Rohan] Wadham (Morris) voiced Augustus Scullop for The Fourth Wall (2012), Dr. Joseph Holman for The Darkness of Glass (2015) and The Crowmarsh Experiment (2018), and Judge Perigord Trent for The Doomsday Contract (2021)
• Jeremy Bulloch (Welks) was Tor in The Space Museum, and Hal in The Time Warrior
• Kevork Malikyan (Cosar) was Kemel Rudkin in The Wheel in Space
• Anthony [Stewart] Head (Salter) voiced Valentine for Death Comes to Time, and Grayvorn for Excelis Dawns, Excelis Rising and Excelis Decays (all 2002), before his TV role as Brother Lassar in School Reunion, then voiced Baltazar for The Infinite Quest
• Mark [Lee] Dexter (Hodd) was Dad in Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead, then Charles Babbage in Spyfall
• Nicholas Farrell [born Frost] (Maynard) was Brian Green PM in Torchwood: Children of Earth, and voiced Gammades for Time Reef, Phil for A Perfect World (both 2008), Captain Frank for Last of the Cybermen (2015), and Browman for A Ghost of Alchemy (2023)
• Aleksandar Mikic (Man) was Yuri Kerenski in The Waters of Mars
• Naoko Mori (Annette) was Dr. Toshiko Sato in Aliens of London, World War Three and Torchwood
• Tim [Peter] Pigott Smith (Wilder) was Captain Harker in The Claws of Axos, and Marco in The Masque of Mandragora 
• John Owens (Old Man) was Thorpe in The Daemons
• Linda [Virginia] Marlowe [born Bathurst] (Madge) voiced Commander Claire Spencer for The Word Lord, May Carlisle for Casualties of War (both 2008), Osloo/Anne Tessler for The Macros (2010), and Gusta Pardo for The Tyrants of Logic (2018)
• Beth Vyse (Tara) voiced Vannet for Time Works (2006)
• Richard [Crispin] Armitage (Officer here; Lucas North, 2008-10) voiced Rassilon for Time War 4 (2021), War Room 1 (2022) and Goth Opera (2024)
• Amanda Drew (Reporter) provided the voice of the Mouri for Once, Upon Time, was Narrator of The Seven Year Hitch, and voiced Commander Jane Wardie for Way of the Burryman (2022)
• William [John] Willoughby [born Haynes] was also a stunt performer on nine episodes (from Rose to A Town Called Mercy)
• Crispin Layfield was also the stunt co-ordinator on the revived series (from Smith and Jones to the present)
• Jason Gill was also costume assistant on fourteen adventures (from A Christmas Carol to The Wedding of River Song) and Space/Time
• John Cooling was stand-by rigger on Turn Left too
• Francesco Reidy was also first assistant director on The Sontaran Stratagem and The Poison Sky
• Robert Edwards was the ADR mixer on Space/Time too
• Russ Perkin was also a SFX technician on eleven stories (from The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe to The Husbands of River Song)