Today marks the 100th aniversary of the birth of one of the greatest of all Doctor Who villains, the original Master, Roger Delgado.

Roger Delgado was a mainstay of the series during the early 1970's, first appearing in the 1971 Robert Holmes story Terror of the Autons.

The character was created by producer Barry Letts and Script Editor Terrance Dicks to act as a foil to the Third Doctor as played by Jon Pertwee, a Moriarty to the Doctor's Sherlock Holmes

He appeared in every story of Season 8, even at times eclipsing the Doctor, much to Pertwee's annoyance. With Jo Grant played by Katy Manning aiding the Doctor, and the team of UNIT fully established, the series settled into the pattern of The Master plotting to bring about the downfall of the human race only to be thwarted by the Doctor at the last minute.

His appearances in Season Nine were less frequent, but he still managed to appear in twelve out of the 26 episodes. His final appearance was the following year, in the 1973 story Frontier In Space. His premature death in a car accident in Turkey robbed the series of one of its classic villains and the cast of one of their closest friends. We never got to see the final showdown between the Third Doctor and The Master and the character disappeared from the series for many years. His death contributed to Pertwee's decision to depart the series after Season 11

Roger Delgado was born Roger Caesar Marius Bernard de Delgado Torres Castillo Roberto on 1st March 1918. Although his mother was Belgian and his father was Spanish, he was born in Whitechapel, in the East End of London, and within the sound of the Bow Bells, making him a true cockney. He served in the Second World War with both the Leicestershire Regiment and the Royal Signals, attaining the rank of major

He made his theatre debut in 1939 and his first television appearance in 1948. For the next 25 years, he specialised in evil European types with roles such as the duplicitous Spanish envoy Mendoza in Sir Francis Drake and Don Jose in Queen's Champion. He appeared in The Three Musketeers, Nom-de-Plume, The Buccaneers, Huntingtower, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Hancock's Half Hour, Biggles, The Odd Man, Triton, Richard the Lionheart, Ghost Squad, Seeing and Believing, The Man in the Iron Mask and Z-Cars. He made 16 appearances in ITC produced action series, including Danger Man, The Saint, The Champions, and Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased).

He was killed while on location in Turkey, whilst shooting La Cloche tibétaine a Franco/German TV mini-series when the car in which he was traveling went off the road into a ravine.

He was 55 years old.

Psychedelic Electrical Storm | The Claws of Axos

BBC Worldwide have delayed the release of the DVD The Enemy of the World - Special Edition by one week.

The title will now be released on the 26th March.

Full details of release here.

The actor Peter Miles has died at the age of 89

Peter Miles made three memorable appearances in Doctor Who.

In 1970 he played Dr. Lawrence in the second Third Doctor story The Silurians. Lawrence was the director of the Wenley Moor nuclear research facility, who refused to cooperate with UNIT's investigations. He met a memorable death when he succumbed to the Silurian virus.

He returned to the series in 1974, playing Professor Whitaker, the scientist responsible for flooding London with Dinosaurs, in Invasion of the Dinosaurs. He again met a sticky end when he was transported back to his desired 'Golden age'.

His final appearance came just a year later in the classic story Genesis of the Daleks. His chilling performance as Nyder, second in command to Michael Wisher's Davros, helped elevate the story to classic status. Who can forget the moment he switched sides after pretending to join the rebels - "Thank you, that’s what I wanted to know”

It was a role he relished and one he returned to in the Big Finish audio play Guilt and in two versions of the stage play The Trial of Davros.
Peter Miles had a long career in British television. His first recorded appearance was in 1968 in Armchair Theatre. Appearances followed in series such as Softly Softly, Dixon of Dock Green, Paul Temple, Colditz, Moonbase 3, Within These Walls, New Scotland Yard, Survivors, Poldark, The Eagle Has Landed, Z Cars, Warship, Disraeli: Portrait of a Romantic, Blake's 7, Blake's 7 and Bergerac

He also appeared in the 1993 BBC Radio Third Doctor play, The Paradise of Death, playing Tragan alongside Jon Pertwee and Elisabeth Sladen, as well as several Big Finish Productions.

The news that Peter Miles had died was released on his official Twitter page.

The actor Jeremy Wilkin has died at the age of 87.

Jeremy Wilkin played Professor Kellman in the 1975 Doctor Who television story Revenge of the Cybermen.

He was best known for his extensive work with Gerry Anderson, providing the voice for many characters, including Virgil Tracy in Thunderbirds, Captain Ochre and Captain Black in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, and many characters in the series Joe 90 and The Secret Service.

He was a recurring cast member for the live-action series UFO playing Skydiver Navigator Lt. Gordon Maxwell.

Jeremy Wilkin was born in Byfleet, Surrey and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

He lived in Canada for many years establishing a career as a television actor appearing in series such as Encounter, Cannonball, and Folio.

He returned to the UK in the mid-sixties appearing the ITV fantasy series Undermind as Drew Heriot, a personnel manager inadvertently drawn into a sinister plot to control human minds and sow discord in society.

After coming to the attention of producer Gerry Anderson he was engaged to take over the role of Virgil Tracy for the second series of Thunderbirds following the departure of the character's original voice actor, David Holliday. It was the start of a long relationship with the studios.

As well as his appearance in Doctor Who he had a memorable appearance in the first episode of Blake’s 7 playing Dev Tarrant, the man who betrayed Blake.

In the 1980's he appeared as Nat Kinsley in the BBC series County Hall as well as roles in Reilly: Ace of Spies, the Secret Army spin-off Kessler and in the Yorkshire TV series Number 10.

Jeremy Wilkin died on 19th December 2017.

The actor Peter Wyngarde has died at the age of 90.

Peter Wyngarde was best known for playing Jason King, the bestselling novelist turned sleuth who appeared in the British television series Department S and Jason King, inspiring the Mike Myers character Austin Powers. He appeared in the 1984 Doctor Who story Planet of Fire playing Timanov the devout religious leader of the planet Sarn.

Peter Wyngarde's origins are shrouded in mystery with the actor himself giving different accounts of his parents and birthplace. He is believed to have been born in France in the late 1920's, with 1927 being the most authoritative date. He grew up in the far east and during World War II was interned in the Lunghua internment camp in Shanghai, set up by the Japanese for European and American citizens living in the city.

After the war, he sailed to the United Kingdom on the Cunard White Star Line vessel the Arawa, arriving in Southampton at the age of 18.

After briefly studying law he joined an advertising agency and in 1946 won his first professional role in the theatre. One of his earliest roles was a production of Noël Coward's Present Laughter at the Theatre Royal, Birmingham.

His first television appearance was a bit part in the 1949 production of Dick Barton Strikes Back. He soon graduated to leading roles playing John the Baptist in the 1956 version of Jesus of Nazareth and Sydney Carton in A Tale of Two Cities.

In 1959 he played Lt Jan Wicziewsky in South one of the earliest gay-themed British TV dramas. the play came just two years after the Wolfenden Report, when homosexuality was still very much a taboo subject, making Wyngarde’s impassioned performance all the more extraordinary.

In 1969 Wyngarde won the role that would make him a household name in the espionage series Department S. He played the suave womaniser Jason King, a character so popular that he was spun off into his own action espionage series Jason King, which ran for one season of 26 fifty-minute episodes. The series enjoyed global success with Wyngarde briefly becoming an international celebrity.

During the seventies, he has a succession of smaller roles on television. in 1973 he played the King of Siam in a revival of the musical The King and I at London's Adelphi Theatre. In 1980 he appeared as the masked character Klytus in the film Flash Gordon.

In 1984 he made his appearance in Doctor Who playing Timanov. He wanted to play the part in heavy disguise but was persuaded by producer John Nathan Turner to show his face.

Wyngarde virtually retired from acting after a throat infection forced his withdrawal from a stage production of The Cabinet of Dr Caligari. His public appearances were mainly restricted to Memorabilia events.

Peter Wyngarde died at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London on 15 January 2018.

The writer David Fisher has died at the age of 88.

David Fisher wrote four Doctor Who stories, all starring the Fourth Doctor Tom Baker. 

His first contribution to the series came in 1978 when he wrote two stories in the Key to Time season. The first, The Stones of Blood, was a Hammeresque story featuring blood eating rocks. It won praise for its depiction of strong female characters including Professor Rumford played by Beatrix Lehmann.

He wrote the following story The Androids of Tara, a story inspired by the Anthony Hope novel The Prisoner of Zenda.

In 1979 he returned to the series with the story The Creature from the Pit. He was also working on a story for this series called A Gamble with Time, but for personal reasons had to relinquish the story and hand it on to Script editor Douglas Adams to finish what became the widely acclaimed story City of Death.

His final contribution was for the season eighteen opener The Leisure Hive.

David Fisher's other work for television has included writing for Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense, Hammer House of Horror, The Mackinnons, General Hospital, Crown Court, Sutherland's Law, The Lotus Eaters, Crime of Passion, The Troubleshooters, Dixon of Dock Green, This Man Craig and Orlando.

David Fisher was born 13th April 1929. He died on the 10th January 2018.

Fantom Publishing has announced it is to publish I Am Usually Referred To As The Master, the first-ever biography of Roger Delgado, best known to millions as the original Master in Doctor Who.

Before joining Doctor Who, Delgado was a hugely in-demand character actor, appearing in shows such as The Saint, The Avengers and Quatermass II amongst many others, and making an appearance in the Hammer Horror film franchise. He died aged only 55, but left a legacy of work for fans to continue enjoying.

Author Marcus K Harmes explains Notoriously private, very little has been written about Delgado’s life over the years, and Harmes has researched extensively to look into his home life and formative years. With previously unseen photographic material, and brand new interviews with his colleagues and friends, I Am Usually Referred To As The Master, is a warm and affection look at the life of a much-loved star. Roger Delgado’s biography is now available in Hardback priced £19.99 exclusively from Fantom Publishing until it’s trade publication in 2018.

The actor Rodney Bewes has died at the age of 79.

Rodney Bewes appeared in Doctor Who in 1984, playing Stien in the Fifth Doctor story Resurrection of the Daleks, but was best known to British audiences for playing Bob Ferris in 1960's sitcom The Likely Lads and its sequel Whatever Happened to The Likely Lads.

Rodney Bewes was born in 1937 in Morley, West Yorkshire. Childhood asthma kept him house-bound until the age of 12, but he achieved his ambition of becoming an actor, first appearing on stage at the age of 14. He studied for a time at RADA but dropped out.

In 1952 he made his television debut in Mystery at Mountcliffe Chase, a BBC Children's drama. He played Joe in The Pickwick Papers and appeared in supporting roles in series such as Dixon of Dock Green, Emergency-Ward 10 and Z Cars.

In 1964 he won the role with which he would make his name, the working class boy made good, Bob Ferris, in the sitcom The Likely Lads. The series, written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, pitted Bewes up against James Bolam as Terry Collier. Twenty episodes were made, detailing the struggle of two working-class boys from the North East, trying to make sense of a changing world, while facing the usual temptations of beer football, and girls.

In 1966 the series ended and the actors moved on, but a reunion was on the cards and in 1973 the series returned, this time in colour and with the new title Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?. The series was a tremendous hit as viewers followed the sparing between Bob, trying to improve his lot by moving into a detached house and getting a job as an executive, and Terry, desperately trying to cling onto his working-class roots.

Part of the success of the series was the double act of Bewes and Bolam, whose on-screen chemistry was a masterclass of timing and pathos. But the deep friendship was a TV illusion and in reality, the two actors had a stormy relationship. An interview given by Bewes in 1976 in which he talked about Bolam and his wife created a rift that would never be healed. Bewes called his co-star to apologise after the piece was published, but Bolam hung up and never spoke to him again.

Other roles included Knave of Hearts in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Albert Courtnay in Albert! and Reg Last in Just Liz . In 1969 he spent a year as Basil Brush's sidekick Mr Rodney.

His agent announced his death earlier today Rodney Bewes is survived by a daughter and three sons.

The actor Keith Barron has died at the age of 83.

Keith Barron played the character Striker, one of the Eternals in the 1983 Fifth Doctor story Enlightenment. He is best known for playing David Pearce in the 1980s Yorkshire Television sitcom Duty-Free.

Kethe Baron was born in Mexborough, South Yorkshire in 1934. His career started at the Sheffield Repertory Theatre, where he also met his wife, Mary a stage designer.

His television career began in the early 1960's when he played a number of small roles before playing Detective Sergeant Swift in the Granada TV series The Odd Man and its spin-off It's Dark Outside.

His main break came in 1965 when he took the title role in two Wednesday plays, written by Dennis Potter, Stand Up, Nigel Barton and Vote, Vote, Vote for Nigel Barton, which detailed the character's journey from his childhood in a small mining community to winning a scholarship for Oxford and eventually becoming an MP.

In 1967 he played Jim Dixon in BBC Two's The Further Adventures of Lucky Jim, a comedy set in the swinging student world in London. He appeared in Jackanory, A Family at War, Love Story and No Strings. In 1974 we made a memorable appearance in Upstairs Downstairs as Gregory Wilmot, a love interest for Jean Marsh's Rose.

Many other roles followed and in 1979 he played Tim Hart in Telford's Change alongside Peter Barkworth. The same year he appeared in the ITV drama Prince Regent as Whig statesman Charles James Fox.

In 1983 he was asked at short notice to take on his one Doctor Who role, as Striker in Enlightenment. The role was originally to be played by Peter Sallis, who had to drop out when industrial action delayed production.

He played the Narator in West Country Tales and Daniel Ford in Leaving, before taking on the role that he is probably best known for, playing David Pearce in Duty Free.

Other roles included parts in Haggard, Take Me Home, Take Me Home, Room at the Bottom, Late Expectations, The Good Guys, All Night Long, Take Me, NCS Manhunt, Where the Heart Is, Dead Man Weds, The Chase, Law & Order: UK, DCI Banks and Casualty. He had a regular role in the soap Coronation Street playing George Trench.

Barron is survived by his wife, Mary, to whom he was married for 58 years, and his son, Jamie, also an actor.

The Irish actor Scott Fredericks has died at the age of 74

Scott Fredericks appeared in two Doctor Who stories. In 1972 he played Boaz in the third Doctor story Day of the Daleks, returning to the series in 1977 to play Maximillian Stael in the fourth Doctor story Image of the Fendahl .He also played Carnell in the Blakes 7 episode Weapon.

Scott Fredericks was born in Sligo, Ireland in 1943. He moved to London to train as an actor after gaining a scholarship to RADA.   His first television role was in an episode of Crossroads in 1964. He featured in episodes of Triangle, Z-Cars, Dad’s Army, Dixon of Dock Green among other one-off programs. His final acting role was as Kenneth Wrigley in the 2008 series Rock Rivals.

He returned to the role of Carnell in the Kaldor City series of audios after the character reappeared in Chris Boucher’s Doctor Who Past Doctor Novel Corpse Marker. .

Fredericks was interviewed for issue 307 of Doctor Who Magazine In 1980, Fredericks received the J.J. Finnegan Evening Herald Award nomination for his solo stage show, Yeats Remembers. In 1992, became a contract Radio Drama director with RTE and represented the station at the 1997 Prix Italia Awards.