The actor Philip Bond has died at the age of 82.

Philip Bond appeared in five episodes of the second Doctor Who story, The Daleks, first shown in 1963/4. He played the role of Ganatus, a member of the Thal expedition who traveled with Ian and Barbara on their expedition to enter the city via the mountains. During the journey, Ganatus witnessed the death of his brother, an experience which brought him closer to Barbara.

Bond was second choice for the role, cast when the original choice Dinsdale Landen became unavailable. He accepted immediately, being friends with both producer Verity Lambert and fellow actor William Russell.

Philip Bond had a prolific career in British Television, appearing in over 70 series over a 50 year period.

His best-known role was probably playing Albert Frazer in the 1970s BBC drama The Onedin Line, where he appeared in 24 episodes. Other roles included parts in Walk a Crooked Mile, 199 Park Lane, No Hiding Place, Sherlock Holmes, The Avengers, Justice, Z Cars, The Main Chance, The Children of the New Forest, An Englishman's Castle, Shoestring, Only Fools and Horses...., The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Casualty and Midsomer Murders.

Bond's was the father of the actress Samantha Bond who played Mrs Wormwood in The Sarah Jane Adventures.

Philip Bond died suddenly last Tuesday while on holiday on the island of Madeira. He is survived by his long-standing partner Elizabeth, his children Matthew, Samantha and Abigail and his Grandchildren.

German company Polyband is going to release An Unearthly Child on DVD. It will be Volume 1 of a new range called The Classic Episodes and be released on 28th April 2017. 

The DVD will be identical to the UK version that was part of The Beginning boxed set, adding German subtitles to the features. Since the early serials have never been broadcast in Germany there is no German dubbing available for this story.

Polyband promotes the release with the following statement:

German: Ein nebeliger Abend, ein Polizist geht Streife in seinem Revier ... ein verlassener Schrottplatz ... und eine Polizei-Box, die geheimnisvoll surrt und brummt. Diese Bilder sind heute Kult. Sie sind die Anfänge einer Serie, die nun schon seit mehr als 50 Jahren produziert wird und Generationen von Zuschauern prägen sollte: DOCTOR WHO - AN UNEARTHLY CHILD ist der erste, aus 4 Teilen bestehende Handlungsbogen der Serie DOCTOR WHO und eröffnet die 1. Staffel. Die vier Folgen wurden erstmals zwischen dem 23. November und 14. Dezember 1963 ausgestrahlt. Mit brillantem Erzähltempo und erstaunlicher Überzeugungskraft lädt AN UNEARTHLY CHILD behutsam in die Welt von  DOCTOR WHO ein. Bereits wenige Minuten nachdem man die sichere Umgebung der Coal Hill Schule verlassen hat, befindet man sich mit dem ersten Doktor (William Hartnell) sowie seiner Enkelin Susan (Carole Ann Ford) inmitten der ersten Reise durch Zeit und Raum mithilfe einer blauen Polizei-Box, der legendären TARDIS.

English: A foggy evening, a poilce officer walks around in his area... a junkyard... and a Police Box that makes strange mysterious noises. These pictures are cult today. They are the beginning of a TV show which is in production for over 50 years now and has impressed many generations of viewers: DOCTOR WHO - AN UNEARTHLY CHILD is the first four part serial of DOCTOR WHO and is the opening to the very first season. These four episodes were first broadcast between 23rd November and 14th December 1963. Featuring a brilliant pace and impressive imagination AN UNEARTHLY CHILD introduces you well to the world of DOCTOR WHO. After only minutes of leaving the safe environment of Coal Hill School you find yourself with the first Doctor (William Hartnell) and his grandchild Susan (Carole Ann Ford) travelling through space and time with the blue Police Box, the famous TARDIS.

The director Rodney Bennett has died at the age of 81

Rodney Bennett directed 10 episodes of Doctor Who.

His first outing was on the two part 1975 story The Sontaran Experiment, the first Doctor Who story to be filmed entirely as a Television Outside Broadcast. The production, filmed on Dartmoor, was disrupted when the leading actor, Tom Baker, broke his collarbone during filming, necessitating the actor wearing a neck brace under his scarf.

He returned to the studio for his next production The Ark In Space, which was shown before The Sontaran Experiment despite being filmed after it. The story is widely regarded as a classic, with both Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat citing the story as one of their favorites from the original run of the series. The story enjoyed some of the highest ratings in the programmes history, with 13.6 million tuning in for episode two.

Rodney Bennett's final story for Doctor Who was the 1976 story The Masque of Mandragora. Filmed largely at the welsh resort of Portmeirion, the story also marks the first appearance of the TARDIS' secondary console room.

Rodney Bennett had a long career with the BBC first working in Radio. He moved into Television in the late 1960's, working first in the Schools department. He happened to be in the right place when the regular Z-Cars director fell ill, giving him a chance to move into mainstream drama. He went on to work on such series as The Legend of King Arthur, Sense and Sensibility, Dombey & Son and Doctor Finlay.

In 1980 he directed the BBC Television Shakespeare version of Hamlet in which he cast Derek Jacobi as the eponymous Dane, alongside Patrick Stewart and Lalla Ward. In 1993 he directed the ITV production of The Darling Buds of May in which he cast a relative unknown called Catherine Zeta Jones.

He received two BAFTA nominations for Monsignor Quixote and The Legend of King Arthur.

Rodney Bennett was born March 1935, died January 2017.

You can read a full obituary by Toby Hadoke, who interviewed Rodney Bennett for the Big Finish Who's Round series, at tobyhadoke.com.

Toby has also compiled a tribute to those from the world of Doctor Who who died in 2016 which can be viewed on YouTube.

The actor Johnny Dennis has died.

Johnny Dennis played the bus driver Murray in the 1987 Doctor Who story Delta and the Bannermen.

As well as Doctor Who, Dennis appeared in television shows such as The Bill, The Devil's Crown, The Enigma Files, Prospects, Dempsey and Makepeace, Surgical Spirit and Conjugal Rights. On film, he appeared in Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire, The Great Escape II: The Untold Story, and Il giovane Toscanini.

He had a long association with the Player's Theatre Music Hall in Leeds and took over from Leonard Sachs as the host of The Good Old Days in 1988.

Outside of entertainment, he was a keen cricketer, was affectionately known as the Voice of Lord’s, having been the MCC’s senior announcer for 18 years. It was whilst playing for Lords Taverners that he met Test Match commentator Brian Johnston, who recommended him for the role. When the incumbent announcer Alan Curtis became unavailable owing to an acting engagement in a Carry On film, Dennis took over. This led to a career spanning some 38 years and some 136 test matches. He finally retired in 2014.

The voice for The Home of Cricket

The Television Director Ken Grieve has died at the age of 74

For Doctor Who Ken Grieve directed the first story of Season 17, Destiny of the Daleks, which saw the reintroduction of the Daleks to the series, after a gap of four years, and the return of Davros. It was the last script wirtten by Dalek creator Terry Nation, altough the story was heavily rewritten by Script Editor Douglas Adams.

Ken Grieve was born in Edinburgh in 1942.

After training as a cameraman, he moved into directing, working on episodes of the soap opera Coronation Street, with 42 episodes to his credit. He directed the location film footage of Manchester used in the Coronation Street opening titles used between 1976 and 1990, which included the first Corrie cat.

As well as Doctor Who his credits include The XYY Man, Buccaneer, Crown Court, Game, Set, and Match, Bergerac, Bugs, Peak Practice, The Bill and the Casualty episode Stormy Weather.

He taught at the National Film School and the Manchester Film School.

Kenneth Grieve died peacefully, on Tuesday, November 15 after a long illness. He is survived by his long-term partner Jane, his four children and three grandchildren.

The actor Terence Bayler has died at the age of 86

Terence Bayler appeared in two Doctor Who stories. In 1966 he played Yendom, one of the Monoids' slaves, in the First Doctor story The Ark. In 1969 he returned to the series playing Major Barrington, an officer in the British Army, in the final Second Doctor story, The War Games.

Bayler was born in New Zealand, where he first trained as an actor, appearing the 1952 film Broken Barrier, playing a young journalist who falls in love with a Maori woman.

After moving to the UK he made regular appearances on British Television appearing in Hamlet, Moonstrike, Compact, Maigret, Ivanhoe, The Brothers, Upstairs, Downstairs, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Squad, London's Burning, The Bill and Dangerfield.

In 1971 he needed stitches above an eye after he was injured in a sword fight while the shooting Roman Polanski's 1971 film of Shakespeare's Macbeth where he played Macduff.

Terence Bayler had a long association with the Monty Python team, appearing in Eric Idle's BBC TV series Rutland Weekend Television as well as in The Rutles, All You Need Is Cash and in the play Pass The Butler. He appeared in two Terry Gilliam films, Time Bandits and Brazil. He had a small but memorable role in the film The Life of Brian declaring I’m Brian and so’s my wife.

In later years he played the Bloody Baron in the Harry Potter films.

Terence Bayler died early last month.

The British Film Institute has now released details about its forthcoming special event based around the new, animated version of Patrick Troughton's premiere story, The Power of the Daleks:


Tickets go on sale from the 4th October at 11:30am, and will be priced at £22.70, which includes a copy of the DVD which will posted once released. There is a maximum of two tickets per booker. More details can be found via the BFI website.

Fantom Publishing have comissioned four new editions of Who Talk, the series of independent commentaries for Doctor Who episodes.

The company has previously released commenteries for the recovered second Doctor stories The Enemy of the World and The Web Of Fear, as well as the third Doctor story The Dæmons and several ophaned First Doctor episodes

The first of the new commisions is the Seventh Doctor Story Remembrance of the Daleks.

Producer Paul W T Ballard explained the choice Joining moderator Toby Hadoke for this release is Pamela Salem (Rachel), Simon Williams (Gilmore), Karen Gledhill (Allison), Andrew Cartmel (Script Editor), and Andrew Morgan (Director).

Remembrance of the Daleks opened Doctor Who's 25th-anniversary series in 1988. The release consists of six new commentaries, including alternative tracks for episodes one and three. Both the CD and download editions are now available priced £10.99 and £9.99 respectively, ahead of the trade release next month.


Please note: these commentaries contain no BBC copyrighted elements and do not feature audio from the episodes themselves - these are designed to be played alongside the official DVD releases.

The actor Michael Leader has died after a short illness.

He was best-known for his 31-year stint as Eastenders extra Michael the Milkman, appearing in the first episode. He was a stalwart as a background artist on scifi shows, including Red Dwarf, Blakes 7 and '80s Doctor Who (The Leisure Hive/The Visitation/The Kings Demons/Mawdryn Undead).

He was best known among Star Wars fans as the stormtrooper who knocked his head while boarding the Deathstar in A New Hope (1977), although this particular acclamation was contested by a fellow extra. He spoke at many signings and scifi conventions around the world, and in particular, his fond memories of working with Peter Davison (the Fifth Doctor) were both heartfelt and amusing, as were Davison's anecdotes of him.

Born in 1938, he was the son of well-known bandleader Harry Leader. He would later play the resident bandleader throughout the run of '80s comedy "Hi de Hi". His other diverse background comedy roles included Keeping Up Appearances and Yes, Minister.

A founder member of The Laurel and Hardy Appreciation Society, his long-standing friendships across the entertainment industry included the likes of Rolling Stones founder member and hellraiser Brian Jones, Doris Day and Dame Barbara Windsor. It was Windsor who insisted that he played a small part in her exit storyline in Eastenders, when he he chauffeured her around the Square in his milk float and was given some dialogue with her to mark the importance of their friendship, and his contribution to propping up the Queen Vic bar.

Leader had a reputation across Showbiz as a true professional and a friend of rising talent, with the tributes on Eastenders' Facebook page and on Twitter, including from Bonnie Langford (Mel), a testament to the support and encouragement he gave to younger members of the cast.

The Leader, as we called him, will be sorely missed at the 'Club for Acts and Actors' in London's Covent Garden, a popular haven for many Doctor Who actors and fans. Married three times, he is survived by a daughter and many pals who will remember his humour, his remarkably funny anecdotes and his unstinting friendship

The actor Michael Napier-Brown has died at the age of 79.

Michael Napier-Brown appeared in the 1969 story The War Games, playing Arturo Villar, a soldier plucked from the Mexican Civil War who helped the second Doctor in his battle against the War Lords.

Napier-Brown had a long career in British Television and Theatre. His first credited role was in a 1963 episode of the crime series Maigret. He played Miller in several episodes of the 1970 adaptation of Ivanhoe. Other roles include parts in Secret Army, The Dick Emery Show, Terry and June, 1990 and Casanova.

He was a long standing stalwart of the Nottingham Theatre scene and was the last artistic director of Northampton's Royal Theatre. He is credited with discovering Gian Sammarco, the actor who played Adrian in The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, and who later played Whizzkid in The Greatest Show in the Galaxy.

His daughter Kate broke the news of his death with a statement on her Facebook page: