It's been announced that director Michael Ferguson passed away on 4th October. He was 84.
Ferguson worked on the very first Dalek story, and has the distinction of "playing" the very first Dalek (inside and out), and the first Thal. He was Production Assistant on The Daleks (AKA The Mutants) in 1963. As he had an Equity card, he was asked to wield the sucker stick used for the cliff-hanger to the first episode, and it was his hand which tapped Carole Ann Ford on the shoulder (supposedly the Thal Alydon's). Later, the Dalek claw which emerged from under the cloak in the cell was Ferguson again, wearing a joke shop claw.
Ferguson went on to direct four well regarded stories - The War Machines (which introduced Ben and Polly, and brought the Doctor back to contemporary London for the first time since the opening story), The Seeds of Death (which brought back the Ice Warriors), The Ambassadors of Death, and The Claws of Axos.
Ferguson was famous for innovation when it came to VFX, and helped Barry Letts champion CSO. When Ferguson turned a few lines of script on Ambassadors into a major stunt set-piece, with helicopters, motor bikes etc. Ferguson reminded Letts that it was his job as producer to keep his directors in check, as left to their own devices they would overspend like mad.
Ferguson would go on to become a producer himself - on The Bill, Casualty and EastEnders. He was responsible for introducing the Mitchell brothers into the latter.
Luckily, Ferguson was an active participant on all four of his stories when they came onto DVD, so we can continue see and hear him. When the Season 8 Blu-ray box set came out in March this year, there was a feature in which fellow directors Tim Combe, Michael E Briant and Graeme Harper went on a locations tour. Ferguson didn't participate, but it is notable that they go out of their way to claim he was the greatest TV director of that era.
Michael Ferguson, RIP.
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