On This Day... 18th March

 

In 1967 we had the second episode of The Macra Terror, and in 1972 we had the fourth episode of The Sea Devils.

Today we remember the actor Michael Atwell, who made two very different appearances in the programme. For the first he was completely encased in an Ice Warrior costume. He played Isbur in their first appearance in 1967. Almost two decades later he returned to play Bates in Attack of the Cybermen.

When not acting he was a very successful newspaper cartoonist, and he found late fame as a regular on EastEnders. He died in 2006, aged 63.

The writer Lewis Greifer also passed away on this date. He was the first writer to have a stab at the story that would become Pyramids of Mars. It eventually went out under the pseudonym of "Stephen Harris" - really a page one rewrite by Robert Holmes. Greifer died in 2003 aged 87.