Saturday 13 August 2022

On This Day... 13th August


Today we wish Christopher Tranchell a happy 81st birthday.
He first appeared in Doctor Who in 1966, playing Roger in The Massacre. The following year he was to be found at Gatwick Airport, playing Jenkins in The Faceless Ones. He is best known for his third and final role in the series - that of Andred, Captain of the Chancellery Guard in The Invasion of Time. The Doctor's companion Leela leaves the TARDIS for him.

We also remember Victor Pemberton. His first brush with the programme came when he played scientist Jules in The Moonbase. A short time later Peter Bryant offered him the script editorship on the programme. He acted as assistant script editor on The Ice Warriors, and held the full role on Tomb of the Cybermen. He decided against taking on the role full time as he wanted to concentrate on his own writing. A radio play of his called The Slide was adapted by him to become Fury from the Deep.
Unhappy with changes made by Derrick Sherwin, who replaced him as script editor, he never worked on the series again. In the 1970's he wrote The Pescatons, released as an LP and starring Tom Baker and Lis Sladen. It borrowed from his earlier work.
Beyond Doctor Who he is best known for producing the UK version of children's TV seres Fraggle Rock.
Following the death of his partner David Spenser, who played Thonmi in The Abominable Snowmen, he set about fundraising for Help for Heroes, including a trip to the Arctic in 2016.
He died, aged 85, in 2017.

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