In the tradition of the Who's Who in Blake's 7 articles in TSV 19-21,
this article lists those people who've been in both Doctor Who and
Patrick McGoohan's unique and surreal 1960s television series The Prisoner.
Of the four major actors in The Prisoner only one, Angelo Muscat, who played
Number 2's butler, appeared alongside our favourite Time Lord - as a Chumbley
in the William Hartnell tale Galaxy 4. Neither Leo McKern (Number 2),
Peter Stanwick (Supervisor), or Patrick McGoohan (The Prisoner himself) have
been in Doctor Who, but here is an list of the men and women who have.
The stories are given in their 'official' chronological viewing order as
proposed by Six Of One, the official Prisoner Fan Club.
1. Arrival
The perpetually depressed-looking George Baker (the new Number 2) played
Decider Login in Full Circle, while the delightful Christopher Benjamin
(Labour Exchange Manager) played two roles in Doctor Who - Sir Keith
Gold (Inferno) and Henry Gordon Jago (The Talons of Weng-Chiang).
David Garfield (Hospital Attendant) was Von Weich in The War Games, and
Neeva in The Face of Evil. Finally, Patsy Smart, the old lady 'Ghoul' in
the afore-mentioned Talons appeared as a waitress.
2. Free for All
Kenneth Benda (Supervisor) was the Minister in The Claws of Axos, and stunt man
Alf Joint (Second Mechanic) has played several non-speaking roles in Doctor Who.
3. Dance of the Dead
Yet another Number 2, Mary Morris, was Panna in Kinda. Alan White
(Dutton) played Shultz in The Tenth Planet, and Patsy Smart reprised her
role as a servant and is credited as the Night Maid. (Of interest, the Day Maid
is played by Denise Buckley, who was the first actress hired to play companion
Victoria Waterfield, but who was replaced by Deborah Watling shortly before
filming began on The Evil of the Daleks.)
4. Checkmate
Peter Wyngarde (Number 2) did his best to impersonate Peter O'Toole as Timanov
in Planet of Fire; while George Coulouris (Man With the Stick) was
Arbitan in The Keys of Marinus.
5. The Chimes of Big Ben
One of my favourite actors, Kevin Stoney (Colonel J) appeared in three Whos:
Mavic Chen (The Daleks' Master Plan), Tobias Vaughan (The Invasion)
and Tyrum (Revenge of the Cybermen). Christopher Benjamin makes his
second of three appearances in The Prisoner, as Number 2's assistant, and John
Maxim (Second Judge) appeared as Frankenstein's monster in The Chase.
6. A B & C
Colin Gordon (Number 2) played the long-suffering Airport Commandante in The
Faceless Ones.
7. The General
Colin Gordon returned as Number 2. Peter Howell (the Professor) played the
Investigator in The Mutants, while Keith Pyott (Waiter) was the majestic
Autloc in The Aztecs. Norman Mitchell (Top Hat Mechanic!?) was a
policeman in The Daleks' Master Plan. Michael Miller (Man in Buggy) was
Wulnoth in The Time Meddler. The stock sound effect used for the main
computer is also that used for WOTAN in The War Machines.
8. The Schizoid Man
Earl Cameron (Supervisor) played Williams in The Tenth Planet, and David
Nettheim (Doctor) portrayed the harried Fedorin in The Enemy of the World.
9. Many Happy Returns
Dennis Chinnery (Gunther) made a hat trick of Who roles - as Richardson in The
Chase, Gharman in Genesis of the Daleks, and Professor Sylvest in The
Twin Dilemma. Jon Laurimore (Ernst) was excellent as Count Federico in The
Masque of Mandragora.
10. It's Your Funeral
Three actors who were in Marco Polo appear
in this Prisoner episode: Mark Eden (Number 100) was Polo, Martin Miller
(Watchmaker) was Kublai Khan, and Derren Nesbitt (The New Number 2) was the
Delgadoesque warlord Tegana. UFO action girl Wanda Ventham (Computer Assistant)
played Jean Rock in The Faceless Ones, Thea Ransome in Image of the
Fendahl, and Faroon in Time and the Rani. Michael Bilton (M C
Councillor) was Toligny in The Massacre, Collins in Pyramids of Mars
and a Time Lord in The Deadly Assassin.
11. A Change of Mind
Czechoslovakian actor George Pravda (Doctor) played three roles in Who: Denes
in The Enemy of The World, Jaegar in The Mutants, and Spandrell
in The Deadly Assassin. Bartlett Mullins, the Committee Chairman, was
one of the Elders in The Sensorites. Michael Miller makes his second
appearance as Number 93.
12. Hammer into Anvil
Victor Maddern (Band Master) was a wonderfully manic Robson in Fury from the Deep.
13. Do Not Foresake Me Oh My Darling
Nigel Stock (The Colonel) was Professor Hayter in Time-Flight. The
wonderful James Bree (Villiers) appeared in a three-some of Whos: as the
awful Security Chief in The War Games, Nefred in Full Circle, and
as the Keeper of the Matrix in The Trial of a Time Lord Parts 13-14.
Also appearing was Gertan Klauber (Cafe Waiter) who was the Galley Master in
The Romans and Ola in The Macra Terror.
14. Living in Harmony
This rootin' tootin' Western adventure featured Gordon Sterne (Bystander) who
played Professor Heldorf in The Ambassadors of Death, along with stunt
man Max Faulkner (First Horseman) who has appeared in various Who stories
including Gate Soldier (The Ambassadors of Death), a miner in The
Monster of Peladon, Second Captain (Planet of the Spiders), a Thal
guard in Genesis of the Daleks, Adams in The Android Invasion,
and as Nesbin in The Invasion of Time. His non-speaking appearances
include a Sevateem warrior (The Face of Evil), and one of the Others in
The Sun Makers (Phew!).
15. The Girl who was Death
Christopher Benjamin pops up again, this time reprising his role as Potter from
the fourth season of Patrick McGoohan's previous series, Danger Man. Max
Faulkner returns, this time as the Scots Napoleon (?!). John Rees (Welsh
Napoleon!) was Hardy in Frontier in Space.
16. Once Upon a Time
And although John Maxim (The Chase) is credited as Number 86, all his scenes
ended up on the cutting room floor!
17. Fallout
The utterly bizarre final episode again features
Michael Miller in his third appearance, as The Delegate.
Two other people associated with both series, but not as actors were Ron
Grainer (who wrote the theme music for both series), and Lewis Griefer, who
wrote The General under the penname Joshua Adams, drafted the original script
for Pyramids of Mars.
And finally, the Italianesque village of Portmeirion in north Wales, where
much of The Prisoner was filmed on location, also doubled for San
Martino in the Doctor Who story The Masque of Mandragora.
Be Seeing You...
