Who At The Hilbre

I mentioned a couple of weeks back that I was going to attend my first Doctor Who Convention. It took place last weekend at the Hilbre pub on the Wirral and I have to say that it was one of the most enjoyable days I’ve spent in a long time. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect but the day consisted of a series of panels at which the invited guests chatted with interviewers and answered questions from the audience. Between panels there was a chance to meet and take photos with them.

Standing next to a tame Dalek

The guests fell into three main categories. Actors who had been regulars on the show, those who had made guest appearances in one or two stories, and those who had worked behind the scenes. When I have watched the Doctor Who DVDs, I have found the “extras” of interviews and mini-documentaries to be fascinating and the panels very much follow this format but with the guests able to give a wider context to their stories by drawing on other work and various events that have shaped their lives.

The first of the regular cast to appear was Deborah (Debbie) Watling who played Victoria alongside Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines. For the most part I’ve only really seen her surviving episodes over the last year or so with two stories being unearthed in Africa and some others being re-completed with additional animation for lost episodes. She was very entertaining and it was nice to see her on an old Radio Times cover for The Wednesday Play – Dennis Potter’s Alice. Like much of her Doctor Who work this is missing from the archives and when asked if any other lost episodes are “out there” she said she knew of nothing – unfortunately, I tend to believe her.

Peter Purves talked about his time on the show alongside William Hartnell. He did give a bit more background to his casting and it does sound like he was a great support to Hartnell whose health was deteriorating by this point. He also gave an intriguing insight into the life of an actor. It’s one of those professions that looks like a lot of fun (and I expect it is) but as a full time job it must be a nightmare. He recalled how he struggled for work after leaving Doctor Who and almost fell into the role of presenting by chance. I suppose many people forget that he was primarily an actor before Blue Peter but people my age remember him more for that as well as Kick Start and then latterly on Crufts. Looking back to his acting work he obviously had the presence and looks to be a leading man. I suppose there is no telling of the hand that fate deals.

The third of the regular actors was John Levene who played Sergeant Benton between 1968 and 1975. I always liked his character as the affable squaddie and he is hugely friendly and larger than life in person. I think he would make a great motivational speaker: as one of my friends put it, he is as “mad as a bag of cats – but in a good way, of course”. He also mentioned of his time trying to make it in America which seems to be in line with what many other actors find: it is an industry that regards its actors as mere commodities.

The backroom staff were an interesting mix. Andrew Smith was the writer of the Tom Baker episode Full Circle and was only 18 when he had his script accepted for the show – although apparently the producers were initially unaware of this. He was an interesting guest not least because he was really the first writer to have been a fan of the show before his participation. Since the show came back in 2005 nearly all the writers have grown up as fans and even had it as their inspiration to take up writing. Philip Hinchcliffe was also an interesting choice as he is now, sadly, the only producer from the original show to still be alive. He produced Tom Bakers first three years in the series (regarded by many as the best) although it looks like he had quite a few run ins with Mary Whitehouse along the way!

Often it is the backroom boys that have the best stories about the making of TV shows and this was definitely the case with cameraman, Roger Bunce, and former vision mixer, Clive Doig (who I remember as the producer of Vision On – probably due to his unusual surname). In a way, as salaried BBC staff,  they were freed from the uncertainties of sporadic acting and writing work and were able to enjoy their work more. It’s like many other regular jobs: a mix of the mundane with the memorable although there aren’t too many people who would be able to answer the question of where they were when Kennedy was shot with the answer: filming Daleks.

Two of the guest actors were from the new series. Simon Fisher-Becker was one of the first guests announced for the Hilbre and I immediately recognised the name as I had been watching Puppy Love on BBC Four. I couldn’t place him in the series at all until I looked up Dorium Maldovar: it’s amazing what a transformation some blue paint can make! In fact his last appearance was as a disembodied head so there was much discussion of the trials of acting inside a box. Nathan McMullen was also invited as a last minute replacement for John Leeson and brought the guest list right up to date as he played an elf in last year’s Christmas Episode. He is actually too young to remember the original series so his perspective is quite different although what he made of a room full of largely middle age people reminiscing about a 50-odd year old programme, I’m not sure. He seemed to enjoy himself through the bemusement.

The last three guests all appeared in a story from the original series and are all better known to me in other parts. Brian Croucher appeared alongside Tom Baker but is probably better known to me as Travis from Blakes 7. He also appeared in Quatermass so you would think he is something of a British Sci-Fi stalwart but he is best known to the British public for playing Ted Hills In Eastenders although his resume is impressively long. Marcus Gilbert appeared in Battlefield alongside Sylvester McCoy. We watched this episode just the week before the convention and my wife immediately recognised him from Army Of Darkness (Sam Raimi’s sequel to the Evil Dead film). Obviously he made some impression there!

The last guest to be announced was Jason Connery who appeared alongside Colin Baker. Doctor Who was one of his earliest roles but he was to become much better known as Robin Hood on the ITV series. Of course he is also known for his film-star father, Sean. One of the questions was whether having a famous father is a help or a hindrance. The answer is not entirely clear cut and I suspect it is quite different to be known as a relative of a major star as opposed to a member of an acting dynasty (Redgraves or Fondas, for example). However, he did have the funniest line of the day when he was asked about what he thought of impressions of his father: “I’ve heard them all… and they are all shite!” Although he did say that Rory Bremner once caught him out.

So all-in-all a very happy day. Great guests, good banter and it turns out that, en masse, Whovians are a really friendly bunch to hang out with. I think I’ve also realised that I could never cut it as an actor as the job insecurity would finish me off. But just a final word about Erica and Allan Lear who organised the event. They have been doing similar events in the Liverpool and Manchester area for the last 9 years. They decided that this was to be their last one. In a way it’s a pity but I wouldn’t be able to sort out one event like this, let alone 9. I can only thank them for what was one of the most enjoyable days I’ve spent in a pub in ages.