Arnold Yarrow has had an amazing working life: he was script editor on Softly, Softly, and as part of an onscreen career that began in 1956 he had a stint as an actor in EastEnders (playing Mr Bloom – he later wrote for the series), was the President in The Andromeda Breakthrough, worked with Tommy Cooper,…
I’m having a quiet December writing a book and a script (and eating things I shouldn’t) and sadly my two latest plays, The Road and Going, Going, Goon have fallen off iPlayer so there’s not much to report bar… I was recently interviewed by Stuart Goldsmith for his Comedian’s Comedian podcast. I’m now replaying the…
JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED After a few months off during which I have slept and stuff, Who’s Round is back… and it’s about time (etc etc). It’s certainly about time we had a Doctor. Most Doctors have been interviewed loads, so of course I have gone for one with a unique claim to the…
Peter Thomas – actor from missing William Hartnell story The Savages – dies. Peter Thomas as Captain Edal in The Savages Peter Thomas, who played Captain Edal in The Savages, has died at the age of 80. He had worked with Christopher Barry prior to the making of the story and so was in the director’s mind…
RODNEY BENNETT, classic Doctor Who director, has died. The director Rodney Bennett, who was behind three memorable early Tom Baker stories and whose work outside of the show included many classic dramas has died peacefully aged 81. Rodney Bennett at home in Bath in 2013 Bennett was brought on board at a time during which the…
TERENCE BAYLER I was very saddened to learn of the death of Terence Bayler. He was a fine actor: tall, handsome, with soulful eyes and a slight warble to his voice which could suggest plummy aristocracy or a hint of melancholy. He often played upper class toffs or British officers so I was shocked to discover,…
It’s been very actor heavy of late so it’s time to delve behind-the-scenes to an era rather under-represented in the Who’s Round lexicon : the 7th Doctor’s.So there are plenty of stories about that turbulent time on the show, the regular cast who were extremely popular with the crew, and making space and time against…
This one was a long time coming, as I had already visited the gentleman once. On that occasion he asked not to be recorded as he felt his voice was weak. We then chatted for 3 hours after which he said “Oh, we should have recorded that!” Still, it meant I got to visit him…
Because having each individual podcast listed is making my podcast page way too big I’m dismantling it but retaining the info here on my blog. There is a much better resource for this info, including links to all the charities, on Bog Finish’s page here. Thanks to Ian Atkins for doing such a sterling job…
A key contributor to a story who didn’t appear on its DVD release, this villainous fellow turns out to be charming, chatty and slightly eccentric – and all the more interesting for it. My friend Peter and I drove to the coast in order to spend a windswept afternoon over a pint or two with…
TOBY HADOKE’S WHO’S ROUND – EPISODE 158 In ghostlier times in a different science fiction classic. My latest Who’s Rounder as he is now. I was very excited about this one because I have always been very intrigued by the story of a guy who plays three very small roles (respectively Guard, Guard and Second…
A new podcast… at last! The latest Who’s Round was actually conducted at the request of the interviewee. He has a special charity he would like to make you aware of. He has a heartfelt and moving story and highlights something most of us know nothing about but some of us could help with :…
WHO’S ROUND HITS A LANDMARK Russell T Davies It’s actually passed the landmark as I type this but I couldn’t not have a mention on my blog that we’ve arrived at edition 150 of my podcast of interviews with Doctor Who luminaries . It’s the last of my chats with the marvel that is Russell T Davies…
RTD I think I had planned to end the who run of releases of Toby Hadoke’s Who’s Round with the extremely popular Russell T Davies interviews but they have been in the can for nearly two years and the timings meant that if give them to you now then Mr Davies would take us all the way…
Talking about on the hoof. Thanks to a good friend of mine who is in Emmerdale I had managed to line up an interview with the marvellous Lesley Dunlop (who is also in it). Great – Frontios, one of the last remaining stories on my list, was taken care of. Unfortunately, she suddenly got a truck…
Oh, I’m a bit behind (I’ve been posting about Psoriasis a lot instead as it has been Psoriasis Awareness Week so I hope you are now sufficiently aware!). Anyway, two new Who’s Rounds have come out. The first was recorded immediately after I had performed a Christmas comedy show with this particular fellow (with whom…
I am a bit pleased with myself about this one. I had done a DVD documentary about this particular story which brought me into contact with many of its first cast. It would have been easy for me to call one of them. But the thing is, the interviews I had done were already in…
This is a really good one. Someone who has never given an interview about Doctor Who before but who has had a hell of a career behind the camera on some of the most well known television programmes there have ever been. He is candid, enthusiastic and keeps insisting that he was very, very lucky.…
Well, this one would be no surprise as it follows on from the first snippet used at the end of episode 139. We don’t just talk to this composer (and fan!) about his own work though, we explore his insights into and friendships with other music maestros from Doctor Who’s history in a most enlightening…
Continuing the migration of these individual entries from my Podcast page to this blog for reasons of space and navigability. You can find all the the list of interviewees, editions and charities who have benefited from this labour of love here. Episode Seventeen – (3rd May 2013) William Ilkley A warm and friendly guest this…
This isn’t the one you’ll be expecting if you listened to last week’s instalment which kicked off my chat with Mark Ayres. That’ll wend its way to your ears next time. We are reaching the end of the project of course so the countdown element is important – more important than my notes are legible…
Due to Big Finish having other audio fish to fry later in the week the latest edition is a tad early. Although I had vowed to avoid conventions as much as possible, reasoning that (a) it was cheating a little and (b) the interviewees would be a bit “Who”-ed out, I nonetheless couldn’t resist during…
Continuing the removal of the individual episode blurbs from the Podcast page and placing them here instead, for reasons of tidiness… Episode Eleven (2nd April 2013)The Keys Of Marinus Special What do you do if you get a Doctor Who story that doesn’t have a DVD Making Of and that not one, but four people involved with…
Doctor Who is back on air tomorrow so it’s appropriate (though entirely coincidental and completely unplanned) that we talk to someone who works on the show even today and in a key capacity. A last minute technical problem meant that I had to hurriedly improvise so the sound isn’t great – but it has been hugely…
There was no way I was going to let Milton Johns be edited down to the usual half an hour or so – so he’s been given a two parter and this is the conclusion. What a gent he is – he later showed me around the Garrick Club, regaling me with glorious stories about…
If Carlsberg made Afternoons Designed Specifically For Toby then I suspect they would involve collar and tie, the Garrick Club and one of the finest character players ever to grace our screens : which he has done without ever sounding a duff note in over five decades. Here he talks about his three encounters with…
And so it’s part two of my interview with fantastic production designer Roger Murray-Leach whose work I have long admired: it was a real thrill to be able to talk to him about his work on the show and – of course – his illustrious career beyond time and space. His charity is Hope &…
A prime scalp in this week’s edition of Who’s Round: a very talented designer with an amazing career outside of the show and whose work on the series itself is of the highest quality. It’s a two parter and involves tales from a golden period in the Doctor Who’s history. He’s one I never thought…
Continuing my repositioning of the early Who’s Round blurbs from the Podcast page into the blog (because it was taking up a lot of space and has been superseded by the brilliant work of Ian Atkins at Big Finish – he has done a definitive list): Episode Six: Waris Hussein Only the first ever blooming director of…
This week’s Who’s Round continues my chat with George Gallaccio, whose career as a BBC producer after his days as Doctor Who’s production associate took in all sorts of classics including Bergerac, The Omega Factor and Miss Marple. He was also offered the top job on our beloved show and explains his reasons for not…