Simon MacCorkindale (Peter Gilkes in Baby)

MacCorkindale was born as Simon Charles Pendered MacCorkindale on 12th February 1952 in Ely, Cambridgeshire. Blessed with a suave demeanour and patrician good looks MacCorkindale never made his mark in movies, unlike his contemporaries Jeremy Irons and Michael York ,and would instead carve a career on both American and English television.

His father was a commissioned officer in the RAF and this led to MacCorkindale having a restless childhood due to regular relocations as his father undertook different postings around the world. He was privately educated at Haileybury College, an independent boarding school near Hertford, where he was a keen rugby player and was appointed as head boy. MacCorkindale originally considered following in his father’s footsteps with a RAF career but this was prevented by his poor eyesight. He also briefly considered a career in the Diplomatic Service. Instead he chose to pursue a career as a theatre director and trained at Theatre of Arts in London despite his father’s concerns that it was not a sensible career choice. He agreed with his parents that he would abandon this career path if he was still struggling to find work by the age of twenty five. Whilst he attended the Studio 68 Performing Arts school he undertook acting classes with the idea that it would make him a better director. However it changed his outlook considerably and he decided to pursue a career in acting instead of directing.

On graduating MacCorkindale continued to hone his craft by toiling in regional theatre. He made his regional debut as Captain Blackwood in Bequest to the Nation at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry in 1973. He made his TV debut playing Lieutenant Carter in a BBC adaptation of Fenimore Cooper’s Hawkeye, The Pathfinder (18th November – 16th December 1973). The cast also boasted roles for Patrick Troughton, Windsor Davies and John Abineri. MacCorkindale then made his West End theatre debut with a small supporting role in a new version of Pygmallion in 1974. Alec MCowen and Diana Rigg took the lead roles.

The following year MacCorkindale was cast as Rolf Hornblower, the son of Bernard Lee’s character, in the BBC Play of the Month 'The Skin Game' (19th May 1974). He then appeared in the Westward Television play Time and Time Again, written by news reader Gordon Honeycombe, and filmed on location in the Scilly Isles. The play was awarded the Silver Medal at the New York Film and TV Festival and was repeated in 1977. Also during 1974 MacCorkindale made his cinema debut with a small role in the disaster film Juggernaut (1974).

He continued with television roles with guest roles in ongoing series and appeared as Ian Sutherland, the estranged son to Ian Cuthbertson’s John Sutherland, in 'No Second Chance' (10th June 1975), an episode of the BBC legal drama Sutherland’s Law. His next guest role would lead to him being in the Beasts episode 'Baby' when he cast by the director John Nelson Burton in the Hunter’s Walk instalment 'Intent' (1st June 1976). He was then seen as Paris in a Thames Television adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (22nd September 1976) and only five days later appeared in the legendary BBC production of I, Claudius playing Lucius, the son of Brian Blessed’s Emperor Augustus, in the episode 'Waiting in the Wings' (27th September 1976). These roles were then followed by his appearance as the vet Peter Gilkes in 'Baby'. In December 1976 he made his first appearance as the character Doctor Dady in 'Islands in the Heartline' (11th December 1976), an episode of the prison drama Within These Walls. The character would feature in further episodes later on in the fifth season of the series. Also during 1976 MacCorkindale announced his engagement to the actress Fiona Fullerton. The couple eventually married, but later split in 1982. 

To start 1977 MacCorkindale took on the role of Paul Verdayne in 'Three Weeks' (9th March 1977), an episode of the ITV drama anthology Romance, which was directed by Waris Hussein. April would see the actor take on his most high profile role to date when he played the Roman centurion Lucius in Jesus of Nazareth (April 1977). The same month he appeared in 'William and the Sleeping Major' (24th April 1977), an episode of Just William.

MacCorkindale hadn’t forgotten his love and theatre and he appeared in the one-man play The Importance of Being Oscar at the Questors Theatre during October 1978. The play was written by Michael MacLiammoir and depicted the life of times of the famous writer before and after his sentencing for homosexual activities in 1895. MacCorkindale impressed the critics “The play is a triumph for Simon MacCorkindale who moves effortlessly from his role as a living room narrator into the characters of Oscar Wilde’s works and back again, keeping a grip on the audience’s interests throughout… MacCorkindale quickly establishes a rapport that takes away that conscious effort and leaves each listener feeling that he himself is the one person the harration is being made to.[1]”

Simon returned to the role of Doctor Dady in two further episodes of Within These Walls – 'Raft' (4th February 1978) and 'Love Me Love My Bear' (25th February 1978). He then took the role as Commander Maddox in the Doombolt Chase instalment 'Court of Shame' (12th March 1978) and played Sir Thomas Walsingham in 'Dead Shepherd' (13th June 1978), the opening episode of Will Shakespeare.

Next was a breakthrough role for the actor when he made his film debut in a star studded adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile (1978) in the role of Simon Doyle. This appearance earned him the London Evening Standard Film Award as Most Promising Newcomer and saw his cache rise in the eyes of casting directors everywhere. His next film role was in Riddle of the Sands (1979), based on the 1903 novel by Erskine Childers, alongside Michael York and Jenny Agutter. York and MacCorkindale played two young men on holiday in Germany who uncover a plot to invade Britain in 1901. 

For the final Quatermass (24th October – 14th November 1979) television series MacCorkindale had his second encounter with the work of Nigel Kneale. He played the ill-fated scientist Joe Knapp in the programme first broadcast after ITV returned to the air following an extended time of being off air due to industrial action by technicians. Following this MacCorkindale made his first appearance in an American television show playing Gaylord Duke, the supposed cousin of the Dukes of Hazzard in the episode 'Duke of Duke' (21st December 1979). His appearances on US TV would become more regular in the coming years. He also appeared in the crime drama film Cabo Blanco (1980), supporting Charles Bronson in the lead role. MacCorkindale was one of several shady characters searching for sunken Nazi loot of the coast of Peru. He was then cast as another doctor, this time as Doctor Bob Hobart in the NBC TV movie Scalpels (26th October 1980). 

Next was the Hammer House of Horror episode 'Visitor From the Grave' (22nd November 1980) playing Harry Wells, the husband of the mentally unstable Penny who helps her husband hide the body of a business associate after Harry kills him. Penny then starts seeing the dead man which drives her closer to the edge…

Back on US TV MacCorkindale took the role of David Clement in the mini-series The Manions of America (30th September – 2nd October 1980) a family saga set against the backdrop of the American Civil War. This was followed by a guest spot in the Fantasy Island episode 'Cyrano / The Magician' (24th October 1981) and undertaking the role of Macduff in a poor, but star studded direct to video production of Macbeth aimed at the American market. In 1982 following his divorce from Fiona Fullerton MacCokindale became a bankable star in the US following a permanent relocation to California. However this success did not happen overnight. “I spent two full years in California going to auditions and getting very close, but always losing out on parts because I was English.[2]”

The roles became more interesting and lucrative starting with the fun low budget fantasy film The Sword and the Sorcerer and continued with more TV guest spots in the Hart to Hart instalment 'Million Dollar Hearts' (19th October 1982) and 'The Will' (17th November 1982), an episode of the glossy soap Dynasty. His final US TV work for the year was the TV Movie Falcon’s Gold AKA Robbers of the Sacred Mountain, a low energy spin on Indiana Jones. 

The following year, in November, he married the actress Susan George with whom he would remain with up until his untimely death. He also took the role of Philip FitzRoyce in the summer tentpole movie Jaws 3D, a second sequel to Jaws. His biggest break to date came when he landed his own television vehicle, the short-lived, but strangely endearing, Manimal (30th September – 17th December 1983), playing the scientist Jonathan Chase who has the ability to change into a variety of different animals as he fights crime. Only eight episodes were made before the series was cancelled. Instead of retreating into the treadmill guest roles in ongoing series MacCorkindale instead found himself cast as Greg Reardon in the Dynasty spin off Falcon Crest. He would play the character Greg Reardon in nearly sixty episodes between 1984 and 1986. 

Post-Falcon Crest MacCorkindale made a few mini-series and other fodder for the American TV networks before taking the role of Peter Sinclair in the action adventure series Counterstrike (1990 – 1993). The series ran for three seasons and MacCorkindale was nominated for a Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role. After this MacCorkindale appeared in several made for television movies for American television and undertook guest roles in continuing series. Highlights of this period included guesting in the Canadian children’s educational sci-fi series Mentors which featured a brother and sister who have a computer that is able to transform into being important figures from history. The episode 'Wilde Card' (17th July 1998) saw MacCorkindale play the writer Oscar Wilde, a role he had previously undertook in 1978 with his one-man stage show. The same year he also reprised his role as Jonathan Chase (Manimal) in a single episode of the Glen A Larson action adventure series NightMan. The episode, titled 'Manimal' (9th November 1998), saw Chase help fight a time travelling Jack the Ripper!

The following year MacCorkindale took the recurring role of Reed Horton in the fourth, and final, series of television horror series Poltergeist: The Legacy (1999). For the next two years he then made guest spots in several continuing series; Earth: Final Conflict, Dark Realms and Relic Hunter. Around this time MacCorkindale and Susan George decided to return to the UK where they set up a production company called Amy International Artists, was named after George’s character in the film Straw Dogs (1971). They also bought and ran a stud farm on Exmoor where they bred Arabian horses. 

He was cast as the character Harry Harper in the prime time Saturday night drama Casualty which would become his signature role for the last years of his career. MacCorkindale adjusted seamlessly from the lighter style of the American soaps to the more realistic and gritty acting style of UK TV. He would play the character for other six years, before being written out of the series in 2008. He undertook a strenuous touring theatre engagement playing Andrew Wyke in a new version of Sleuth. He followed this with taking the role of Captain von Trapp in a production of The Sound of Music based at the London Palladium.

After being diagnosed with bowel cancer MacCorkindale had only a handful of other onscreen credits including the films Blind Revenge (2009) and Night Wolf (2010). His final television appearance was in an episode of the BBC drama series New Tricks playing Sir David Bryant, a wealthy arts patron, in the episode 'Good Morning Lemmings' (8th October 2010). MacCorkindale passed away in London just under a week after the episode was transmitted.

Tributes to him included one from John Yorke, the then controller of BBC drama, who commented “It is a massive tribute to Simon that he bore his illness so stoically – never asking for sympathy or attention, and continuing to work as long as he was able. He will be missed massively by his many fans, and by everyone who worked with him.[3]”

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[1] Powerful Entertainment by David Gordon, Middlesex Count Times, 20^th October 1978, page 15

[2] Animal Magnetism by Steven Eramo , TV Zone 117, August 1999, page 117

[3] Quoted in Simon MacCorkindale Dies After Cancer Battle, The Telegraph, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/8067368/Simon-MacCorkindale-dies-after-cancer-battle.html (accessed 23rd July 2019)

Jane Wymark (Jo Gilkes in Baby)

 

Jane Wymark was born on 31st October 1951[1] in Paddington, London and is the daughter of the actor Patrick Wymark (1926 – 1970) and the playwright and dramatist Olwen Margaret Wymark (née Buck, 1932 – 2013). She is the oldest of four children, and has one sister and two brothers – Rowan, Dominic and Tristram. Her father was an actor known for his roles in the British horror films Witchfinder General and Blood on Satan’s Claw, both touchstones of the emergent folk horror movement. Her mother, as well as being a successful writer, was also the grand-daughter of W W Jacobs [2] who wrote the often adapted short story The Monkey’s Paw. Jane’s father died suddenly in October 1970 from a heart attack, aged just forty four, and never got to see her enjoy success and recognition in the same profession as him.

Jane was educated at Birmingham University, studying Drama and Theatre Arts, and featured in several student production whilst there including The Way of the World in January 1973. Whilst at university she became a life-long friend with fellow student Victoria Wood who would go on to become one of the most loved comediennes in the country. They remained firm friends until Wood’s death in 2016. Jane is a Trustee of the Victoria Wood Foundation, a charity that supports the arts throughout the UK.

 Jane graduated in December 1973 and started work with Nottingham Playhouse in their repertory company with roles in productions such as The Taming of the Shrew. She made her London stage debut in the John Antrobus written play The Looneys presented at the Hampstead Theatre Club from October 1974. Wymark played the daughter of a film star whose home is invaded by two lunatics. She was interviewed by the Daily Mirror at the time and reflected on her own relationship with her famous dad: “My father once told me that if I was any good as an actress he would tell me so, but, if I wasn’t he would tell me to get off the stage. The pity is he never had the chance to see me act.[3]”

Before making her television debut in 1975 she continued with theatre engagements which took in Nottingham Playhouse’s production of The Adventures of a Bear Called Paddington over Christmas 1974. Her first television role was as the eponymous Susan in the storyline of the same name for the daytime soap opera Rooms (18th and 19th February 1975). The story dealt with an incestuous relationship and was quite controversial for its time. It was directed by John Nelson Burton who would cast Jane in the Beasts episode ‘Baby’. This was followed by the very first episode of the children’s horror anthology series Shadows entitled ‘The Future Ghost’ (3rd September 1975). Her role in Beasts quickly soon after. During February and March 1975, at Birmingham Repertory Theatre, she was a cast member of Arms and the Man. This was followed with the role of Jill Mason in a production of Equus from 26th March 1975 and throughout April at Birmingham rep theatre. During May and June 1975 she played Cecily Cardew in a Birmingham Repertory Theatre production of The Importance of Being Earnest. Later, during November 1975, Wymark played Ophelia in the Derby Playhouse production of Hamlet.

Post-Beasts Jane would see herself in demand with the following year, 1977, being especially busy. The year started with ‘Ancients Scars’ (22nd February 1977), an episode of the BBC drama anthology series Fathers and Families where Jane appeared alongside her old ‘Baby’ colleague TP McKenna once again. She played the role of Penelope Matthews, who is the sister of Andrew (Michael Troughton), and the daughter of Charles Matthews (McKenna). At the time Ancient Scars was broadcast Wymark could also be seen in the BBC classic drama production of Rob Roy (13th February – 20th March 1977) undertaking the role of Diana.

Next was ‘The Bass Player and the Blonde’ (14th June 1977), an instalment of ITV Playhouse in which Jane played Terry, the sidekick of Edward Woodward’s jazz musician character George Mangham. A spin-off series followed. Her biggest role on television for the year was as Morwenna Chynoweth in the second series of the successful BBC period drama Poldark (11th September 1977 – 4th December 1977). Stage work for 1978 saw Jane take the role of Ophelia in a production of Hamlet at the Old Vic in January and February 1978. The title role was essayed by Derek Jacobi. Having proved to be a popular episode of ITV Playhouse ‘The Bass Player and the Blonde’ was picked up by ATV for a short run of three episodes. Jane returned along with Edward Woodward and the storyline continued their oddball relationship in ‘Rondo’ (8th August 1978), ‘Allegro’ (15th August 1978) and ‘Andante’ (22nd August 1978).

Jane concentrated on stage work during 1979 and returned to television with the BBC 2 Playhouse production ‘The Best of Friends’ (8th March 1980). Another extensive block of theatre work filled the next few years and she was next seen on television in The Sidmouth Letters (2nd April 1982), a single BBC drama which featured her as a woman who is obsessed with Jane Austen. Jane was then attached to the Another London Shakespeare Group which toured Kenya, Zimbabwe, Botswana and other African states during October and November 1982 presenting short adaptations of five Shakespeare plays.

It would be nearly a decade before she made any further film or television appearances. She returned to screen work with a role in the Film Four production The Fool (1990) where she was cast alongside Derek Jacobi, Jim Carter and Cyril Cusack. With a renewed vigour she returned to television with the recurring role of Claire Griffiths in the BBC drama Chalkface (6th May – 25th June 1991), set in a comprehensive school. She then moved onto a guest role in the BBC thriller series Children of the North playing the character Jenny Swale in the episode ‘A Darkness in the Eye’ (20th November 1991). Jane balanced devoting time to her love of stage work with guest roles in popular and ongoing series. 1992 would see her guest as Meg Chipstead in two episodes of the BBC drama A Fatal Inversion (10th and 24th May 1992) and take small roles in the Screen One production ‘Seconds Out’ (4th October 1992) as a gym instructor and as a news editor in the Between The Lines episode ‘Breaking Point’ (16th October 1992).

The formula was repeated in 1993 with a part in the Screenplay production ‘Safe’ (13th October 1993) and guest roles in the comedy series Drop the Dead Donkey – ‘Awards’ (18th March 1993), detective drama Maigret – ‘Maigret and the Minister’ (11th April 1993) and Lovejoy – ‘Swings and Roundabouts’ (14th November 1993). However, screen appearances for the next two years were limited to just one per year – playing Anne in the Screen Two production ‘A Landing on the Sun’ (8th June 1994) and as an actor called Gertrude in the film All Men Are Mortal (1995).

Midsomer Murders would give Jane the role of Joyce Barnaby, the wife of lead actor John Nettles’ character, and make her a recognisable face to the modern viewer. Her character appears in the very first episode ‘The Killings at Badger’s Drift’ (23rd March 1997), and continues through until the story ‘Fit for Murder’ (2nd February 2011), when both she and John Nettles left the series.

More recent credits include playing Catherine in ‘The Catacombs’ (7th March 2013), an episode of the French crime thriller Jo which stars Jean Reno as a hard bitten Parisian cop. Jane has concentrated mainly on her stage work with productions including a National Theatre production of Medea (2014), David Hare’s Racing Demon, Cole Porter’s Anything Goes (2015) and This May Hurt A Bit. She was also cast as Theresa May in the satirical play A View from Islington North which was staged at The Arts Theatre in London. 

Of particular note among her stage credits is her role as the narrator in the English National Ballet production My First Cinderella staged at The Peacock Theatre from March 2013. The theatre may be an inspiration for the Beasts episode 'Buddyboy' as it is said to be haunted by the ghost of a dolphin. This is fully explored in The Book of Beasts. Jane is married to Paul Howson, a civil servant, and the couple have two sons. 

Many thanks to Jane for looking through the profile and correcting several errors.

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[1] Most sources erroneously give Jane’s date of birth as 1952.

[2] The W W in his name stands for William Wymark

[3] ‘Curtain Up – Sadly’, The Daily Mirror, Monday 14^th October 1974, page 15

T P McKenna (Dick Pummery in Baby)

 

The suave and urbane Irish actor Thomas Patrick McKenna was born on 7th September 1929 in Mullagh, County Cavan, Ireland. He was the eldest of ten children and educated at Mullagh School and the all-boys secondary school St Patrick’s College from 1942. He featured in the college’s annual productions of Gilbert and Sullivan operas and was noted for his singing abilities, also featuring the Cavan Cathedral choir. He was also a fiercely competitive Gaelic footballer and represented his school in the All-Ireland colleges’ competition in 1948.

McKenna left education and worked in banking for the next six years at the Ulster Bank, but he was always keen to pursue an acting career. McKenna reflected on this period of his life “Before I left St.Pat’s one strange and amazing thing happened. The vice president came into the class and said: ‘The manager of the Ulster Bank in Cavan has written to me looking for young recruits for the bank. They need staff very badly and there’s a great future in it.’ … So I went to Belfast to do the bank exams and, for good or ill, I was called to the bank at the end of May that year. This came as an enormous relief to me. I was going to use the bank for a year or two and then I would become an actor.[1]”

After he was posted to work in Dublin he joined the Rathmines and Rathgar Operatic Society and also became a member of the Dublin Shakespeare Society where he would take roles under the name of Ralph McKenna (his father’s name). In 1953 the bank posted him to the remote town of Killeshandra in an attempt to prevent his acting activities. “Killeshandra had one weekly bus in, one weekly bus out, plus a creamery and a convent. I couldn’t face that and resigned.[2]”

He made his stage debut in the role of John Buchanan in a production of Tennessee Williams’ Summer and Smoke in 1954. This was followed a season of Shakespeare plays at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin and membership of the Gas Theatre Company which led to his earliest film appearances. In 1956 McKenna married May White. They would have five children including the actors Breffni McKenna and Kilian McKenna as well as boys Ralph and Stephen and daughter Sally. May passed away in 2007.

Between 1954 and 1962 he was a member of the repertory company attached to the Abbey Theatre, Ireland’s leading stage institution based in Dublin. During this time he took on over seventy different roles starting with small walk on parts and eventually in principal roles. His film debut was in the tiny role of Holmes in Broth of a Boy (1959), a film produced in Ireland with a largely Irish cast. The plot featured a British TV producer on holiday in Ireland where he comes across the world’s oldest man and plans to make a documentary about him. This was quickly followed by another small role as a young man at a dance in Home Is the Hero (1959) another Irish based film production. The cast was made up of the Irish Abbey Theatre Company of which McKenna was a member. McKenna also has a blink and you’ll miss him role in the James Cagney starring movie Shake Hands with the Devil (1959), a thriller set in Ireland during the 1920s dealing with the origins of the IRA. The para-military organisation also featured as part of the plot of McKenna’s next screen outing, The Night Fighters (1960) AKA A Terrible Beauty, in which he featured once more in an uncredited role. He then had a small uncredited appearance in Das schwarze Schaf (1960), a German film version of Father Brown, the detective priest created by G K Chesterton. Some of the location shooting took place in Ireland and McKenna was given the chance to appear in small uncredited role.

However his next film credit, the classic 60s drama The Siege of Sidney Street (1960), saw him gain tenth billing against a cast list that also boasted Donald Sinden, Kieron Moore and Peter Wyngarde. The quota quickie Butchers Brothers production Freedom to Die (1961) also placed McKenna high in the cast order as the character Mike in a brisk crime thriller. His final film role of 1961 was a small role as an Irish Garda (policeman) in the offbeat Johnny Nobody (1961) which starred Nigel Patrick who also directed. McKenna was also one of many familiar faces in a sea of British and Irish character actors in the Irish prison drama The Quare Fellow (1962), adapted from the play by Brendan Behan.

McKenna came to England to appear in the play Stephen D adapted by Hugh Leonard from the James Joyce story. The play had debuted at the Dublin theatre festival before moving to St Martin’s theatre in London during January 1963. TV soon beckoned with McKenna making his debut in the BBC Sunday Night Play edition 'The Fly Sham' (19th May 1963) playing the role of Philip. The cast also included Dudley Sutton and Donal Donnelly. McKenna recalled how he was cast: “The play (Stephen D) was such an enormous success in London, it was startling. The offers literally came pouring in. One of the co-originators of Z Cars, John McGrath, approached me with the script of Tom Murphy’s The Fly Sham. It interested me a lot and Donal Donnelly had a big part. When I saw the credits go up on the screen, I got the shock of my life, because I was co-starring in it. That was my first television play for the BBC and it established a marvellous precedent, with fees and so on. You could only go up after that.[3]”

This was followed by the First Night episode 'The Strain' (22nd September 1963), a Liverpool set gangland thriller which featured McKenna in a cast headed by Peter Vaughan and Ray Barrett. Television audiences on 30th October 1963 simply couldn’t avoid seeing McKenna as he appeared on the BBC and also on ITV. His BBC job was in a play in the drama anthology series Festival based on the hit stage play Stephen D. For ITV he had a guest role in another anthology series, Espionage. McKenna played Tom Gorman in the episode 'He Rises on Sunday and We on Monday', a tale set on the eve of the Easter Rising in Ireland. After this initial burst of television work McKenna continued to carve a solid career in the medium the following year, though this was supplemented by film and stage work. McKenna had no real plan as he later explained “I was taking every part that came along, instead of turning them down.[4]” This lack of quality control would occasionally lead to clashes, an example being when he accepted a role in The Avengers and was scheduled to start on the film Dr Zhivago three weeks later. However, the filming on Zhivago was bought forward by three weeks and McKenna found himself unable to get out of his television commitment.

He played Martin Somers in the Merton Park Studios production Downfall (1964), part of the series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries cranked out by the studio in the 1960s, and appeared as a priest in the Dublin set romantic drama Girl With Green Eyes (1964). Perhaps his most high profile film of the year was Ferry across the Mersey (1964), a vehicle for pop group Gerry and the Pacemakers, which saw him twinkle as the character Jack Hanson opposite the beat combo sensations. On television he appeared in the Thursday Theatre production 'Write Me a Murder' (5th November 1964), based on a play written by Frederick Knott who also wrote Dial M for Murder. McKenna's second TV role was in 'A Word in Season' (14th July 1964), an episode of ITV’s anthology series Love Story. The third appearance was in The Avengers episode 'Trojan Horse' (1964) which was directed by Laurence Bourne who had worked with McKenna at the Globe Theatre. McKenna also popped up in a storyline for the BBC medical drama Dr Finlay’s Casebook – 'Mortal Sin”'(3rd May 1964) playing another Catholic priest. His most notable stage appearance during 1964 was in Lindsay Anderson’s production of Julius Caesar at the Royal Court Theatre playing Cassius.

1965 saw him make many more television appearances starting with the Dixon of Dock Green instalment 'Edward the Confessor' (9th January 1965) and continuing with the role of Dave Allen in 'The Link' (8th February 1965), part of the Associated-Rediffusion cop series No Hiding Place. Next was 'The Bachelors' (1st April 1965), for drama anthology Story Parade, and RTE[5] single play Deirdre which was transmitted on BBC2 on 12th August 1965 after a screening in Ireland in June. Five days later he made the first of two appearances in the series Love Story with the main role of Stevie Ellis in 'Toccata for Toy Trumpet' (17th August 1965). Barely a month later he made his second Love Story episode for the year, 'Give My Love to the Pilchards' (21st September 1965), in the supporting role of Pat. 'Death at Bargain Prices' (1965) was the second of three episodes of The Avengers that McKenna appeared in. Andre Morrell, who had played Quatermass in the TV version of Quatermass and the Pit, also appeared. McKenna played Wentworth, a department store manager who has an unusual line of customer service.

Apart from the above roles McKenna also appeared as a guest star in a couple of episodes of on-going series; The Sullavan Brothers episode 'The Humanist' (25th September 1965), which saw him guesting opposite leading man Anthony Bate, and opposite Patrick McGoohan in the Danger Man episode 'To Our Best Friend' (1965). His only film role for the year was in Young Cassidy (1965), a big budget Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer drama starring Rod Taylor, Maggie Smith and Julie Christie. The project had been started with legendary director John Ford, but he fell ill soon after production commenced and so was replaced by Jack Cardiff. All of McKenna’s scenes were made under Ford’s direction.

McKenna made only two television screen appearances during 1966 guesting in the Mogul story 'This Is Where I Came In' (28th May 1966) and The Saint episode 'The Angel’s Eye' (1966). The next year was much busier with the role of Buck Mulligan in a film version of James Joyce’s novel Ulysses topping off several television credits. He was the suave Jason Lang, villain of the week, in the Adam Adamant Lives! story 'A Sinister Sort of Service' (25th March 1967) directed by his old colleague Laurence Bourne, Jerry in 'The Winner' (8th May 1967) for the BBC drama anthology Theatre 625, Mena Donelli in the Armchair Theatre production 'Quite an Ordinary Knife' (15th July 1967), Drag Anglem in 'No Cage for This Bird' (21st July 1967), an episode The Fellows, and Peter in the Main in a Suitcase instalment 'Day of Execution' (1967). He also found time to headline 'A Crucial Week in the Life of a Grocer’s Assistant' (22nd March 1967) for BBC’s The Wednesday Play.

On stage McKenna took part in the 1967 / 1968 season at Nottingham Playhouse under artistic director Stuart Burge. McKenna had been very busy on television and had not taken a stage role for over eighteen months and so welcomed the chance to once again flex his acting muscles in front of a live audience. He was cast in four differing roles; Philip the Bastard in Shakespeare’s King John, Trigorin in The Seagull, Sir Joseph Surface on The School for Scandal and Macduff in Macbeth. Burge also let McKenna direct the Nottingham Playhouse production of The Playboy of the Western World.

His next cinema role was as W H Russell in The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) and later discussed his casting: “I was filming an Armchair Theatre play for ABC in London when I was called from the set to take a call from my agent. He’d just got a message from Woodfall Films. Could I leave for Turkey in a few days’ time? I was to record an O’Casey commentary for a documentary film the next morning and the following week I was to begin work in the lead part in a new play by Maggie Ross called The Cupboard for the BBC.[6]” The part was originally offered to playwright John Osbourne who had supplied the original script for the film. However a dispute played out following a rewrite of the film’s script and so Osbourne declined the role.

The film would be McKenna’s only film work for the year with the majority of his screen work concentrating on television offers. Appearances in the medium included 'Born Victim' (5th July 1968), an episode of BBC the anthology series Detective, two instalments of the anthology programme Love Story as different characters – 'The Egg on the Face of the Tiger' (27th June 1968) and 'A Man Alone' (25th July 1968). Both episodes are notable as they were directed by John Nelson Burke who would later cast McKenna in the Beasts episode 'Baby'. Further TV credits for the year include the half hour one off BBC play Combination (26th August 1968), The Saint story 'Legacy for the Saint' (1968) and The Avengers episode 'Noon-Doomsday' (1968). 1969 was a quieter year with TV appearances in another episode of Dr Finlay’s Casebook, 'Action, Dr Cameron' (3rd August 1969), an uncredited voice only role in the Randall and Hopkirk episode 'Money to Burn' (1969) and the Wednesday Play edition 'Blood of the Lamb' (3rd December 1969) as well as the costume drama movie Anne of the Thousand Days (1969).

His first TV credit for the new decade was in 'Break-Up' (9th January 1970), an episode of the World War Two drama Manhunt. This was followed by a BBC Play of the Month – 'The Rivals' (17th May 1970) with McKenna in the role of Sir Lucius O’Trigger. This would be his only TV work for a couple of years as he started a run of film appearances. Film wise he was in the comedy crime caper Perfect Friday (1970) and the Italian war film The Fifth Day of Peace (1970). He carried out his film commitments during the day and by night he was appearing in the play The Contractor at the Royal Court Theatre for director Lindsay Anderson. McKenna reflected on this busy period and making Perfect Friday: “I’d get up at 6:30 in the mornings to drive to the studio. Some of my scenes were filmed in a roofed-in set like a glass box, with me in one office and Stanley Baker in another. The temperature would reach 110 degrees and by the end of the day my shirt would be wringing wet. Then at 6pm I’d drive back to London to be on stage at the Royal Court at 7:30.[7]”

Cinema work continued the following year with Percy (1971), as a compere, and horror film The Beast in the Cellar (1971) as policeman Detective Chief Inspector Paddick. More fondly recalled was his appearances in the Richard Burton film Villain (1971), which also featured the actor Del Henney in the cast. Henney would also appear in McKenna’s other film of the year, the controversial Straw Dogs (1971) which was highlighted in several of McKenna’s obituaries on his passing. On TV he appeared in the BBC Play of the Month production 'Rasputin' (24th October 1971) which starred Robert Stephens in the title role. The highlight of McKenna’s theatrical work was Exiles, the only stage play written by James Joyce, staged at Aldwych Theatre for the Royal Shakespeare Company. The director was Harold Pinter who cast McKenna along with his co-stars John Wood and Vivien Merchant.

Throughout the Sixties McKenna and his family lived in Dublin with the actor commuting to England when acting roles required. This changed in 1972 when McKenna and his family moved to London. The year was one of television work with a guest appearance in the Jason King episode 'A Thin Band of Air' (3rd March 1972) and a recurring role as the maverick Russian agent Richmond in the fourth and final season of the gritty Edward Woodward espionage thriller series Callan. The episode 'Call Me Enemy' is particularly effective with Callan and Richmond holed up in a safe house locked in a verbal duel with each other. McKenna also took the role of The Cardinal in the BBC play The Duchess of Malfi (10th October 1972) based on the play by John Webster. On to 1973 and A Warm December (1973) was a romantic drama film directed by and starring Sidney Poitier. McKenna filmed several scenes for the film, but the producers decided to cut a whole subplot resulting in McKenna’s role being completely missing from the released film. Television work included 'Conspiracy' (9th February 1973) for the series Justice and appearing opposite Mary Peach in the Anglia produced play Fixation (17th December 1973). He also narrated the Omnibus documentary 'The British Hero' (7th October 1973) which took a humorous look at how the depiction of heroes has changed over the years.  

McKenna supported Stanley Baker, Helen Mirren and Brian Cox in his final BBC Play of the Month appearance, 'The Changeling' (20th January 1974). He then appeared as the character Barras in five episodes of the biographical drama Napoleon and Love (5th March – 30th April 1974). During the run of this series McKenna could also be seen in 'Geography of a Horse Dreamer' (31st March 1974), an episode of the ITV Sunday Night Theatre strand. He was a guest star in the Fall of Eagles episode 'Indian Summer of an Emperor' (17th May 1974) and appeared in 'Pygmalion Smith' (25th June 1974), a comedy pilot written by the creator of Last of the Summer Wine, Roy Clarke, for the series Comedy Playhouse. He had a small role in Percy’s Progress (1974), a sequel to Percy, which had featured McKenna in a different role. Back on the small screen he was a guest star in the Father Brown episode 'The Dagger with Wings' (7th November 1974). Along with Trevor Howard and Peter Madden he was one of three narrators for the film Cause for Concern (1974).

By now McKenna had become ubiquitous on the small screen and his credits for 1975 and 1976 perfectly illustrate this. Guest roles included episodes of The Venturers, classic The Sweeney storyline 'Night Out' (6th February 1975), Churchill’s People, Rooms, Looking for Clancy, Quiller, The Mind Beyond production 'Stones' (27th October 1976) and two episodes of Thriller. His role as Dick Pummery in 'Baby' came at the end of this two year block of activity, though he was equally as active during the rest of the decade. Highlights from this period include appearing in the RTE production A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1977) based on the James Joyce novel, a guest star spot as Sarkoff in the Blake’s 7 tale 'Bounty' (13th March 1978) and the American mini-series Holocaust (1978) as an SS officer. Cinema work for this period included short film Exposure (1978), The Outside (1979) and the David Essex vehicle Silver Dream Racer (1980).

The 1980s saw him continuously busy with many TV credits and the occasional film role. Notable small screen roles included the austere 'Crimes' (13th April 1982), an episode of sci-fi tinged BBC anthology Play for Tomorrow. He was oddly cast as top Nazi Heinrich Himmler in The Scarlet and the Black (1983), an ITC TV movie headlined by Gregory Peck. The BBC faithfully adapted Virginia Woolf’s novel To the Lighthouse (23rd March 1983) with McKenna amongst a star-studded cast which also included Kenneth Branagh, Michael Hough and Rosemary Harris. McKenna’s ability for twinkle in the eye comedy was ably exploited in the Minder instalment 'Sorry Pal Wrong Numbe'” (1st February 1984) as the con artist J J Mooney. Film work for the first half of the 1980s took in Lindsay Anderson’s pitch black satire Britannia Hospital (1982) in a role as a surgeon, Peter Ustinov directed Memed My Hawk (1984) and the horror film The Doctor and the Devils (1985) directed by Freddie Francis and based on an unmade screenplay by Dylan Thomas. Notable TV credits for the latter half of the 1980s included the recurring role of Oscar Randolph in the second season of All in Good Faith (1987) supporting Richard Briers comedy vicar, the Michael Caine starring mini-series Jack the Ripper (1988) and the character of The Captain in the Sylvester McCoy era Doctor Who adventure 'The Greatest Show in the Galaxy' (1989). He also appeared in the American action film Red Scorpion (1988) as a Russian army General Oleg Vortek.

As McKenna entered his autumnal years he took on roles as establishment figures such as Sir John Herman, the chief of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, in controversial drama Shoot To Kill[8] (1990), Judge Selwyn on the Screen Two production 'The Law Lord' (22nd March 1992), British prime minister David Lloyd George in the Turkish TV mini-series Kurtulus (1994) and the Irish prime minister in 'Innocent Passage' (4th January 1998), an episode of the drama series The Ambassador. He was meant to be seen in Carry on Columbus (1992) as the Archbishop of Canterbury, but his role was cut from the released film.

In the last decade of his life he continued to be extremely active on screen with television with appearances in episodes of Inspector Morse, Longitude, The Bill, Ballykissangel and Waking the Dead. His final film roles came with Monarch (2000), the part of Black Rod in The Libertine (2004) and the short film Death’s Door (2009). He also played Father Tom Mitchell in several episodes of the Irish television soap opera Fair City during 2004 and 2005.

T P McKenna died on 13th February 2011 at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, London. He was 81 years old. He was buried alongside his wife in his native County Cavan. Ireland’s Culture Minister, Mary Hanafin, said McKenna had “talents on the screen and stage both at home and abroad that gave us great pride in his accomplishments.” He is commemorated in County Cavan with the T P McKenna Drama Scholarship and the T P McKenna Perpetual Trophy which are presented annually as part of the Millrace Drama Festival.

Many thanks to Stephen McKenna for his input in compiling this profile. Stephen is the editor of tpmckenna.co.uk which is dedicated to preserving the legacy of his father's life and career. He also runs a Youtube channel dedicated to T P located at https://www.youtube.com/@t.p.mckenna/videos

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[1] TP McKenna quoted on the website http://tpmckabbey.blogspot.com/ (accessed 16^th March 2009)

[2] TP McKenna quoted on the website http://tpmckabbey.blogspot.com/ (accessed 16^th March 2009)

[3] Quoted on http://tpmckenmidii.blogspot.com/ (accessed 16^th March 2019)

[4] “I’m At My Best When My Back’s To The Wall” interview with McKenna by Deidre Purcell, Sunday Tribune, 29^th March 1987, page 17

[5] Raidio Teilifis Eireann 

[6] Quoted on http://tpmckenmidii.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-08-10T08:00:00-07:00&max-results=40 (accessed 16^th March 2019)

[7] Quoted on http://tpmckenmidii.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-08-09T01:59:00-07:00&max-results=40&start=22&by-date=false (accessed 16^th March 2019)

[8] The programme dramatized the events in Northern Ireland that led to the Stalker inquiry. The cast also included McKenna’s son Breffni McKenna

John Nelson-Burton (Director of Baby)

Born on 12th October, 1923 in Carlisle John Nelson-Burton was a producer, director and writer for the BBC, ABC and later ATV. He was just eight years old when his mother, Margaret, passed away giving birth to his sister Mary. His father was a hotel porter and Burton followed in his father John’s footsteps for a short time working as hotel page boy, an errand boy or luggage carrier, according to the 1939 census. After the Second World War he was a Royal Navy Volunteer Reservist between 1946 and 1947[1].

Nelson initially worked in repertory theatre as a producer / director before breaking into television via the BBC. An example of his theatre work was a production of the play Trespass by Emlyn Williams during December 1952. Further plays that Nelson-Burton worked on included R F Delderfield’s The Orchard Walls mounted at the Savoy theatre in Exmouth for the West of England Theatre Company during August 1953. Joan Plowright was the lead star. Further productions for the company include The Noble Spaniard during July 1954, Affairs of State over August 1954 and The Tinder Box during December 1954. The last stage shows he produced before joining the BBC included The Living Room during March 1955 and Spark in Judea over April 1955 for the West of England Theatre Company. In September 1955 Nelson successfully applied to join the BBC where he was trained in all aspects of television production.

The first series to benefit from his training was the anthology drama series Tales From Soho (21st January – 3rd March 1956) with Nelson-Burton as the director on three episodes including the opening episode 'The Fiddle' (21st January 1956). The subsequent episodes were 'The Message' (28th January 1956) and 'Slippy Fives' (4th February 1956). These episodes were produced by Tony Richardson who would later direct the Nigel Kneale scripted film The Entertainer (1960). Only one episode of the series, 'The Fiddle', is currently preserved in the BBC archives. It’s worth noting that amongst the cast of the episode 'Slippy Fives' is Basil Dignam, the brother of Mark Dignam, who would later appear in Nelson’s Beasts episode 'Baby'. The series was written by Berkely Mather.

Still with the BBC Nelson then produced the half-hour play Flame in the Forest (22nd May 1956), which cast Honor Blackman in a tale a racial tensions written by the clergyman Cyril J Davey. This was then followed by another single play for the BBC in the shape of Romney (17th July 1956), a contemporary drama set in a large country home in Ireland. Nelson then reteamed with the writer Berkely Mather to produce and direct a six episode drama transmitted under the title of New Ramps for Old with Mervyn Johns and Harry H Corbett headlining the cast. The series of six dramas, billed as “self-contained studies of crime[2]” began with the instalment 'Hitched to a Star' (8th September 1956) which featured Alfie Bass as a financier involved in dodgy share dealing.

Nelson moved to the ITV franchise ABC in 1957 and his first project for the broadcaster was mystery thriller The Man Who Was Two (26th January – 23rd February 1957) which starred Ronald Howard as a man with amnesia who tries to unravel the truth behind his past. Nelson acted as the producer and director on the series. Nelson’s most notable early production for ITV was Hour of Mystery, an hour long anthology series which had each episode introduced by Donald Wolfit. Episodes include an adaptation of the Barre Lyndon play 'The Man in Half Moon Street' (22nd June), the tale of a scientist who has invented a way to prolong his life. However, to keep alive he must harvest a supply of glands. Then there was 'Confess, Killer' (13th July 1957) starring Alfred Burke as Detective Sergeant Wilson investigating a murder which set the tone for the remaining episodes which tended to be murder mysteries.  

As a screenwriter Nelson was responsible for two episodes of Armchair Theatre; 'Night of the Ding-Dong' (2nd February 1958) and 'The One Who Came Back' (16th March 1958) which he also directed. He had also previously directed the Armchair Theatre episodes 'Three O’clock Deadline' (16th December 1956) and 'Hilda Morgan' (1957) and would oversee another three episodes in this capacity; 'Breach of Marriage' (4th May 1958), 'Wings of the Wind' (29th June 1958) and 'Murder in Slow Motion' (5th October 1958). Following this he then joined ATV in July 1959. Amongst his first work at ATV was Epilogue to Capricorn (31st October – 5th December 1959) starring Jean Kent, Peter Wyngarde and Adrienne Corri. Again Nelson handled the dual role of producer and director on the programme. During the year Nelson also directed five episodes of the medical soap Emergency Ward 10. The following year he was the producer of the anthology series Suspense (28th February -19th May 1960).

For the drama anthology series Theatre 70 Nelson produced the episode 'Chance Witness' (21st January 1961) with Harry H Corbett in the lead role, having worked closely with him on the series New Ramps for Old. Corbett also featured in the cast of the Deadline Midnight story 'An Eye for Detail' (23rd September 1961) which Nelson directed. Following this Nelson was also the producer on three episodes of the drama anthology series Drama 61 delivering the stories 'Edge of Truth' (14th May 1961), 'The Dinner Party' (9th July 1961) and 'The Morning Face' (3rd September 1961). When the series was retitled as Drama 62 Nelson toiled on another two episodes; 'A Question of Pride' (23rd September 1962) and 'The Pinedus Affair' (2nd December 1962).

For the drama anthology series ITV Television Playhouse he worked on two episodes during 1963 – 'The Cage' (11th January 1963) and 'There’s No Room for You Here for A Start' (8th February 1963). The same year Nelson oversaw three episodes of the series Ghost Squad; 'Interrupted Requiem' (2nd February 1963), 'Hot Money' (25th May 1963) and 'The Golden Silence' (8th June 1963). He rounded off the year by working as director on three episodes of the business drama The Plane Makers; 'You Can’t Beat the System' (25th February 1963), 'Has Anybody Seen Costigan?' (25th March 1963) and 'Costigan’s Rocket' (12th November 1963). Nelson later returned for a single episode of the programme’s third season to deliver 'Other People Own Our Jungles Now' (27th October 1964). He also tackled two episodes of anthology series Drama 63 – 'Andersen' (16th June 1963) and 'The Perfect Friday' (8th September 1963), a crime thriller starring Charles Gray. The Stage felt it was “a neat play and though the twist at the end was over-played in an attempt to make it more forceful[3]”. He later worked as the director of an episode of Drama 64 – 'A Menace to Decent People' (21st June 1964). This play was reviewed in The Stage which noted “with more subtlety and less sentimentality 'A Menace to Decent People' could have been a play of substance.[4]”

For the next few years Nelson-Burton concentrated on directing and in this role he was responsible for the Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre drama 'Never Mention Murder' (November 1964) which starred Dudley Foster as a doctor who kills his wife’s lover. Nelson-Burton oversaw his first episode of the long running anthology series Love Story with the episode 'The Apprentices' (4th August 1964) followed by two further instalments a year later; 'Give My Love to the Pilchards' (21st September 1965), which featured T P McKenna who he would later cast in 'Baby', and the story 'La Musica' (6th December 1965). Also during 1965 Nelson directed the single drama Sunday Out of Season which starred a fresh faced Ian McKellen and Lynn Redgrave. The same year he oversaw an episode of The Power Game – 'Lady for a Knight' (20th December 1965). The series featured Patrick Wymark, the father of actress Jane Wymark who would feature in the central role in Baby. The following year Nelson directed a further episode of the series, 'Safe Conduct' (21st November 1966).

Earlier in 1966 Nelson-Burton had directed 'The First Day of Spring' (2nd July 1966), an episode of the drama anthology Knock on Any Door. For the anthology strand Drama 66 Nelson-Burton then directed the episode 'Conduct to the Prejudice' (10th December 1966). As a screenwriter he had three episodes of the ITV Play of the Week to his credit which he also directed; 'A Tot at the Local' (6th December 1966), 'A Drug on the Market' (14th February 1967) and 'A Brand New Scrubbing Brush' (14th August 1967). The Stage reviewed 'A Drug on the Market' and was not impressed with the production “the director of the play, John Nelson Burton, was also the author, and he seemed to be so enamoured of his own lines that everyone had to be over-emphasised or underlined. His play would have been served better by another director[5]”. He was the director on an additional two instalments; 'Thick as Old Timber' (12th April 1965) and a version of Terence Rattigan’s 'The Browning Version' (25th April 1966). 'A Brand New Scrubbing Brush' was about the problems of fifteen year old boy who has been brought up by his uncle and has to return to live with his unemployed, alcoholic father. More anthology drama directing work came with two episodes of Happy Ever After – 'Feeling the Pinch' (18th November 1969) and 'The Marriage Vow' (21st November 1970).

His final credits as a producer was on the first season of the comedy series Albert and Victoria (13th June – 18th July 1970). Nelson also served as director on the series which was slated in reviews for being unfunny. The Stage commented “how was it that John Nelson Burton put his distinguished name on the production credits. Well, perhaps he needed the money.[6]” Nelson also wrote and directed an episode of the anthology series Happy Ever After – 'The Marriage Vow' (21st November 1970). The episode is worth noting as it featured the actor Mark Dignam in the cast who Nelson would later cast in the Beasts episode 'Baby'. During the early years of the 1970s Nelson-Burton also oversaw three episodes of the ITV Sunday Night Theatre series; 'Fade Out' (11th April 1970), 'Pleased to Meet You' (25th March 1973) and 'It Only Hurts for a Minute' (8th July 1973). 'Fade Out' dealt with the operations of a fictional TV company and was based on a play by David Watson. The production starred Stanley Baker. Further writer / director credits for anthology drama series included two instalments of the ITV Sunday Night Theatre series. 'The Midsummer Dream of Chief Inspector Blossom' (2nd January 1972) and 'Pleased to Meet You' (25th March 1973). During the 1970s Burton was also the chairman of the technicians union ACTT (Association of Cinematograph, Television and Allied Technicians).

In the years prior to Beasts Nelson-Burton directed the The ITV Play episode 'Mary, Mary' (8th April 1974) followed by episodes of Rooms during 1974 and 1975. He then worked on the Willis Hall scripted single drama Piano Smashers of the Golden Sun (1975) and three episodes of the ATV police series Hunter’s Walk; 'Intent' (1st June 1976) - which featured Simon MacCorkindale who Nelson-Burton would cast in 'Baby' - 'Not Me' (13th July 1976) and 'Interference' (20th July 1976). These episodes would mark him working with Nicholas Palmer who would also produce Beasts. Prior to recording Beasts Nelson had written and directed the single play Chicken (29th August 1976) with Nicholas Palmer in the producer’s seat. The play starred the sublime actor Ian Bannen as a man who has just axed 5000 jobs. He decides to relax by spending time in the country with his fiancée, but a humble chicken has other ideas… The production designer was Anthony Waller who would later contribute to the Beasts episodes 'During Barty’s Party' and 'Buddyboy'.

During 1977 Nelson-Burton wrote three consecutive episodes of the daytime drama series Rooms (28th April – 4th May 1977). His final directing credit was on the medical drama General Hospital and the episode 'Technical Hitch' (19th January 1979). His final screenwriting credit was the TV movie Drakes Venture (28th December 1980) which was directed and produced by Lawrence Gordon Clark ,who had overseen the BBC Christmas Ghost Story series of annual plays. This was a feature length drama from Westward Television depicting Francis Drake’s voyage of circumnavigation of the globe. John Thaw played Francis Drake.

Ted Scott, sound supervisor on many ATV programmes, recalls working with John in his memoir Cue Tape Please, Ted “I fondly remember the brilliant director, John Nelson-Burton ripping the telephone off the wall when someone had the audacity to ring during dress rehearsal. John took over the directorial responsibility for a long running series set in the newspaper world called Deadline Midnight. It had gotten tired until John came in. He revitalised the cast, injecting masses of enthusiasm into the crew as if it were the pilot for a sensational new series. After the live transmission, he came out of the control room on the gantry and addressed the floor; ‘Fantastic job everybody. I’m proud of you. Apart from a few cock-ups here, bloody marvellous…’[7]” 

Burton died on 19th August 1997, aged 73 years old.

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[1] Biographical details courtesy of Julian Jones

[2] “New Mather Series”, The Stage, 30^th August 1956, page 12

[3] Review by Marcia Scott, The Stage, 12^th September 1963, page 10

[4] Review by Brain de Salvo, The Stage, 25^th June 1964, page 12

[5] “Should Have Given Play to Another Director” by S Alice Frick, The Stage, 23^rd February 1967, page 12 

[6] “Predictable, Corny and Unfunny Comedy Series” by James Preston, The Stage, 18^th June 1970,

[7] Cue Tape Please, Ted by Ted Scott, self-published 2016