Doctor Who Cuttings Archive

No More Ferrets for Me

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50th anniversary special
23 November 2013
2013-11-23 Radio Times cover.jpg
Radio Times anniversary specials
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2013-11-23 Radio Times p43.jpg

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"MADMAN" AND MEL Sylvester McCoy and Bonnie Langford in 1987, photographed for RT by Chris Ridley


Who & Me

Nicholas Parsons, Actor, Just a Minute host

Apparently, The Curse of Fenric (1989) is one of the most popular stories with the fans. The filming was all done on location and one sequence was shot in an Army training camp in Crowborough, Sussex. It was April, bitterly cold and the place was a quagmire. The film crew were wrapped in warm overcoats and balaclavas. The good Doctor, his assistant Ace and my character, the Rev Mr Wainwright (above), were, of course, in thin summer clothes. I was literally blue with cold. At one time my teeth were actually chattering during a take, and we had to break the filming to thaw us out over a Primus stove in the Army huts.

When I was overcome by the monstrous Haemovores and trampled to death, I did not have to fake anything: I was in genuine distress as I lay in the squelchy mire.

From Behind the Sofa: see p25


SYLVESTER McCOY

Years 1987-89, 1996 Episodes 43

Who is he? Born Percy Kent-Smith in Dunoon, Argyll, in 1943. He adopted the name Sylvester McCoy while developing a stuntman comedy act. He broke into acting and children's TV (Vision On), before landing Doctor Who. In 2007 he played the Fool to Ian McKellen's King Lear. Now in The Hobbit film trilogy.

Doctor profile Clowning, fun-loving showman with a dark secret.

Key companion Ace (Sophie Aldred). An endearing tomboy with a troubled past who called him "Professor". Ultimate foe The Rani, a ruthless, amoral Time Lady scientist, played with fabulous archness by Kate O'Mara.

Age now 70

I've never grown up

THERE WAS CONSTERNATION when Sylvester McCoy was offered the role of a lifetime in 1987. This was a man best known for goofing around in BBC1 children's show Vision On, and for hammering nails up his nose on stage.

So why was he cast, RT asked him in 1987: "I don't really know why - maybe because I've got a slightly mad quality?'

A year later he told RT: "The days when I stuck ferrets down my trousers, blew up bombs on my chest and taught a whole Indonesian village how to play the spoons are over, but I've never grown up:' Indeed, McCoy's Doctor appealed to a younger audience.

There's a common perception that his Doctor was unpopular, but the reaction from RT readers was overwhelmingly positive: "An inspired choice," wrote Michael Proctor, while one S Lancaster was "disarmed by McCoy's wonderful performance". "He promises to be the best Doctor yet," said Michael Daly. Only "long-term fan" Doreen Edwards griped that the series was "in its last stages. I wasn't sure if I was watching Doctor Who or Play School?'

The BBC buried Who in the midweek schedules opposite Corrie and the series fizzled out in 1989, but today, McCoy has an impressive champion - Peter Jackson. The director of The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies, even has McCoy's Time Lord costume on display in his home. McCoy revealed at the BFI this year: "On my last day on The Hobbit, Peter said, 'I got the pleasure of working with my Doctor Who:"


Star turns

The tenure of the seventh Doctor is packed with famous actors and comedy veterans. Here was Sheila Hancock as a red-wigged tyrant, there was Ken Dodd as a sparkly jacketed Tollmaster. This was down to producer John Nathan Turner, who began the tradition in the Davison and Colin Baker eras, when the likes of Leonard Sachs and Joan Sims would crop up. For many actors Who was a big break: Martin Clunes turned up in 1983 in only his second TV gig.

Although Tom Baker clocked up more episodes than any Doctor (172), Sylvester McCoy is the longest incumbent Doctor, debuting in 1987 then regenerating in 1996, albeit with seven years off air.

Jean Marsh, villainous Morgaine in Battlefield (1989), played doomed companion, space agent Sara Kingdom, in the mid-60s and was married to Jon Pertwee in the 50s.

BBC drama bosses finally killed off Doctor Who in 1989. On 23 November - the Time Lord's 26th anniversary - McCoy recorded a valedictory voiceover for the closing scene (see Must-See Moment, above).


Must-see moment

SURVIVAL (1989) Ace (Sophie Aldred) has narrowly escaped being transformed into a Cheetah-woman and says, almost regretfully, "I felt like I could run for ever." She and the Doctor walk off into the distance in the very last scene of Doctor Who's initial 26-year run. But Ace's words, once poignant, now seem prophetic.

Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org

  • APA 6th ed.: (2013-11-23). No More Ferrets for Me. Radio Times p. 43.
  • MLA 7th ed.: "No More Ferrets for Me." Radio Times [add city] 2013-11-23, 43. Print.
  • Chicago 15th ed.: "No More Ferrets for Me." Radio Times, edition, sec., 2013-11-23
  • Turabian: "No More Ferrets for Me." Radio Times, 2013-11-23, section, 43 edition.
  • Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=No More Ferrets for Me | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/No_More_Ferrets_for_Me | work=Radio Times | pages=43 | date=2013-11-23 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=28 March 2025 }}</ref>
  • Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=No More Ferrets for Me | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/No_More_Ferrets_for_Me | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=28 March 2025}}</ref>


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