The Dæmons Revisited Panel, left to right Barry Letts, Terrance Dicks, David Simeon, Damaris Hayman, Jon Pertwee, Nicholas Courtney, Richard Franklin and John Levene.
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In my search for various books and items of merchandise I have had to deal with mail order firms based in England and it was through one of them that I heard about a 1996 DOCTOR WHO event - The Dæmons Revisited - to be held in the village of Aldbourne. Living in Northern Ireland, I seldom had the opportunity to attend conventions. This, I decided, sounded like a convention worth going to, especially since Aldbourne was only a short distance from relatives who had once made the offer of putting me up should I ever happen to be in the neighbourhood. With months ahead of me I could plan my trip and get together the money I would need. It wasn't long before I was on my way, all set for my first Doctor Who convention!
Saturday April 27th - and the day looked distinctly unpromising with fog blanketing the land. Visions of standing in the rain, knee-deep in mud haunted me. Undeterred I got in my car and headed for the M4. It was like a scene from The Dæmons when, just a quarter of a mile from the exit I had to take, I emerged from the fog bank and was greeted by a perfect spring day! Within a few minutes I was on my way to the village of Aldbourne and I noticed that the car behind me was displaying a bright UNIT card issued to those who would be bringing cars to the event. My first problem was with the signs directing me to the car park - they were quite small so that you were nearly on top of them before you spotted them. Anyway, I finally found the car park and a few minutes later I joined the queue standing in a large field.
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The first guest I noticed arriving was Damaris Hayman (Miss Hawthorne in The Dæmons) - and then a few minutes later Jon Pertwee himself arrived, waving through the open car window to a cheering crowd.
Upon entering the main field where the marquee tent was I spotted the large hoofprints on the grass, strangely enough they lead straight to the food stall which claimed to be selling beefburgers and hot dogs.
Parallel to the main tent were a number of stalls under one roof. These were the merchandise stalls with a tantalising array of goodies. Eventually I chose to buy a number of CMS and IN-VISION magazines including The Daemons issue. Round about this time the event had started with a screening of episode one of The Daemons although when I popped my head into the tent I was rather dismayed to see that there were two household television sets placed on pedestals either side of a large platform. Short of sitting in the seats immediately in front of each television there was little hope of actually enjoying the programme - so I decided that I would watch it when I got back home.
Round about 10:30 everyone headed into the main tent when it was announced that the proceedings were about to begin. John Levene (Sgt Benton) had come all the way over from Los Angeles to act as MC for the event. That day I learnt what an excellent wit and raconteur he is.
The panel was introduced one by one - with Richard Franklin (Capt. Yates) and Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart) the first to appear. Damaris Hayman, David Simeon (Alastair Fergus, the BBC3 reporter), Barry Letts (author and producer) and Terrance Dicks (script editor) were next. Each and every one was cheered as they appeared from the rear of the tent and took their place on the platform at the front. Naturally, the biggest cheer came when Jon Pertwee (the 3rd Doctor) appeared, wearing his velvet cape and ruffled shirt. As has been reported often, Mr Pertwee took great pleasure in arriving at conventions dressed as his Doctor.
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With the panel assembled it was time for the audience to ask questions. Jon Pertwee informed the audience that after filming he had taken the Bok statue home with him and left it among the bushes in his back garden. Affecting an Irish brogue he told the story of the day his Irish gardener had discovered the thing lurking there in horror and had refused to go near it. Unfortunately the statue is no more since it was not made from stone. Time and the elements had long since taken their toll.
Nicholas Courtney was asked the inevitable question of which Doctor he liked the most, to which he answered "whichever one I am working with - all of them".
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There was some jocularity between Richard Franklin and John Levene about some scenes in the story: Benton finding Miss Hawthorne so quickly - he enters the room and immediately makes for the trunk; how the Master escaped from Benton by flinging his coat over him - and yet Benton was this big, strapping man. Levene could only comment that Benton had probably been weakened by his encounter with the spirits in the crypt. John Levene countered, then, with the scene in which Captain Yates is punching this thug in the face with no effect.
Barry Letts related how the idea for the story had come about. As a child he had read the books of Dennis Wheatley and since then he had been intrigued by tales of the occult. It was during DOCTOR WHO that he had an idea about Jo Grant and Mike Yates being in a church crypt at the mercy of dark forces. Remarking to Terrance Dicks at the time that he wished he could have a DOCTOR WHO story like those of Dennis Wheatley built around such a scene the reply was "why not?" And so The Dæmons was born.
With the story on hand, the next step was the choice of Aldbourne as the location for the village of Devil's End. Barry Letts commented on how fortunate they had been when they found the village that seemed to have all the elements they wanted - a village green, a church and a pub. There was also an airfield down the road which was used for some of the chase scenes.
Looking back at the scripting stage - inevitably various lines were removed for reasons of timing and one line was targeted for removal. At the last moment the line was retained and it has since entered into TV history. The line in question appears when the Brigadier spots Bok outside the church and then calls back to one of his troops: "Jenkins! Chap with wings. Five rounds rapid!"
Terrance Dicks also remarked on one of the problems of script editing - namely the deletion of lines for reasons of timing. It can be a blow for some actor who stands in the background for most of a production and was originally designated to speak one line only for that line to vanish during the re-write. It added a whole new meaning to a line when you realised that someone actually counted on that line!
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Damaris Hayman recalled how she had thought that perhaps Miss Hawthorne should have some sort of symbol, a talisman, to protect her from the power of the Master during the scene in which he tries to hypnotise her. After all he was supposed to be a powerful alien and she was only human. Consequently the Egyptian Ankh symbol, in the form of a necklace was used. She also identified with her character with the opinion that there are dark forces to be dealt with and never treated lightly.
On the subject of Alastair Fergus, David Simeon pointed out that we never actually see the character die, if anything, he is seen to be blown away. Perhaps our trusty BBC3 reporter is still out there. The question is will he have got back on his bike or gracefully retired?
Both Richard Franklin and Nicholas Courtney remarked on the concluding scene from The Dæmons and the fact that while everyone else was off dancing around the maypole their respective characters had headed for the pub. Nicholas Courtney remarked how much he would like a pint right there and then! One of the organisers obliged much to the amusement of all.
Barry Letts further remarked that the ending of the story involved the Master being booed by the crowd as he was driven off in a UNIT jeep - however, during the filming, the crowd insisted on cheering instead - after all, Roger Delgado was so likeable. There was, of course, a tinge of sadness with regard to Roger Delgado and the panel remarked on his loss.
There were a few more questions and even some comments regarding the new DOCTOR WHO. The series regulars expressed their hopes that it would be a success and that it would be nice to be invited to appear on the new show. Now it was time for the signing sessions. Two queues formed outside the tent. One queue was for a photographic session with Jon Pertwee - proceeds of which were to go to charity. The other queue was for the UNIT panel at a table outside.
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I joined the first queue, rather small, I thought. The highlight of the day, for me, was to finally meet a childhood hero. I cannot describe the thrill of going up onto the platform and sitting on the bench beside Jon Pertwee. Although I had technically grown up with Tom Baker my first memories of DOCTOR WHO were the Jon Pertwee stories.
Once the photograph had been taken I turned to Jon Pertwee, shook his hand and thanked him. Although I didn’t really know him I was very saddened to hear of his death in May, only three weeks later. It was quite a shock and my heart goes out to his family. I found Jon Pertwee kind and courteous. I recall the fact that one of the attendees had difficulty getting up onto the platform, but she was helped by both Jon Pertwee and one of the event organisers - a sign of how much of a gentleman he was. Interestingly enough the woman was there with her two sons (both in their late 20s, early 30s) dressed as the 4th and 5th Doctors - a bit of competition there.
Armed with my copy of CMS - The Dæmons I joined the queue for the UNIT panel. While I was waiting the two Doctors and their mother (to whom they affectionately [I hope] referred to as "the Yeti") were interviewed by a local newspaper. I was ignored, probably because I was boringly dressed as an everyday person. The queue moved slowly and while I was waiting I noticed a few people dropping out to visit another, smaller tent. Once I was able to see what was going on I temporarily dropped out and visited David Simeon, Damaris Hayman, Terrance Dicks and Barry Letts. All were interested in the CMS publication I handed over for the purpose of obtaining their autographs. Barry Letts remarked on the BBC3 caption and that fact that he wanted the Jon Pertwee stories to be set just slightly into the future. It was only after I had obtained the last autograph of the four that I spied plates and realised that I was guilty of interrupting their lunch. My apologies to all should they ever read this.
Rejoining the queue (which had not moved much further) I was aware of how perfect a day it was. Although the sun was shining a gentle breeze ensured an element of comfort.
Naturally I was dismayed when the an usher came along the queue, just as I was in sight of the table, to inform us that the UNIT panel was breaking up. Richard Franklin was heading off to catch a train, but he would sign a few autographs on his way out. I have to admit to being one of those who surrounded the poor man as he headed for the exit. I got his autograph and took comfort in the fact that the rest of the panel would be available later that day.
With the autograph sessions concluded it was time for the remaining UNIT members to form a Q&A panel on stage. At this point Jon Pertwee put in an appearance and informed everyone that he was leaving to attend another event. There was very little left to ask of Nicholas Courtney and John Levene. Both were asked to comment on the end of the UNIT era at the start of Tom Baker’s time.
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Nicholas Courtney pointed out that while he had been unavailable for The Android Invasion he had turned down the chance to appear in The Seeds of Doom simply because he knew it was to be the final UNIT story (at that time) and most of the old team had gone. Although John Levene had remained for The Android Invasion it was no longer the same, again because most of the old team had gone.
On earlier DOCTOR WHO Nicholas Courtney again recounted working with William Hartnell and the latter’s advice about changing his agent. On the subject of Hartnell he also added that he was aware of the biography by Jessica Carney and its content. In spite of what it said he felt that Hartnell was great to work with.
Nicholas Courtney also stated that his favourite stories had to be both The Dæmons and Inferno. The former because it had been great fun, the latter because he had had the chance to play two different roles. All actors, it seemed, relished the prospect of playing the bad guy.
John Levene had other memories of working on Inferno - namely the make-up that had to be applied when he turned into a monster towards the end of the story, which was quite uncomfortable.
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Once the questions had come to an end it was time for lunch - so I braved the food stall and its resident giant hoofprints. The sun was still shining, children were playing and all around me everyone was having a good time. Perhaps the only thing that really struck me as wrong was the fact that little opportunity had been taken to enable people such as myself to see some of the locations used during the filming. I recall one article about The Dæmons remarking that no-one knew exactly where the barrow scenes had been filmed, even so - some sort of guided tour of the village might have been in order. There and then I decided that I would go on my own tour later in the evening.
After lunch Barry Letts, Terrance Dicks and Damaris Hayman formed the next Q&A panel. Barry Letts recounted the problems with filming the story - varying weather conditions cropped up. In a previous Jon Pertwee adventure (The Claws of Axos) this had happened and an extra line had been inserted. For this particular story it was simply put down to the forces unleashed by the Master.
Most of the questions were aimed at Messrs Dicks and Letts and covered the usual range of topics. Barry Letts did comment on the barrow and the fact that it was nothing more than a large sheet draped over a mound, it didn’t lead anywhere but thanks to the magic of television it looked like the entrance to some mysterious mound and whatever lay within.
It was commented upon, by Damaris Hayman - I think, that at the start of The Dæmons water was seen to spout out of some statue on the roof of the church. In reality the statues weren’t designed that way but a bit of tinkering brought about this "illusion".
This time the panel broke up for the next autograph session. In addition, John Levene would pose for photographs with the fans. The only problem that arose here was that for some reason every pen that Mr Levene used refused to work properly and so he ended up signing autographs with a variety of pens.
At this point Nicholas Courtney re-appeared after a momentary departure and another autograph session was set up. By this time the event was winding down and so I took the opportunity to explore the village. Just a few minutes away from the field I found myself staring across the village green towards the church. Here I was, finally, looking at my first DOCTOR WHO location. Mindful of what had been said at the start of the day, about acting responsibly and not poking my nose in where it shouldn’t be, I wandered around the village green taking in the sights. At one point I stared up at the church and wondered why I had a feeling of deja vu - then it occurred to me. I was standing on the spot where the Brigadier had emerged from his car to confront Bok.
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A quick pint (of ginger ale) at the pub and I was ready to return to the field. One of the villagers, Mrs Ducat, was there, recalling her memories of the filming. It transpired that the village was actually cut off for a while. For the scene in which the helicopter lands on the village green the telephone wires had to be taken down. Then, if course, there was the incident with the church. Many a tale has been told of that final scene from The Dæmons in which the church was blown up.
Apparently a young couple had decided that they wanted to be married there but the father of one reminded them that it had been destroyed. It was only a letter from a villager and an invite to the village which convinced him that the church was quite intact and that only a BBC model had gone up in a blaze of glory (no pun intended).
Mrs Ducat remarked on how sad it was when, years later, she requested a copy of The Daemons from the BBC in order to see it again only to find out that the original colour print had been destroyed. She was quite pleased to discover that it had been released on video recently.
Next came the auction which included poster reproductions of the Cloven Hoof sign, some signed. Other items included a picture of Katy Manning, signed only days before. It had been her intention to attend the event but other commitments intervened. There were even a few items from the new DOCTOR WHO including the video cover, signed by Philip Segal.
The auction was followed by a Q&A session with John Levene, although by this time there were very few questions left to ask. Although I had one question I wanted to ask I chose not to simply because it sounded silly (for the curious I wanted to ask if his tea was better than Benton’s).
Consequently the remainder of the evening was spent listening to John Levene as a stand-up comedian. He was very good and it made for a light ending to the evening. Every so often he would also tell the audience a little about himself. There was the usual story of how he, John Wood, had become an actor only to find that he shared his name with someone else. A glance out of the window provided him with the name Levene and it wasn’t until many years later that it occurred to him that he could have used his mother’s maiden name - Blake, and he usually appears under this name now. Admittedly some of the jokes might not be appreciated by young children, but overall it was a great ending to the evening. There was one final event to come - the fireworks display, but as it was coming up to 8:15 and the sky was as bright as anything I decided that there was little point in waiting around any longer. All the major highlights had come and gone. It was a highly memorable day and in the light of Jon Pertwee’s death it now bears an added poignancy.
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Thanks must go to Vortex Events for organising the whole thing; to the people of Aldbourne for tolerating this one day invasion; to the guests - who were all wonderful and to Who Books/Dagobah Trading who sent me the original flyer which brought the event to my attention.
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