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Peter Stephens (3 January 1920 – 17 September 1972) was an English stage, film and television supporting actor, notable for his appearances in various

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television shows throughout the 60s, most famously for his portrayal of the Bunteresque character Cyril in the '' Doctor Who'' serial ''

The Celestial Toymaker ''The Celestial Toymaker'' is the mostly missing sixth serial of the third season in the British science fiction television programme '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 2 to 23 April 1966. In this serial, t ...

''. He was also the director of one film during his career.

Career

Stephens first appeared in films playing Major Lench in the 1956

John Boulting John Edward Boulting (21 December 1913 – 17 June 1985) and Roy Alfred Clarence Boulting (21 December 1913 – 5 November 2001), known collectively as the Boulting brothers, were English filmmakers and identical twins who became known for thei ...

offering, ''

Private's Progress ''Private's Progress'' is a 1956 British comedy film based on the novel by Alan Hackney. It was directed and produced by John and Roy Boulting, from a script by John Boulting and Frank Harvey. Plot During the Second World War, young undergrad ...

'', which starred Richard Attenborough as an innocent young recruit who gets involved with a gang of Army spivs. In the same year, he also made his first major television appearance as Hassan Ben Ali in "Albania", an episode of the

ITC Entertainment The Incorporated Television Company (ITC), or ITC Entertainment as it was referred to in the United States, was a British company involved in production and distribution of television programmes. History Incorporated Television Programme Compan ...

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

serial '' The Count of Monte Cristo''. He took a lesser role in the ITV "Television Playhouse" production of ''Skipper Next to God'', portraying a Dutch officer. In 1957, he switched to the

...
, playing Monte in ''No Shepherds Watched'', the story of a bungling criminal family headed by

Warren Mitchell Warren Mitchell (born Warren Misell; 14 January 1926 – 14 November 2015) was a British actor. He was a BAFTA TV Award winner and twice a Laurence Olivier Award winner. In the 1950s, Mitchell appeared on the radio programmes ''Educatin ...

, whose plans for a robbery are foiled by a café owner, played by Mitchell's future ''

Till Death Us Do Part ''Till Death Us Do Part'' is a British television sitcom that aired on BBC1 from 1965 to 1975. The show was first broadcast in 1965 as a ''Comedy Playhouse'' pilot, then as seven series between 1966 and 1975. In 1981, ITV continued the sitcom ...

'' fictional wife,

Dandy Nichols Dandy Nichols (born Daisy Sander; 21 May 1907 – 6 February 1986) was an English actress best known for her role as Else Garnett, the long-suffering wife of the character Alf Garnett who was a parody of a working class Tory, in the BBC s ...

. His only film appearance that year was in the

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

British

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

film, ''Kill Her Gently'', directed by Charles Saunders but with no star names appearing in the main roles of a man, his wife, and his chance encounter with two known prison escapees, whom he then tries to employ to murder his spouse. He appeared in two TV series in 1958 – the 6-part " demob" saga from the

...
called ''Fair Game'', and the popular police programme ''

Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' was a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 19 ...

'' (playing Todd in "The Key of the Nick").

Directing one film

Peter Stephens' only film as a director, ''Mustang!'', was released through

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

in 1959. It was based on the book ''Capture of the Golden Stallion'' by Rutherford Montgomery, and tells of the attempts by occupants of a ranch first to kill a troublesome wild mustang horse, and then to capture and tame it. He had been approached by film producers Robert Franklyn and Sam Abarbanel to make the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

in the early 1950s, and shooting took place in California and Oklahoma, with the final edit ready by 1955. Unfortunately, the picture quality was poor, reputedly because it had been shot with

16mm film 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, edu ...

and then enlarged to

35mm 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film * 35 mm movie film, a type of motion picture film stock * 35MM 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format ...

Returning to acting

He returned to ''Dixon of Dock Green'' once more in 1959, though playing an entirely different character, Chapman, in "Over and Out". He also took the role of Mr Lirriper in "The Runaways", part of the ''Tales from Dickens'' presentations by

Fredric March Fredric March (born Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel; August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was an American actor, regarded as one of Hollywood's most celebrated, versatile stars of the 1930s and 1940s.Obituary '' Variety'', April 16, 1975, ...

. His work in the early 1960s included regular appearances in some well-known productions for television, such as ''

Maigret Jules Maigret (), or simply Maigret, is a fictional French police detective, a '' commissaire'' ("commissioner") of the Paris ''Brigade Criminelle'' ('' Direction Régionale de la Police Judiciaire de Paris:36, Quai des Orfèvres''), created b ...

'' (1960), ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...

'' (1961 and 1966) and the 1962 mini-series of '' Oliver Twist'' (featuring a very young

Melvyn Hayes Melvyn Hayes ('' né'' Hyams; 11 January 1935) is an English actor and voice over performer. He is best known for playing the effeminate Gunner (later Bombardier) "Gloria" Beaumont in the 1970s BBC sitcom ''It Ain't Half Hot Mum'', for appea ...

as the

Artful Dodger Jack Dawkins, better known as the Artful Dodger, is a character in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist''. The Dodger is a pickpocket, so called for his skill and cunning in that occupation. He is the leader of the gang of child criminal ...

) when Stephens played Mr Limbkins. He also played a

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

in ''

Sir Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 ( ...

'' in 1962,TV work in the 1960s
BFI.org.uk website. Retrieved on 23 February 2008. after which he took time out to appear on the stage. On 6 August 1964, Stephens opened at the New Arts Theatre in the London premiere of Alan Ayckbourn's play ''Mr Whatnot'', portraying Herbert the Butler, amongst a cast which included

Ronnie Barker Ronald William George Barker (25 September 1929 – 3 October 2005) was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as ''Porridge'', ''The Two Ronnies'', and '' Open All Hours''. ...

, Ronnie Stevens and

Judy Cornwell Judy Valerie Cornwell (born 22 February 1940) is an English actress and writer best known for her role as Daisy in the successful British sitcom ''Keeping Up Appearances'' (1990–1995). She also played Anya Claus in '' Santa Claus: The Movie' ...

. He did find time to play two characters on television that year, Mr Dawson in "My Late Dear Husband", an episode in the popular Scottish series ''

Dr Finlay's Casebook ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'' is a television drama series that was produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's 1935 novella ''Country Doctor'', the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fiction ...

'', and Mr Jinkins in the BBC's 13 part serial ''

Martin Chuzzlewit ''The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit'' (commonly known as ''Martin Chuzzlewit'') is a novel by Charles Dickens, considered the last of his picaresque novels. It was originally serialised between 1842 and 1844. While he was writing it ...

'', adapted from

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

' novel. 1965 saw a brief return to the cinema for him, portraying Sir Giles Redman in the 30-minute "Scales of Justice"

featurette In the American film industry, a featurette is a kind of film that is shorter than a full-length feature, but longer than a short film. The term may refer to either of two types of content: a shorter film or a companion film. Medium-length film ...

''The Hidden Face''. In television that year, he made appearances in single episodes of more anthology-style series, namely ''

The Man in Room 17 ''The Man in Room 17'' is a British television series which ran for two series in the mid-1960s, produced by the northern weekday ITV franchise, Granada Television. Key to the series' success was the involvement of writer/producer Robin Chap ...

'', ''

Out of the Unknown ''Out of the Unknown'' is a British television science fiction anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in four series between 1965 and 1971. Most episodes of the first three series were a dramatisation of a science f ...

'', ''An Enemy of the State'', and ''Sir Arthur Conan Doyle''.

Doctor Who and "Cyril"

Perhaps Stephens' best-remembered performances were in three episodes of

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

3 of '' Doctor Who'', the long-running British

sci-fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

series featuring a time-travelling

Time Lord The Time Lords are a fictional ancient race of extraterrestrial people in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', of which the series' main protagonist, the Doctor, is a member. Time Lords are so named for their command ...

played in this series by

William Hartnell William Henry Hartnell (8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of the first incarnation of the Doctor in '' Doctor Who'' from 1963 to 1966. In film, Hartnell notably appeared in '' Bri ...

. In the storyline popularly known as ''

'', he played both Cyril the kitchen boy and the animated

playing card A playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a f ...

the Knave of Hearts. The producers subsequently received complaints from lawyers acting on behalf of the deceased author Charles Hamilton's estate. The character Cyril was said to bear a remarkable resemblance to William George Bunter, whom Hamilton wrote many books about under the pen name Frank Richards. The BBC finally issued a disclaimer, saying that Cyril was merely "Bunter-like". Stephens would portray a completely different character, Lolem, during episodes one and three of the 1967 serial ''

The Underwater Menace ''The Underwater Menace'' is the half-missing fifth serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 14 January to 4 February 1967. In this seri ...

'' while

Patrick Troughton Patrick George Troughton (; 25 March 1920 – 28 March 1987) was an English actor who was classically trained for the stage but became known for his roles in television and film. His work included appearances in several fantasy, science fiction ...

was playing the Doctor

Final years

Stephens made further 1967 television appearances in ''

Adam Adamant Lives! ''Adam Adamant Lives!'' is a British adventure television series that ran from 1966 to 1967 on BBC 1, starring Gerald Harper in the title role. The series was created and produced by several alumni from ''Doctor Who''. Proposing that an adventur ...

'', ''Dr Finlay's Casebook'' (for the second time, but as a different character), and played Felix Delmer in one episode of the BBC drama '' Champion House''. He continued his film career in 1967 by appearing in a 38-minute

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

called ''Money-Go-Round'', based on dealings at the Stock Exchange, and in which he played a

tycoon A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

. He followed this in the same year with a more prominent role as Farson in the full-length film ''Herostratus'', whose plot involves issues on suicide, and featured minor roles for a young Helen Mirren and

Malcolm Muggeridge Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge (24 March 1903 – 14 November 1990) was an English journalist and satirist. His father, H. T. Muggeridge, was a socialist politician and one of the early Labour Party Members of Parliament (for Romford, in Essex). In ...

, who played himself. In the '' Wednesday Play'' series, he appeared as Captain Carruthers in the final part of

Alan Plater Alan Frederick Plater (15 April 1935 – 25 June 2010) was an English playwright and screenwriter, who worked extensively in British television from the 1960s to the 2000s. Career Plater was born in Jarrow, County Durham, although his family ...

's 1968 trilogy, ''To See How Far It Is'', about a "humble pen-pusher in a cardboard factory" who, in his attempts to brighten up his life, ends up surrounded by "a little feminine company" on a cruise ship. He could also be seen on TV in that year in another

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a dif ...

, "

ITV Playhouse ''Playhouse'' is a British television anthology series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour ...

", playing Mr Morrow alongside Nicky Henson and Ronald Fraser in

Peter Wildeblood Peter Wildeblood (19 May 1923 – 14 November 1999) was an Anglo-Canadian journalist, novelist, playwright and gay rights campaigner. He was one of the first men in the UK publicly to declare his homosexuality. Early life Peter Wildeblood was ...

's play ''Rogues' Gallery: The Lives and Crimes of Jonathan Wild and Jack Sheppard''. Stephens' only cinema appearance of 1969 was as the Abbott of St Mary's in the Hammer/

LWT London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...

co-production ''Wolfshead''. He was very busy on the

small screen Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

however. He took the parts of Bellchamber in "Love All", an episode of the ITV series '' The Avengers'', Quintin Blythe in one episode of

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

's '' The Flaxton Boys'' serial, and Sir Timothy Grange in " When did You Start to Stop Seeing Things?", from the offbeat ghost-related television series '' Randall and Hopkirk''. He also played Mr Bailey in seven instalments of the TV series ''Mr Digby Darling'', which starred Peter Jones and Sheila Hancock. After portraying Don Gutierre in the BBC's epic historical drama '' The Six Wives of Henry VIII'', he made a cinema film alongside Jean Simmons called ''Say Hello to Yesterday'', in which he played a businessman. 1971 saw many television appearances from Stephens. The list included ''

Doctor in the House ''Doctor in the House'' is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and produced by Betty Box. The screenplay, by Nicholas Phipps, Richard Gordon and Ronald Wilkinson, is based on the 1952 novel by Gordon, and follows a group of s ...

'', ''Brett'', ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debut ...

'', and portraying Beppo Bowles in '' Eyeless in Gaza''. He made a major film in 1971 with

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...

, '' I Racconti di Canterbury'', an

Italian language Italian (''italiano'' or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. Together with Sardinian, Italian is the least divergent language from Latin. Spoken by about ...

adaptation of

Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

's '' The Canterbury Tales'', playing Justinus. He had previously appeared as a

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ...

in the BBC's

bawdy Ribaldry or blue comedy is humorous entertainment that ranges from bordering on indelicacy to indecency. Blue comedy is also referred to as "bawdiness" or being "bawdy". Sex is presented in ribald material more for the purpose of poking fun at ...

1969 TV version. The friar turned up in episode 5, entitled "

The Wife of Bath's Tale "The Wife of Bath's Tale" ( enm, The Tale of the Wyf of Bathe) is among the best-known of Geoffrey Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales''. It provides insight into the role of women in the Late Middle Ages and was probably of interest to Chaucer himsel ...

The Clerk's Tale "The Clerk's Tale" is the first tale of Group E (Fragment IV) in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbury Tales''. It is preceded by The Summoner's Tale and followed by The Merchant's Tale. The Clerk of Oxenford (modern Oxford) is a student of what ...

". In late 1971 another film, Hammer Films' ''

Twins of Evil ''Twins of Evil'' (also known as ''Twins of Dracula'') is a 1971 British horror film directed by John Hough and starring Peter Cushing, with Damien Thomas and the real-life identical twins and former ''Playboy'' Playmates Mary and Madeleine ...

'', was released, starring

Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage, and radio roles. He achieved recognition ...

, and in which Stephens supported as a member of the Brotherhood, a fictional sect which fought

vampirism A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or dea ...

in Central Europe in the 19th century. In the final year of his life, he secured a regular role as the chairman of the board of St. Swithin's Hospital in four episodes of ''

Doctor in Charge ''Doctor in Charge'' is a British television comedy series based on a set of books by Richard Gordon about the misadventures of a group of doctors. The series follows directly from its predecessor '' Doctor at Large''. It was produced by London ...

'', the ITV comedy series based on Richard Gordon's books, and starring

Robin Nedwell Robin Courteney Nedwell (27 September 1946 – 1 February 1999) was an English actor. He is best remembered for his role as Duncan Waring in the television comedy series '' Doctor in the House'' and its sequels; he also featured in other televisi ...

George Layton George Layton (born 2 March 1943) is an English actor, director, screenwriter and author best known for three television roles – junior doctor Paul Collier in the comedy series '' Doctor in the House'' and its sequels '' Doctor at Large'', '' ...

Geoffrey Davies Geoffrey Davies (born 15 December 1942 in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire) is an English actor. Biography The son of an accountant, Davies was educated at grammar school and studied at art college to be a commercial artist before becoming an ...

and

Richard O'Sullivan Richard O'Sullivan (born 7 May 1944) is an English comedy actor, who is known for his role as Robin Tripp in the 1970s sitcoms ''Man About the House'' (1973–1976) and ''Robin's Nest (TV series), Robin's Nest'' (1977–1981) and as the title c ...

. His last ever film was ''

Go for a Take ''Go for a Take'' is a 1972 British comedy film, directed by Harry Booth and featuring Dennis Price, Bob Todd, Reg Varney, Norman Rossington, Sue Lloyd and Anouska Hempel. Debbie Russ reprises her role as the character "Tiger" from the televi ...

'', (released posthumously), an inward-looking treatment satirising the

film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, p ...

, in which he took the part of a film director who has to contend with two men 'on the run' invading a

set Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...

, pretending to be

film extra A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera, or ballet production who appears in a nonspeaking or nonsinging (silent) capacity, usually in the background (for example, in an audience or busy street ...

s. Peter Stephens died on 17 September 1972; however, one further appearance occurred

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' ...

ly — his portrayal of Amlodd in HTV's historical adventure series '' Arthur of the Britons''. The episode he had completed before his death, "In Common Cause", was not broadcast until 24 October 1973.''Arthur of the Britons (1973 TV series)''
"In Common Cause" (episode), posthumous appearance as Amlodd: IMDB.com website. Retrieved on 23 February 2008.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Peter 1920 births 1972 deaths English male film actors English male television actors English male stage actors English film directors 20th-century English male actors British expatriates in Brazil