Michael Sheard: 1940 - 2005

Sad news today for me and other Doctor Who fans, as Michael Sheard has passed away, aged 65.

He was mostly known for terrorising my generation on children's TV as the deputy headmaster of BBC school soap Grange Hill. He also played a part in the Star Wars universe, as Admiral Kendal Ozzel in the best of the movies, Episode V.

He was a regular on Doctor Who though, appearing in 6 stories playing against five different Doctor Who actors. He first appeared in 1966 in "The Ark" opposite William Hartnell. I remember him first in 1975's Tom Baker led classic "Pyramids Of Mars" - I know I was very little but with zombie mummies roaming through an English wood how could it have failed to make an early impression on me?

He also appeared in another couple of episodes I remember very clearly - one being Peter Davison's first broadcast story, "Castrovalva", which was the first time I had to deal with the fact that my Doctor had regenerated. His final Doctor Who appearance was in the Sylvester McCoy story "Rememberance Of The Daleks"^* where he was an inspired casting as an evil headmaster taking secret instructions from his Dalek masters, when the series seemed to be on an upturn prior to cancellation.

He was one of the names, like Nicholas Courtney, who I was hoping would be associated with the new series - it would have been lovely to see him have a cameo in the upcoming 'School Reunion' episode. Sadly not to be.

^*Funnily enough, despite having 'Remembrance' in the title, it is the story that no journalist can remember, since it is the one that features a Dalek hovering up the stairs, and therefore ruins the inevitable stair-related punchline to their article.

You might also be interested in some of my other articles that feature Doctor Who:

Currybet's law - 5 reasons why Doctor Who always crops up in BBC meetings - March 2009
Unpacking the TARDIS - November 2008
Doctor Who and The Pirates - March 2008
"The Tardis and Multiplatform" - Julie Gardner talks about Doctor Who's multi-media incarnations - September 2007
Doctor Who and the Vanishing Plaques - August 2007
Why my Doctor Who blog failed - July 2007
Putting a F__k Off Dalek on the BBC Homepage isn't big or clever - July 2005
The Making of Doctor Who Webcasts - August 2004

Posted by Martin Belam, August 31, 2005    
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