ROBERT SIDAWAY - ON ACTING
PART ONE: BEGINNINGS & DOCTOR WHO

How did your acting career begin?

 

When I started, I initially wanted to be in television and film, but because of my voice and stature I started getting a lot of work in theatre - and it was frustrating because I was crazy in wanting to be a movie star! In fact, after graduating from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art at the age of 21, I turned down the Royal Shakespeare Company. I auditioned for Peter Hall at the Aldwych Theatre, and he said “Would you like to join our family?”, and I said yes. But after, when I went and sat in a coffee bar in the West End, I wrote a letter saying that reluctantly I had to decline his offer. I posted it, and then went back to my bedsit in Earls Court. I don’t know why I did it, and I was really worried as one of his associates, who had promoted me, called to tell me he would make certain “I never worked in theatre again!”

 

But when I got home that same evening, I was told a friend of mine had called. It was Donald Sutherland, who I was at drama school with. He was in repertory at Chesterfield Civic Theatre, and had been offered a Hammer film, and would I take over from him. So instead of joining the RSC, I ended up in Chesterfield Rep for four months, taking all the parts that Donald was originally going to play!

 

Soon my career took me to the West End, and gradually television parts started to come, but even then I was frustrated as I was only offered upright policemen and good guys. I wanted the same kind of meaty stuff that I could get in the theatre! 

What do you recall of working with William Hartnell?

 

William Hartnell was on an island of his own. He had terrible trouble learning his lines. On The Savages the rehearsals were above a pub in Shepherd’s Bush, and I can remember we were all waiting for him to arrive so that we could start rehearsals again in the afternoon. He eventually turned up looking terrible, as he’d managed to get into a fight in the pub! I also remember he had a wicked temper. He wasn’t the easiest of people to work with, very spiky, so we were not all that surprised when he came back with his face knocked-up, and plasters across his eye. But we still recorded the episode at the end of the week, and the makeup department managed to hide his injuries!

 

The one person he did get on with was Peter Purves, and I think that was because they’d been working together for some time. Peter was a big help for him.

 

What can you remember of the production?

 

I have very little memory of it. I can remember how helpful and friendly Peter Purves was, I really enjoyed working with him. I played a character called Avon, and I had a girlfriend in the story called Flower. We were referred to as the ‘beautiful people’, which caused us constant laughs! I do remember Kay Patrick, who played Flower, was a real professional and generous to work with. Interesting that we both have had long careers behind the camera.

 

The Savages was directed by the legendary Doctor Who director Chris Barry, do you recall what it was like to work with him?

 

He was a very thoughtful and gentle person, very good with actors. He was very loyal to the script, but also a really creative director. I was horrified to hear that he had died because of an accident on an escalator at a shopping mall. 

What memories do you have of working with Patrick Troughton?

 

Patrick Troughton was a little bit distant to the guest cast, but he was such a professional. Nothing was too much trouble for him. When you were acting with him, he was always generous to a fault, and would do anything to help you in a scene. He’d give his all to you. But offscreen, he had his mates, Wendy Padbury and Frazer Hines and they were very tight. He took the load of the work all the time, and he wasn’t your chum - he didn’t have the time to be. But that was fine, he was completely different from William Hartnell.

 

And Wendy Padbury?

 

Wendy was just the loveliest of people, full of energy and very welcoming to those of us who were part of the guest cast for The Invasion. And Frazer was always one of us. There was a lot of laughter during the weeks the main cast worked together.

 

Can you recall any incidents from the location action sequences?

 

Mad Mike was flying the helicopter in the rescue sequence. As Captain Turner, I was with him in the helicopter. As he was flying over the crew, he suddenly said to me: “Let’s give them a scare, let’s just drop!” He switched off the rotor blades, and the helicopter started to fall and fall and fall. I was terrified, and I could see everybody scattering below. At the last minute, he turned the blades on again and up we went. I nearly passed out!

 

He got absolutely slammed for it by Douglas Camfield, the director, because they all thought we were about to crash. I remember remarking afterwards how fortunate it was that there was insurance, because it could have been pretty awful. The production manager said that no, we weren’t actually insured if anything went wrong! So that was quite a day.

 

Sally Faulkner played your love interest in the story.

 

Sally was a really lovely actress to work with, I enjoyed being her character’s “dolly soldier!”

 

She’s a natural actor, never any ego, just loved acting and giving her best. I always thought she could have been a name in comedy. But I remember she was absolutely mortified in the sequence when she was climbing the rope ladder during the helicopter escape and the wind got hold of her skirt. She was told that they’d got some wonderful shots. However, a lot of them were cut as her bottom was deemed unsuitable for early evening television! 

The Invasion marked the second appearance of Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart – how do you remember him?

 

As a good actor friend! He never took things too seriously and had a great sense of humour. He was totally professional, and he enjoyed his work. We used to tease him on set that his moustache always managed to look different every day! I spent a lot of time with Nicholas, and I saw him once or twice afterwards. He was just a genuine guy, an actor’s actor. I’d like to have kept in touch with him.

 

The Invasion was directed by the legendary Douglas Camfield, what are your recollections of working with him?

 

He was ex-army, and everything was meticulously rehearsed. He was a really precise person in all he did. He was also an absolute disciplinarian, but he had to be – The Invasion was a big production. Because of his army connections he was able to bring in army consultants and soldiers to do some of the big action scenes. The studio work was incredibly difficult, because it was something of a spectacle for Doctor Who at that time.

 

Douglas had absolutely no sense of humour, he used to get so irritated by the amount of fun and laughter we had. People would intentionally turn up a few moments late to do something on purpose, to rile him, because he was such a disciplinarian! He could lose his temper with us because it was a real exercise, there were so many extras involved. It was a big production for then.

 

I was actually the last to be cast. I remember going to the production offices in Shepherd’s Bush to audition for the part. Douglas was difficult to talk to, he didn’t say much. He asked me to read a scene, and I read it. He looked at me and said “yes, well, ok!” He wouldn’t look at me, so I assumed that it was going to be the usual story of ‘we’ll be in touch’. And then he stood up, and almost saluted, and said: “We start rehearsing next week.” And I said, “So I’ve got the part?” He nodded and I actually did feel that I ought to salute! I remember walking out into Shepherd’s Bush thinking that I’d just had the easiest audition ever!

 

I got to know him and his wife Sheila very well. I had dinners with them and kept in touch. I was absolutely devastated when he died so early. Technically he was a damned good director. Not that good with actors, but they respected him, and he got what was needed because there was that respect. You wouldn’t wrap your arm around him or share a joke with him, but you did respect him, and that was a good thing for a production like The Invasion.