THE ORGANISERS OF Romford Horror Festival have posted an official online recording of the audience with Ian McCulloch which took place on 2 March 2024.
In this session McCulloch plays his guitar and sings, discusses his early musical career, his work on stage and television and his appearance in three Italian horror films Zombie Flesh Eaters, Zombi Holocaust and Contamination.
Although the focus of the weekend was the horror genre, McCulloch does discuss (17ms-25ms) his role as Greg Preston in Survivors, his relationship with Terry Nation and producer Terry Dudley and the three episodes that he wrote for the series.
BIG FINISH HAVE released a short behind-the-scenes video interview with Carolyn Seymour (Abby Grant) and Lucy Fleming (Jenny Richards) reflecting on the legacy of Survivors and the pair’s work on the audio series.
Published today (1 October 2024 – Seymour’s 76th birthday), five days after the release of Survivors: New Dawn 4, the interview sees the two actors describe the impact of the original TV series and their pleasure at being able to revisit and continue on audio the storylines of characters they first played almost 50 years ago.
“It’s always fun working for Big Finish,” says Fleming. “It’s just a joy. We’re really lucky to be doing this.” Seymour agrees. “We have a wonderful team. We just love it. We have such a good time.”
Big Finish have made clear that the release of Survivors: New Dawn 4brings to an end the company’s work on the series – after nine boxsets inspired by the events of the original TV series, the four box set New Dawn imprint and three Survivors audio books.
IAN MCCULLOCH HAS today been confirmed as a guest at the Popcorn convention in Sheffield on 10 September 2023.
Ian McCulloch starred as Greg Preston in the BBC’s cult post apocalyptic 70’s TV series Survivors and most recently in Big Finish’s popular audio productions of the series. He had leading roles in the Italian horror films Zombie Flesh Eaters AKA Zombi II (1979) by Lucio Fulci, Zombie Holocaust (1980) by Marino Girolami, and Contamination (1980) by Luigi Cozzi. Zombie Flesh Eaters was originally banned in the UK as part of the 1980s campaign against “Video Nasties”. McCulloch has had supporting roles in studio films such as “Where Eagles Dare (1968) with Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood, and Cromwell (1970) with Alec Guinness and Richard Harris. In addition, he has appeared in successful independent films, most notably The Ghoul (1975) with Peter Cushing and John Hurt. Ian has also guest starred in many TV series, including: Colditz (1974), Return of the Saint (1978); Hammer House of Horror’s episode “Witching Time” with Patricia Quinn (1980); The Professionals (1980), episode “Mixed Doubles”, in which he played the physical fitness and close quarters combat instructor of Bodie and Doyle; and as Nilson in the Doctor Who, serial “Warriors of the Deep” with Peter Davison (1984).
Popcorn convention
Also confirmed as Popcorn guests are Sarah Sutton, Peter Davison, Clare Higgins, Kenneth Cranham, Madeline Smith, Patricia Quinn and Michael Carter.
Autographs and photo opportunities can be purchased with all guests appearing on the day.
Popcorn describes itself as:
a pop culture festival that gets its geek on for the world of TV, Film, Comics, Literature, Sci-Fi, Horror, Cosplay & Art all under one roof! As well as Special Guests,Q & A panels, there will be autographs, selfies, costume groups, cosplay, a busy marketplace filled with memorabillia & merch! Meet fellow geeks!
Popcorn takes places at the Magna Science Adventure Centre, Magna Way, Templeborough, Sheffield S60 1FD on Sunday 10 September 2023.
Find out more and buy tickets from the Popcorncon.com site.
BIG FINISH HAVE confirmed the full cast details for the upcoming Survivors: New Dawn 3 audio boxset, due for release next month.
The cast for the three episodes in the set is as follows:
Carolyn Seymour (Abby Grant)
Lucy Fleming (Jenny Richards)
Tom Alexander (Former-Ranger / Cleric)
Daisy Badger (Debra Adams)
Sean Connolly (Mike Ferguson / Groom)
Mark Elstob (Andrew / Terry Matthews)
Jonathan Keeble (Mark Osborne)
Belinda Lang (Celia Tate)
Hannah Raymond-Cox (Boo / Judy Lawson)
Enzo Squillino Jnr (Phil Harris)
Sam Stafford (Robin Page)
Survivors: New Dawn 3 will be released in April 2023 and is still available to pre-order, as both a collector’s edition three-disc CD and digital download combo or as a digital download only, from the Big Finish site.
IAN MCCULLOCH (GREG Preston, Survivors) will appear at the CT Horrorfest 2022 Convention in Connecticut this weekend (16-17 September 2022).
McCulloch is best know in horror circles for his three post-Survivors roles in Italian horror movies, and outlines his interest in meeting fans of his work in a brief promotional video for the event.
Scottish born actor Ian McCulloch rose to fame playing Greg Preston on the 1970s’ British Sci-Fi television show Survivors about a genetically engineered germ that wipes out almost the entire population of Earth.
His popularity there caught the attention of Italian filmmakers as he went on to star in a handful of the classics – including his role as Peter West in Lucio Fulci’s 1979 masterpiece Zombie (aka Zombi 2)!
Please join us in welcoming Ian McCulloch to CT HorrorFest 2022!
Films: Zombie (aka Zombi 2), Zombie Holocaust (aka Doctor Butcher M.D.), Contamination, Moonlighting, Where Eagles Dare, It!, Cromwell
Television: Survivors, Hammer House of Horror, Doctor Who, High Road, Taggart
KEITH JAYNE, WHO memorably played the role of Mick in the first series Survivors episode Corn Dolly, will be one of the guests at the Whooverville convention in Derby on 3 September 2022.
Whooverville 13 is, as the name suggests, a Doctor Who themed event, celebrating all the different eras of the show. Keith played the role of Will Chandler in the Fifth Doctor story The Awakening (alongside Denis Lill), but is probably best known in genre circles for playing the title role in the 1981 television adaptation of the much-loved children’s story Stig of the Dump.
Advance tickets for Whooverville 13, which proudly promotes itself as “the East Midland’s biggest annual get-together for fans of the BBC TV series Doctor Who” can be purchased online.
Keith has fond memories of his time working on Corn Dolly. “I remember it being a very friendly cast,” he told the Survivors: A World Away site. “As the youngest of them I used to enjoy the cuddles from Annie Hayes [Lorraine] – especially when it was so cold. Lucy and Carolyn were also kind to me. However, of them all, Denis was really helpful.”
Keith did have some concerns about taking on the part of Mick so early in his acting career. “I felt the part was too big for me at that stage,” he concedes. “But with [director] Pennant [Roberts]’s constant encouragement and the kindness afforded me by the other cast members, I got through it.”
COSTUME DESIGNER JUNE Hudson is appearing at a signing event in London on 27 August 2022.
June joined the production team on Survivors in its first year and designed the clothing for the show’s leading series one characters. During her career at the BBC, June worked extensively on Doctor Who and Blake’s 7 amongst other classic shows.
Tickets for the event organised by Fantom Films, at which numerous Doctor Who cast and crew members are appearing, cost £15 (including a free gift).
IAN McCULLOCH (GREG Preston) will appear at a London Film Fair event on 11 September 2022, at which fans will be able to purchase an autograph and a personal photo shoot with the Survivors actor and script writer.
The London Film Fair will take place at the Royal National Hotel, 38-51 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0DG.
Advance tickets (for entrance to the event) can be purchased online, and anyone unable to attend in person can pre-purchase the autographing of an item.
Joining us for the London Film Fair is IAN MCCULLOCH, the event takes place 11th September 2022 at the Royal National Hotel.
Ian appeared in Survivors and Doctor Who. Fans of the zombie genre will also know Ian for his work on Zombie Flesh Eaters, Zombie Holocaust and then the horror film Contamination.
BIG FINISH HAVE today (30 May 2022) released the new Survivors audiobook Crusade, available for purchase as a digital download from the Big Finish site.
Written by Doris V Sutherland and narrated by Carolyn Seymour (Abby Grant) Crusade is set at The Grange settlement during the timeline of the first TV series shortly after the tragedies of the episode Law and Order.
Big Finish press release contains the full story behind this new Survivors audio adventure.
Survivors – Crusade is out now!
The Grange residents are grief-stricken after an out-of-control party lead to a wrongful execution. When strangers turn up to cause chaos, the community is tested to its limit.
Survivors originally aired between 1975 and 1977 — following a community of survivors in the midst of a global pandemic known as the Death. Now, in a five-hour tale, the grim aftermath of the TV episode, Law and Order, is explored.
Having played the legendary role of Abby Grant on TV and audio since 1975, Carolyn Seymour returns to read this epic audiobook.
The survivors are usually prepared to welcome strangers into their community. But when members of a dangerous sect turn up in a double-decker bus on a crusade, a tense power struggle with a cunning new opponent result in murder and betrayal.
Will Abby be forced to leave her friends and everything they have built in their community? Or can the residents of the Grange discover the importance of their own faith in each other?
NOTE: Survivors contains adult material and is not suitable for younger listeners.
Carolyn Seymour, who’s narrating Survivors: Crusade said: “This script is very different. It brings up some interesting questions for everyone to think about around vital things such as mortality, faith, and what’s right and wrong.
“This required a lot of prep time which was great fun to do – I’ve loved it and have worked really hard on this. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.
“This is a lovely follow-on from the audiobooks we’ve already done [in the Big Finish Survivors range] – we’ve done quite a few and they’re all interesting and fabulous. I hope you re-listen to them all and spend hours delving and submerging yourselves into the world of Survivors.”
Survivors: Crusade is now available to own as a digital download for just £9.99, exclusively from the Big Finish website.
JUNE BROWN, WHO appeared in the opening episode of the third and final series of Survivors, has died at the age of 95.
Brown appears in the role of Susan in ‘Manhunt’, the only episode in the series written by producer Terry Dudley. Susan is a survivor who shares a small settlement with the blacksmith Seth (Dan Meaden) who finds the ill and delirious Jack after he narrowly escapes a wild dog pack on his return from Norway with Greg and Agnes. While Seth makes contact with Charles Vaughan at Challenor, Susan tends to the injured traveller as best she can. The pair then play host to Charles and Jenny, before their two visitors head off in pursuit of Greg Preston hoping to make sense of Jack’s confused account of what awaits them at Wellingham.
Born in Needham Market, Suffolk in 1927, Brown served with the Wrens during World War Two. After the war she was accepted at the Old Vic School in London and subsequently joined the Old Vic company, appearing in touring shows and in productions at Stratford-upon-Avon and the Birmingham Rep.
WAYMARKER
By the time she was cast in the small guest role in Survivors, Brown had already established a career on the small screen as well as on stage. On TV, she’d appeared in Armchair Mystery Theatre (1964), Z-Cars (1964-72), Dixon of Dock Green (1965-69), The Prince and the Pauper (1976) and many other series.
Amongst fans of genre TV of the period, Brown is especially well-known for playing the role of Lady Eleanor in the Doctor Who story ‘The Time Warrior’ (shown between December 1973 and January 1984).
In 1977, the same year that she featured in Survivors, she also secured guest roles in Crown Court and The Duchess of Duke Street and appeared in a television adaptation of A Christmas Carol. Her role in one episode of Survivors was a minor waymarker in her long career, and was not something that drew much attention (outside of the ranks of Survivors fans) in the years that followed.
Brown continued to win supporting and guest roles in TV series of all kinds, and appeared in numerous stage productions. But it was her audition in 1985 for the role of Dot Cotton in the BBC soap Eastenders that completely transformed Brown’s career.
PANTHEON
Dot was the “chainsmoking, hypochondriac launderette manager of Albert Square”, a role that presented Brown with “a great Dickensian character of detail, humanity and colour” that over time saw Dot secure her place in the “the long-running soap’s female pantheon” (Guardian, 4 April 2022).
Brown would go on to appear in more than 2,300 Eastenders episodes as her character became one of the most fondly-regarded of the show’s ensemble, featuring in any number of major soap storylines. The role won her several industry awards, and Brown was also awarded an MBE in 2008, and an OBE in 2022. Brown retired from the cast of Eastenders in early 2020 at the age of 93.