The abandoned village of Imber on Salisbury Plain (the principal filming location for series three Survivors episode Sparks) enjoyed its annual ‘open’ weekend over the Easter holiday break; an event covered this year by an illustrated feature in The Mirror (27 March 2016).
The village of Imber was forcibly evacuated in December 1943, as the military commandeered sites that could be used to prepare troops for the street fighting that would follow the Normandy landings of D-Day. The emptied village was repurposed as a Ministry of Defence training ground. Villagers were never able to return, and the site became sealed-off from public access all year round – except for a single annual open weekend, when visitors were welcomed to view the landmark church and other buildings.
St Giles Church, the main interior and exterior location in Sparks, benefited from a £300,000 restoration project in 2008, sponsored by the Churches Conservation Trust, which prevented the building from falling into a state of complete disrepair.
It is exactly ten years ago to-the-day (4 August 2005) that Tristan de Vere Cole, Peter Jefferies, Lucy Fleming, Morris Perry and Stephen Dudley were reunited at a studio in central London to record the ‘special features’ for the Survivors series three DVD release.
De Vere Cole and Perry recorded a memorable episode commentary for the classic Mad Dog, while Fleming and Jefferies watched and discussed Law of the Jungle. All five attendees recorded interviews for the series three ‘making of’ documentary New World Rising; while Stephen Dudley provided an extra interview reflecting on his work on series one (which was included as an ‘Easter Egg’ on the DVD release).
To mark the decennial anniversary of this event, we’re publishing a set of never-before-seen behind-the-scenes photos from the day.
The design features the characters (l-r) of Daniel Connor (John Banks), Maddie Price (Chase Masterson), Molly (Fiona Sheehan) and Vinnie Vincent (Paul Thornley), and the background shows the iconic image of London’s Post Office Tower.
A list of published credits for series three has also been extended:
Written By: Jonathan Morris, Simon Clark, Andrew Smith, Matt Fitton
Directed By: Ken Bentley
Cast: Carolyn Seymour (Abby Grant), Richard Heffer (Jimmy Garland), Chase Masterson (Maddie Price), John Banks (Daniel Conner), Fiona Sheehan (Molly), Andrew French (Dalton Roberts), Paul Thornley (John Vincent), Damian Lynch (Marcus), Miranda Raison (Janet), Lisa Bowerman (Gloria), Christopher Hatherall (Tyler), James Joyce (Jonathon), Louisa Clein (Pam), John Voce (Walter)
Producer David Richardson | Script Editor Matt Fitton | Executive Producers Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs
Bernard Kay (who memorably played the role of Sanders in the third series Survivors episode Mad Dog) has died at the age of 86.
Kay was found deceased at his home on 29 December 2014, though details of his passing have only been published today.
In 1977, Kay arrived on location in Derbyshire to record his role in Mad Dog only days after the death of his wife Patricia Haines, who passed away aged 45. Mad Dog director Tristan de Vere Cole later recalled: “She had literally just died the week before shooting. And he arrived.. and I had said to him ‘look Bernard, we can leave your scenes.’ He said ‘no, no — I want to work.’ So we stayed up, when he’d arrived that first night at the hotel, until three o’clock playing backgammon.” Come the next morning: “he did his job, he was so professional.”
Kay enjoyed a long and varied career on the small screen, in film and on stage. On TV, he appeared in Z Cars, Doctor Who, The Professionals, Coronation Street and Foyle’s War amongst many other productions.
Toby Hadoke recalls of Kay’s work: “He was one of those superb understated but versatile actors that we don’t seem to have any more. He never gave a bad performance. He was greatly admired by his peers. His sense of humour was combative but there wasn’t any meanness in him.”
Survivors‘ scriptwriter Don Shaw is selling his personal copy of his Survivors scripts for his series two episode The Face of the Tiger and series three story Reunion.
These are the scriptwriter’s copies of the shooting script for each episode, kept in Don’s personal archive since 1976 and 1977.
The scripts for The Face of the Tiger and Reunion are being sold separately, and independent offers (with an opening price for each script of £250) are invited. Each script is in very good condition and will be signed by Don. An additional handwritten message can be added to either script at the buyer’s request.
In the past couple of years, Don has sold a signed copy of one of his Doomwatch scripts for more than £200, while a copy of an signed script from his contribution to the Hammer House of Horror anthology sold for more than £400. Last year, Don sold his personal copy of his script for his series three Survivors episode Mad Dog.
If you are interested in making a bid on either the The Face of The Tiger or Reunion scripts, please submit your bid via the contact form on the Survivors: A World Away site, by the end of Wednesday 19 March. (Please note, the Survivors: A World Away site is just helping Don to get word out to Survivors‘ fans about this offer – and will not receive a penny from any sale). Remember to indicate which script you are bidding on (or if you are making separate bids for both).
If no suitable offers are received directly from the Survivors fan community (which is receiving first sight of the sale), then the script will be listed in open auction on eBay.
Reunion
UPDATE (1 April 2014): As a result of the auction, the script for The Face of the Tiger was purchased by a member of the Survivors fan community. As with the previous successful sale of his personal script copy of Mad Dog, Don Shaw was pleased that the script was acquired by a dedicated Survivors fan. No successful bids were received for the script for Reunion, so this item will be listed for open auction on the eBay site shortly. A further update will follow once the Reunion script has been listed on eBay.
Survivors‘ scriptwriter Don Shaw is selling off a number of original copies from his personal archive of his own TV scripts – including his own copy of his script for the series three classic Survivors episode Mad Dog.
Don recently sold a signed copy of one of his Doomwatch scripts for more than £200, while a copy of an signed script from his contribution to the Hammer House of Horror anthology sold for more than £400.
Of the Mad Dog script he is now auctioning off Don says:
“It comes with a 3 page lengthy analysis and synopsis, cast list, viewing figure, locations. transmission date and time etc. It will also have my letter signed by myself to the winning buyer giving something of the background as I remember it with a tale of an actor in risk of hypothermia as we shot footage near Ilam in the Peak District. It’s in very good condition. I’m looking for offers above £250.”
If you are interested in making a bid on the Mad Dog script, please register your interest via the contact form on the Survivors: Mad Dog site, by the end of Tuesday 14 May. (Please note, the Survivors: Mad Dog site is just helping Don to get word out to Survivors‘ fans about this offer – and won’t receive a penny from any sale).
If no suitable offers are received directly from the Survivors fan community (which is receiving first sight of the sale), then the script will be auctioned off on eBay.
UPDATE: 28 May 2013: The auction of Don Shaw’s original script for Mad Dog has concluded – and the successful highest bidder will shortly receive their signed manuscript in the post. Don has expressed his pleasure that the script has a new owner “within the Survivors fan community”. Thanks go to everyone who took part in the auction, or expressed an interest.
A rare opportunity to enjoy an episode from the original Survivors on the big screen is provided during the ID Fest film festival in Derby later in May.
The series three episode Law of the Jungle, which features a memorable guest appearance by Brian Blessed is being screened on Saturday 26 May at 12:45pm. The ‘Brian Blessed Television Showcase’ also includes an equally rare cinematic outing for one of the earliest installments of the Tales of the Unexpected anthology Lamb to the Slaughter, in which Blessed also co-stars.
At 7:00pm on the same day, the festival plays host to Brian Blessed: live in conversation, an opportunity to hear the actor and raconteur reflect on decades of work on the big and small screen.
Blessed’s appearance is followed by a screening of the kitch 1980s space-opera Flash Gordon, which features a scene-stealing peformance from Blessed as Prince Vultan.
