Trafalgar Square (filming location)
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Trafalgar Square was a filming location used on multiple occasions for Doctor Who, beginning with the season 2 story The Dalek Invasion of Earth [+]Loading...["The Dalek Invasion of Earth (TV story)"].
Trafalgar Square was notable as the site of Doctor Who's first location filming to feature a member of the regular cast, namely Jacqueline Hill as Barbara Wright. The only story prior to feature exterior locations had been The Reign of Terror [+]Loading...["The Reign of Terror (TV story)"] and though featuring the regular character of the Doctor he was played by walk-on double Brian Proudfoot in those scenes.
History[[edit] | [edit source]]
The Dalek Invasion of Earth[[edit] | [edit source]]
In Terry Nation's original draft script for the second Dalek story, it was specified that the route Barbara and "Saida" (later renamed Jenny) were to take through London showed Daleks gliding past various landmarks, including one of the lion statues around Nelson's Column, which was situated in Trafalgar Square.[1] Nation suggested "second unit filming" at these locations to show "the total invasion of London".[2]
On 19 August 1964, the Doctor Who production office was contacted by Jacqui Stonebridge of Pictorial Publicity who requested more information about the forthcoming location filming, including on which two days it was best for photographers from the press to be present. Verity Lambert's secretary Val Speyer subsequently spoke to the assistant of the serial's director Richard Martin and was told that the best opportunities for press photocalls would be at 5.30am at Trafalgar Square on 23 August and at 10am at Hammersmith Bridge on 27 August.[1]
23 August was the first of four separate days of location filming for the serial, followed by 25, 27 and 28 August.[1][3][4] Martin arranged to have his crew ready at dawn in order to get as many shots as possible of the deserted, Dalek-invaded London for the third episode "Day of Reckoning".[4] Taking part in the day's filming were Jacqueline Hill playing Barbara, Ann Davies playing Jenny, Alan Judd playing Dortmun and Dalek operators Robert Jewell, Gerald Taylor, Nick Evans and Ken Tyllsen. The unit call was at 5am in the main reception of BBC Television Centre.[1]
The Dalek markings seen on the landmarks in Trafalgar Square were achieved by the use of plimsoll blanco which the police later asked Spencer Chapman's design team to remove.[2] Martin also had to move on some hippies who had slept rough there overnight[4] before filming could begin on 35mm film[4] at around 5.30am[1] to 6am.[4] These sequences depicted Daleks on patrol around Trafalgar Square, with a shot of Barbara and Jenny pushing Dortmun past the entrance to the National Gallery also being filmed there.[3] Despite the early start some evidence of 1960s city activity still made it into the finished episode, with a van passing along the far side of the square briefly visible in the background.[3][4]
After filming was complete at Trafalgar Square, the production team moved on to Whitehall, the second of several locations at which they would film material that day.[4] The previously suggested photocall at the square instead took place on Westminster Bridge later in the day.[1][4]
The Chase[[edit] | [edit source]]
Doctor Who returned to Trafalgar Square on 6 May 1965 as part of a photo montage for the sixth and final episode of The Chase [+]Loading...["The Chase (TV story)"], "The Planet of Decision".[1][2][3] By late April, it had been decided that the episode would include two brief live-action film sequences and a photo-montage sequence which showed Ian and Barbara back on Earth after parting ways with the Doctor. As a late addition to the script, filming for this section of the episode was not handled by the director of the rest of the The Chase, Richard Martin,[1] but by Douglas Camfield, director the following serial The Time Meddler [+]Loading...["The Time Meddler (TV story)"][1][2] as part of pre-filming for that story.[2]
On 28 April, Camfield's assistant Cordelia Crawshaw sent a memo to Pauline Mansfield-Clark requesting that she book William Russell and Jacqueline Hill for a photocall on 6 May to take the stills for the montage. Around the same time, Crawshaw confirmed to Joan Jefferies of the Photographic Department a request made by Camfield for her to do the rostrum camera work for this sequence.[1]
After completing rehearsals for the serial's second episode "The Death of Time" earlier that day,[3] Hill and Russell met with Camfield and the session's photographer at BBC Television Centre at 2pm on 6 May.[1][3] According to the itinerary prepared in advance, Trafalgar Square was their second stop of the day, travelling there by taxi from the Westminster Bridge and Albert Embankment area. At Trafalgar Square, the subject of the planned stills included Nelson's Column, Ian and Barbara feeding the pigeons, Ian with pigeons on his head, Barbara with pigeons on her arm, Barbara paddling in the fountain, and Ian posing with Nelson's lions. After this was finished, for further stills they next travelled to Piccadilly Circus/Regent Street before ending at the Queensway station end of Hyde Park on Bayswater Road. Expenses incurred during the session included a £0-5-0 tip to a stallholder, £0-2-6 for fruit, £0-2-0 for peanuts to feed the pigeons, £0-3-0 for hot dogs,[1][3] a £1-0-0 tip to the hired driver, and £0-10-0 for two Serpentine boat tickets.
However, it is unlikely that this itinerary was followed exactly and not all of the planned shots featured in the montage included in the recorded episode.[1] Pictures at Trafalgar Square included in the twenty-three second sequence as broadcast depicted Ian and Barbara with the pigeons, on the lion statues, and walking on a wall.[3]
