10 Doctor Who Mistakes Confirmed By The Creators
6. Four To Doomsday’s Froggy Failings
Four to Doomsday saw the Fifth Doctor go up against new foes the Urbankans. But not everyone was convinced by how they came across onscreen – cast and crew included.
Stratford Johns – who played their leader, Monarch – had initially leapt at the chance to play an evil space frog, feeling that it would help him overcome typecasting.
But when he was presented with a solid mask to wear, Johns refused, on the grounds that it would limit his performance. In one interview, he recalled phoning the director and saying:
“If you’ve got ideas like that, why don’t you get another fat actor?! If nobody can recognise me, there’s no point paying my money!”
As a compromise, a thin latex mask was agreed upon – but even then Johns was disappointed, believing he looked unrecognisable.
Meanwhile, writer Terence Dudley had different reservations about the Urbankans. Having envisaged the creatures as completely frog-like (rather than humanoids with frog heads), he was dismayed with how they were depicted, later describing the story as a “travesty”.
Sadly, Dudley died long before It Takes You Away was broadcast. But on that basis, we’re sure he would've been delighted by the Solitract’s ultimate form! Johns, not so much.