Doctor Who - The Television Stories

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The Highlanders

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Synopsis

The Doctor, Ben and Polly

Scotland, 1745. The Doctor, Ben and Polly arrive in Scotland after the Battle of Culloden and meet a band of Highlanders who are fleeing in defeat. Their Laird is injured and the three offer to help tend his injuries. Polly and Kirsty McLaren, the Laird’s daughter, go to fetch some water but whilst they are gone the others are captured by Redcoat troops.

Things become worse when the group is taken again - this time by the crooked Solicitor Grey, who is part of the West Indian slave trade. The prisoners, Ben amongst them, are bundled on board the Annabelle where the wicked Captain Trask issues dire threats of drowning.

Meanwhile The Doctor is on dry land confusing all and sundry in a variety of disguises. However, his bumbling manner hides a sharp brain and eventually he, Polly and Ben are reunited in the TARDIS together with young piper Jamie McCrimmon.

Source: BBC Audio

General Information

Season:	Four
Production Code:	FF
Story Number:	31
Episode Numbers:	141 - 144
Number of Episodes:	4
Number of Incomplete/Missing Episodes:	4
Percentage of Episodes Held:	0%
Working Titles:	"Culloden"
Production Dates:	November - December 1966
Broadcast Started:	17 December 1966
Broadcast Finished:	07 January 1967
Colour Status:	B&W
Studio:	Ealing Television Film Studios and Riverside (Studio 1)
Location:	Frensham Ponds (Surrey).

Writers:

Elwyn Jones and Gerry Davis

Director:

Hugh David

Producer:

Innes Lloyd

Story Editor:

Gerry Davis

Production Assistant:

Fiona Cumming

Assistant Floor Manager:

Nicholas John

Designer:

Geoffrey Kirkland

Costume Designer:

Sandra Reid

Make-Up Designer:

Gillian James

Lighting:

George Summers and Ken McGregor

Fights Arranged By:

Peter Diamond

Incidental Music:

From Stock

Special Sounds (SFX Editor):

Brian Hodgson

Studio Sounds:

Larry Goodson

Title Sequence:

Bernard Lodge

Title Music:

Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Arranged by Delia Derbyshire

Number of Doctors:

The Doctor:

Patrick Troughton (The Second Doctor)

Number of Companions: 3The Companions: Anneke Wills (Polly Wright), Michael Craze (Ben Jackson) and Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon) (Joins) Guest Cast: Donald Bisset (The Laird), Hannah Gordon (Kirsty) Additional Cast: William Dysart (Alexander), Michael Elwyn (Lt. Algernon Ffinch), Peter Welch (Sergeant), David Garth (Solicitor Grey), Sydney Arnold (Perkins), Tom Bowman (Sentry), Dallas Cavell (Trask), Barbara Bruce (Mollie), Andrew Downie (Willie Mackay), Peter Diamond (Sailor), Guy Middleton (Colonel Attwood)Setting: Scotland (1746) Villain:Solicitor Grey

The Episodes

No.	Episodes	Broadcast (UK)	Duration	Viewers (Millions)	In Archive
141	Episode 1	17 December 1966	24'38"	6.7	Missing
142	Episode 2	24 December 1966	23'41"	6.8	Missing
143	Episode 3	31 December 1966	22'54"	7.4	Missing
144	Episode 4	07 January 1967	24'19"	7.3	Missing

Total Duration

1 Hour 36 Minutes

Audience Appreciation

Average Viewers (Millions)

7.0

Doctor Who Magazine Poll (1998)	65.44% (Position = 96 out of 159)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2009)	62.90% (Position = 145 out of 200)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2014)	65.30% (Position = 166 out of 241)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2023)	Position = 16 out of 21

Archives

All four episodes lost. About 2 minutes of footage (from episode 1) were recovered, in October 1996, from Australian censor cuts.

Notes

The script for this story was commissioned from Elwyn Jones. However, Story Editor Gerry Davis stepped in to write the story when Elwyn Jones realised he was too busy to write it. Gerry Davis therefore shared an on-screen credit.

The working title for this story was "Culloden". However, it was soon realised that a few years previously, the BBC had aired a docudrama called Culloden which resulted in the changing of the title.

This story is the first appearance of Frazer Hines as companion-to-be Jamie McCrimmon. Frazer Hines’ first work on Doctor Who was during location filming on 15th November 1966 at Frensham Ponds in Surrey.

Producer Innes Lloyd and Story Editor Gerry Davis were initially uncertain whether the character of Jamie would work as an ongoing character, and, although Frazer Hines ' contract had an option for three more stories, an ending was filmed with Jamie staying behind when the TARDIS departed. However, Frazer Hines' performance during shooting ultimately convinced them that the character had potential, and so the ending was re-shot. His popularity with the public ensured Jamie became a long time member of the TARDIS crew appearing in more episodes of the show than anyone other than the first four Doctors.

With Jamie becoming the new companion this marked the first time that the TARDIS crew had returned to its original complement of four since the Season Two story "The Chase".

Well known actors Hannah Gordon and Donald Bisset star as Kirsty and the Laird.

David Garth (who plays Solicitor Grey) returned to Doctor Who, as the bowler hated Time Lord in the 1971 Third Doctor story "Terror of the Autons". Peter Welch (who plays the Sergeant) returned as, Morgan, in the 1975 Fourth Doctor story "The Android Invasion". Dallas Cavell (who plays Trask) had earlier appeared in "The Reign of Terror"and "The Daleks' Master Plan". He would return to Doctor Who in a further two stories; the 1970 story "The Ambassadors of Death" and the 1982 Fifth Doctor story "Castrovalva". William Dysart (who plays Alexander) also returned to Doctor Who in "The Ambassadors of Death" - playing the part of Reegan.

The Doctor appears in an array of disguises: a German doctor, an aged washer-woman and a Redcoat.

In the first episode The Doctor refers to himself as ‘Doktor von Wer’ - a rough German translation of ‘Doctor Who’. Though there is a more explicit reference in "The War Machines", this is the only instance of The Doctor actually assigning himself a genuine surname.

Although ratings for this story were on par with the previous two stories, this would be the final Doctor Who historical adventure for more than fifteen years as Producer Innes Lloyd and Story Editor Gerry Davis were finally able to steer the programme towards a more exclusively science-fictional bent. After this story the ‘historicals’ would effectively be replaced with stories set in contemporary times, something which - apart from brief sections of "An Unearthly Child", "The Chase", "The Daleks' Master Plan" and "The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve" - had only been attempted in "Planet of Giants" until Lloyd and Davis piloted the concept in "The War Machines". Although the use of archaic settings for science-fiction stories would not be discouraged, "The Highlanders" would be the last traditional historical adventure until the 1982 story "Black Orchid". It is rumoured that Patrick Troughton also encouraged the move away from historical stories out of an interest in exploring ‘real science in drama’, as well as a desire to further distinguish his era from that of William Hartnell’s role as the First Doctor.

All four episodes are missing. However, Telesnaps (off-air camera photographs) from this story exist in the BBC archives. Three short clips were also recovered after they were discovered in Australia in October 1996. This footage had previously been edited out of the broadcast by Australian censors.

First and Last

The Firsts:

The introduction of new companion Jamie McCrimmon played by Frazer Hines.

The first time that the TARDIS crew had returned to its original complement of four since the Season Two story "The Chase".

The first Doctor Who story to be directed by Hugh David.

The Lasts (Subject to Future Stories):

The last truly historical Doctor Who story until the 1982 Fifth Doctor story "Black Orchid".

Story Images

Show Text

The TARDIS

Leaving the TARDIS

The Doctor, Ben and Polly

The Doctor and Polly are Captured

The Doctor and Polly are Threatened

Jamie and Alexander

The Doctor

The Doctor is Captured

The Doctor and Jamie

The Doctor in Disguise

The Doctor with Solicitor Grey

Polly, Kirsty and Algernon

Quote of the Story

'What have we done? Nothing! And what have you got against these two? They lost a battle, right? Well, doesn't that make them prisoners of war?'

Ben Jackson

Release Information

Format	Title	Release Date (UK)	Code Number	Cover Art	Remarks
VHS	The Missing Years	November 1998	BBCV 6766	Photo-montage	A 56 minute documentary presented by Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon) and Deborah Watling (Victoria Waterfield) Includes existing footage from episode 1 Released as part of The Ice Warriors Collection (BBCV 6387)
CD	The Highlanders	August 2000			Narrated by Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon) Double CD Release
CD	Adventures in History	August 2003		Photo-montage	Narrated by Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon) Audio box set including "The Myth Makers" and "The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve"
DVD	Doctor Who: Lost in Time	November 2004	BBCDVD 1353	Photo-montage	Includes surviving clips from episode 1
CD	The Highlanders	August 2011		Photo-montage	Part of the "Doctor Who: The Lost TV Episodes: Collection Three 1966-1967" Box Set Narrated by Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon)

In Print

Format	Title	Release Date (UK)	Publisher	Author	Cover Art	Remarks
Novel	The Highlanders	November 1984	Target No. 90	Gerry Davis	Nick Spender	ISBN: 0-426-19676-7
Novel	The Highlanders	1984	Target No. 90	Gerry Davis	Nick Spender	Hardback. ISBN: 0-491-03193-9
Novel	The Highlanders	1985	Target No. 90	Gerry Davis	Book: Nick Spender Box: Graham Potts	Re-released as part of The Seventh Doctor Who* Gift Set* ISBN: 0-426-20206-6
CD	The Highlanders	September 2012	Target No. 90	Gerry Davis	Nick Spender	Audio version of the Target Novel read by Anneke Wills (Polly Wright)

Doctor Who CMS Magazine (An Adventure in Space and Time)	Issue 31
Doctor Who Monthly - Archive	Issue 66 (Released: July 1982)
Doctor Who Magazine - Telesnap Archive	Issue 233 (Released: December 1995)
Doctor Who Magazine - Telesnap Archive	Issue 234 (Released: January 1996)
Doctor Who Magazine - Telesnap Archive	Issue 235 (Released: February 1996)
Doctor Who Magazine - Telesnap Archive	Issue 236 (Released: March 1996)
Doctor Who Magazine - Archive	Issue 292 (Released: June 2000)
Doctor Who Magazine - Time Team	Issue 298 (Released: December 2000)
Doctor Who Magazine - The Fact of Fiction	Issue 486 (Released: June 2015)
Doctor Who Magazine - Article	Issue 569 (Released: November 2021)
Doctor Who Magazine Special - Telesnap Archive	1986 Summer Special (Released: 1986)

Photo Gallery

The Doctor and Companions

The Second Doctor

Polly Wright

Ben Jackson

Jamie McCrimmon

On Release

Missing Years VHS Video Cover

VIDEO

Soundtrack CD Cover

AUDIO

Adventures in History CD Cover

AUDIO

Lost In Time DVD Cover

VIDEO

The Lost TV Episodes: Collection Three CD Cover

AUDIO

In Print

Target Book Cover

NOVEL

Hardback Book Cover

NOVEL

The Seventh Doctor Who Gift Set

NOVEL

Target Audio CD Cover

Magazines

Doctor Who CMS Magazine (An Adventure in Space and Time): Issue 31

Doctor Who Monthly - Archive: Issue 66

Doctor Who Magazine - Telesnap Archive: Issue 233

Doctor Who Magazine - Telesnap Archive: Issue 234

Doctor Who Magazine - Telesnap Archive: Issue 235

Doctor Who Magazine - Telesnap Archive: Issue 236

Doctor Who Magazine - Archive: Issue 292

Doctor Who Magazine - Time Team: Issue 298

Doctor Who Magazine - The Fact of Fiction: Issue 486

Doctor Who Magazine - Article: Issue 569

Doctor Who Magazine Special - Telesnap Archive: 1986 Summer Special

Who's Who

Who Me

Episodes of the
Second Doctor

Season 4

References

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