Geoffrey Bayldon

Early life

Bayldon was born in Leeds and attended Bridlington School and Hull College of Architecture. Following service in the Royal Air Force during World War II, he appeared in amateur theatricals and then trained at the Old Vic Theatre School.

Career

Bayldon enjoyed a substantial stage career, including work in the West End and for the RSC. He made several film appearances in the 1960s and 1970s, including King Rat (1965), To Sir, with Love (1967), Casino Royale (as Q) (1967), the Envy segment of The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins (1971), the Marc Bolan/T. Rex film Born To Boogie (1972), The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976), as well as the film versions of Steptoe and Son, Steptoe and Son Ride Again (1973) as the vicar, and Porridge (1979) as the Governor. Bayldon also appeared in several horror films; Dracula and Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed for Hammer Film Productions and The House That Dripped Blood, Asylum and Tales from the Crypt for Amicus Productions. In 2004, after many years of successful television work he appeared in the film Ladies in Lavender.

He appeared in Doctor Who with a guest appearance as Organon in The Creature from the Pit (1979) opposite Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor. Subsequently, he played an alternative First Doctor in two audio plays based on the Doctor Who television series by Big Finish Productions in the Doctor Who Unbound series: Auld Mortality (2003) and A Storm of Angels (2005). In 1963, Bayldon had been one of the first actors offered the role of the Doctor.

Bayldon's other television roles include, ITV Play of the Week (1957, 1959, 1964, 1967), The Avengers (1961 and 1967), Z-Cars (1963, 1968), Theatre 625 (1964–1968), The Wednesday Play (1968, 1969), ITV Sunday Night Theatre (1970, 1972), Space: 1999 (1976), The Tomorrow People (1976), Tales of the Unexpected (1980, 1983), Blott on the Landscape (1985), Star Cops (1987), Rumpole of the Bailey (1987), The Chronicles of Narnia (1989). He later took part in a number of BBC Schools programmes, where he displayed a number of otherwise unexploited talents (such as singing). In 1993, he played Simplicio in the Open University video Newton's Revolution.

In 1986, Bayldon provided the vocals on Paul Hardcastle's The Wizard which was also used (without the vocal) as the theme for BBC1's Top of the Pops.

Among his later television appearances were the Five game show Fort Boyard (1998-2001), Waking the Dead (2004), Heartbeat (2004), Casualty (2006, after previous appearances in 1991, 1997 and 2004). His final television appearances, before his retirement, were New Tricks (2007) and My Family (2010).

Death

Bayldon died on 10 May 2017, aged 93, from undisclosed causes. His partner of many years, fellow actor Alan Rowe, predeceased him in 2000.