Barking signing - 4th July 2015

It‘s only been a week since the last Tenth Planet event, and already I’m off to Barking library again to meet up with almost a dozen Doctor Who celebrities.

Barking Signing - 4th July 2015

It was great to speak to some of these guys, as the queues were often not too long so you could have the opportunity for a bit of an extended chat.

The event is also very reasonably priced. Each autograph (regardless of notoriety) is £10. But if you buy four, you get a fifth for free - which at £8 a hit makes them the cheapest I’ve seen anywhere.

The stand-out attendee for me (and I think a lot of people) was Frank Windsor, who’s first of two Doctor Who appearances was alongside Peter Davison.

FRANK WINDSOR His most famous role was as Detective Sergeant John Watt in Z-Cars from 1962-65, and thereafter its spin-offs Softly, Softly and Softly, Softly: Taskforce from 1966-76. From 1987-89 he starred in the comedy drama Flying Lady written by Brian Finch.

But to Doctor Who fans he is best known as Ranulf Fitzwilliam in The King's Demons and Inspector Mackenzie in Ghost Light.


The queue for him was quite long, but I discovered it was because he was happy to spend a bit of time with each person as he met them.

He was old (a respectful 87 years old) and frail, but sharp as a button and happily posed for a photos as he signed my book.

It was an honour to shake his hand.

Of the rest of the guests today, here are the ones I got in my book:

CHRISTOPHER BENJAMIN appeared in several Doctor Who stories: as Sir Keith Gold in Inferno, Henry Gordon Jago in The Talons of Weng-Chiang, and Colonel Hugh in The Unicorn and the Wasp. He also voiced Tardelli in the Big Finish Doctor Who audio story Grand Theft Cosmos.

I had previously met Christopher when I interviewed him for a documentary about his work on The Prisoner tv series, starring alongside Patrick McGoohan. He remembered me, so it was nice to see him again.


TREVOR BAXTER played Professor George Litefoot in the Doctor Who story The Talons of Weng-Chiang. He returned to the role in the audio story The Mahogany Murderers and the Jago and Litefoot audio series.

MARCUS GILBERT played Ancelyn in serial Battlefield.


When I was about to get his autograph I remembered I had got Angela Bruce at Gallifrey One this year, so quickly found the right page for him to sign alongside her.

While he was signing he asked where I had met her and I explained about Gallifrey One and how 3,500 fan attend.

This caught the interest in the guest next to him, Barbara Kinghorn, who asked how she could get invited along!


BARBARA KINGHORN played Timmin in the Doctor Who television story The Caves of Androzani.

Next I spoke to Ronald Pickup, who was a well known name on BBC drama in the 1960s and 70s.


I can recall him getting a Radio Times cover to himself.

RONALD PICKUP played a physician in the Doctor Who story The Reign of Terror. He also provided the voice of Kestorian in the Big Finish Doctor Who Adventure Time Works, and of Elder Bones in Spaceport Fear.

ROY SPENCER  appeared in two Doctor Who television stories of the 1960s. He played Manyak in The Ark and Frank Harris in Fury from the Deep.









TIM PREECE played Codal in the Doctor Who serial Planet of the Daleks.

GEORGE LAYTON is best known for three television roles – Junior Dr Paul Collier in the comedy series Doctor in the House and its various follow-ups; Bombardier 'Solly' Solomons in the first two series of It Ain't Half Hot Mum; and as Des the mechanic in earlier episodes of Minder.

In 1969 he played a small role in The Space Pirates.

George was more than happy to sign my book!


SHIRIN TAYLOR played a camper in The Stones of Blood and a customer in Dragonfire.


I had a nice chat with Tony Osoba. I asked him about the costume he wore for Destiny Of the Daleks, a creation by legendary designer June Hudson.


He remembered it distinctly, as great care had to be taken not to get the costume dirty, especially while working on a messy sand pit for filming!


TONY OSOBA played Lan in Destiny of the Daleks, Kracauer in Dragonfire and Duke in Kill the Moon.

There were only two guests attending who were already in my book. There were:

DERRICK SHERWIN who was script editor of Doctor Who from The Web of Fear to The Mind Robber. He was then producer from The War Games to Spearhead from Space, overseeing the transition from Patrick Troughton’s Second Doctor to Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor; the production’s conversion from monochrome to colour; and the re-tooling of the series to a one of Earth-bound, present-day adventures. Sherwin is also an actor, with a several roles on television in the 1950s and 1960s. He made a cameo appearance in Spearhead from Space as a UNIT commissionaire.

REMI GOODING played Rupert Pink in the Doctor Who television story Listen.

Heads up! 'FREE' Panama hats!

For those Fifth Doctor fans in the UK, there is a special offer intros weekend’s (Saturday 4th July 2015) Daily Mail that may be of interest.

The paper are offering a, in their own words, a stylish Panama Hat for free (with multiple purchases of the newspaper - ah, there is always a catch) worth £19.99.

It does caveat the offer that the hat is Panama style, so not a genuine Panama-made hat.

But if you are after a cheap, but decent quality hat, it may be worth checking it out.

If you order one of these hats I’d love to hear how they look and if it was worth getting. Message me!

Original 5th Doctor items on eBay - May 2015

This is a rather nice item that’s for sale on eBay at the moment. Bit better than anything in the Bonhams Entertainment Memorabilia sale this summer.

Earthshock Earth Troopers Helmet

£1,200

Doctor Who Earthshock (1982) Original Production Earth Troopers Helmet

An original Earth Troopers helmet worn on screen in Earthshock (1982) starring Peter Davison as the Doctor.

The helmet is made from fibreglass. This helmet is still in it's original condition, hasn't been repainted like other helmets that where used in another Doctor Who story. This Trooper helmet still has the original lights in the sides, also has the cradle inside that goes around the actor's head. The helmet is still in a lovely screen used condition !

I only know of a few of these's helmet out there, a very rare Doctor Who prop.

Comes with display stand.



This item comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.

Symphonic Spectacular “in doubt” - thanks Captain Jack!

Like a lot of Doctor Who fans, I’m booked to see the first performance of the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular this weekend at the SSE Wembley Arena.

I booked my tickets way back in July, so it’s been a long time coming but suddenly it’s barely a day away.

So imagine my shock to see the front page of today’s Sun newspaper.

I relates a story that the live semi finals of Britain’s Got Talent are in doubt due to the discovery of an unexploded Second World War bomb beneath a nearby car park!


Before needing to read beyond the headline I happened to know that they shoot at a studios in Wembley, not far from the Stadium and Arena - so if Britain’s Got Talent is affected, then you can guarantee its gonna have an effect on the concert at the Wembley Arena too!


If you look on their aerial map, the Wembley Arena is the squarish building halfway between the BOMB FOUND HERE and the WEMBLEY STADIUM, slightly to the left.

Some further online research turned up the venue’s Twitter feed, which wasn’t too optimistic of my chances of seeing the concert this weekend.

We shall see.....

For some reason I now can’t get a picture of Captain Jack Harkness out of my mind!

Question Mark braces - BACK IN STOCK!

GRAB THEM WHILE YOU CAN!!

After the last batch sold out in only a few weeks, I’ve received a heavy box this week containing my latest supply of Fifth and Sixth Doctor braces.

They look as fantastic as ever, and if you want to get yourself a set, get in touch!

The braces are made from non-elastic cotton wadding, with cast metal clips on the ends with leather button-on connectors.

This is exactly how the original braces were.



The question marks are, just like the real thing, embroidered on with some of them upside down and mirrored.

The braces come in one size, and are adjustable to fit.

If you want to get you hands on a set of these fantastic braces, they are priced at GB£75 each.

UK shipping: £5
Global shipping: £15

Email me at tennantcoat@me.com 
and I can send you full details.

Screen worn 5th Doctor costumes - Silurian special

That Silurian Right Arm and Chest is back on eBay - yet again!

It original sold in May last year, and was re-listed a couple of months later, failing to find a buyer.

Warriors Of The Deep
Silurian right arm and chest

SOLD FOR £94

You are bidding on part of a original Silurian costume ie the front part of the right Arm and Chest, but not the back part of the costume. This was part of the Silurian body suit worn on-screen by Norman Comer playing the lead role of Ichtar in the 1984 Doctor Who story Warriors Of The Deep.

This Silurian right arm and chest is part of the Silurian body suit sold in Bonhams Doctor Who sale in 1991. The costume had the name of the actor "Norman Comer" written in which is the name of the leader ichta. This part of the costume has the actor's name written in.

This is an amazing piece and is in its original condition, the arm has lost some reptilian latex skin.

I only know of two surviving silurians costumes from the entire history of the original dr who series - this part of the costume is from one of them.

Fifth Doctor Frock Coat - recut

As the latter half of series seven has proved, the Frock Coat is still very much part of The Doctor’s wardrobe.

You'll have no doubt seen that I made myself my own replica using THE incredibly expensive cashmere from W Bills.

I wanted to do the best job I could, especially using such a special cloth.
The pattern I have for a basic Frock Coat is an adaption based on the Laughing Moon design, which frankly wasn't up to scratch for making the coat I wanted.

I therefore went back to basics with a clean sheet and drafted my own pattern using a vintage book dating from the Edwardian period when these coats were at their most popular.


I was very pleased with the result and found it to be a lovely fit and draped well.

So when I came to make my next commission for a Fifth Doctor Frock Coat I quickly realised it was time to retire my old pattern and adopt my latest incarnation of this design classic.

The basic cut is essentially the same - I have to change very little when it comes the the bulk of the body to the coat. All I need to do is add the waistline pockets (the Matt Smith variant has no such pockets, opting for a lone breast pocket instead) and the change the cut of the lapels and collar.

The gorge of the collar and lapels is a lot lower; the lapels themselves are much wider, being something of a hang over from the 1970s; and the collar has a bit more shape to it as it comes towards the corners.

The sleeves are from my basic sleeve block which I use on a lot of garments. You find that once you have a good sleeve block you stick with it unless the design is radically different, demanding a bespoke pattern.


The sleeve doesn't need the button-vented cuff of the Matt Smith version, and since I'm familiar with how the length works, it's easy for me to get the piping band at just the right level from the get go.


The back and side panels are a straight lift from my pattern, and the skirt remains largely unchanged, but is cut a fraction longer to just above the knee. My pattern always allowed for this anyway.

Doing an exercise like this makes you understand and appreciate how a simple change to the style-lines on a garment can make all the difference, and how underneath a lot of apparently different costumes share the same DNA.

If you want to commission a
Fifth Doctor Frock coat, get in touch

You can email me at tennantcoat@me.com 
and I can send you full details.

The Doctor’s braces - back in stock!

After a prolonged time of being out of stock, I finally received a heavy box this week containing my new supply of Fifth and Sixth Doctor braces.

It’s been a frustrating wait, as I had sold my final set over a year ago, since when I have been without any for myself, let alone for sale!

Still, they are here now and if you want to get yourself a set, get in touch!

The braces are made from non-elastic cotton wadding, with cast metal clips on the ends with leather button-on connectors.

This is exactly how the original braces were.

The question marks are, just like the real thing, embroidered on with some of them upside down and mirrored.

The braces come in one size, and are adjustable to fit.

If you want to get you hands on a set of these fantastic braces, they are priced at GB£75 each.

UK shipping: £5
Global shipping: £15

Email me at tennantcoat@me.com 
and I can send you full details.