Mary Peach as Astrid Ferrier in Doctor Who – The Enemy of the World (1968) © BBC
Director: Barry Letts
Writer: David Whitaker
Starring: Patrick Troughton, Frazer Hines, Deborah Watling, Bill Kerr, Mary Peach
Production Company: BBC
Kent Locations Used: Dungeness Power Station
The Enemy of the World (1968) is a serial of the fifth season of the original 1967 Doctor Who series. Set in 2018, the story follows the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and his companions as they become embroiled in a case of mistaken identity. When the Doctor discovers his uncanny resemblance to Earth’s scheming dictator Salamander (also played by Troughton), he must use this likeness to bring him down.
For over 40 years, only Episode 3 of the serial was known to exist. However, on 11th October 2013, the BBC announced that the remaining five episodes had been recovered from a TV station storage room in Nigeria.
Not all original Doctor Who serials have been rediscovered. The 1968 episodes entitled “Fury from the Deep” are still missing – unfortunate, as these allegedly feature Botany Bay, Kingsgate Bay and the Redsand Towers Sea Forts!
Written by David Whitaker (Doctor Who, Showtime) and directed by Barry Letts (Eastenders, David Copperfield), The Enemy of the World stars Patrick Troughton (The Omen, Jason and the Argonauts) as the Second Doctor, Frazer Hines (Emmerdale) as his companion Jamie, Deborah Watling (The Invisible Man, The Newcomers) as his other companion Victoria, Bill Kerr (Gallipoli, The Pirate Movie) as Giles Kent and Mary Peach (Room at the Top, Couples) as Astrid Ferrier.
Dungeness Power Station briefly appears in Episode 4 of the serial, doubling as the exterior of Salamander’s research station.
The now defunct power stations were originally built in 1965 and 1983 respectively. The building borders the Dungeness Estate, a unique expanse of SSSI shingle beach with ramshackle huts, old and ultra-modern residences, two light houses, a cafe by the historic railway station, boat moorings, a lifeboat station, two pubs and artist galleries. Other productions to have filmed in Dungeness include Back to Life (2019-2021), Brave New World (2020) and another Doctor Who episode – The Claws of Axos (1971).
Doctor Who – The Enemy of the World (1968) originally aired on BBC1 between Saturday 23rd December 1967 and Saturday 27th January 1968. It is now available to watch on Amazon or purchase on DVD.
For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.
