Doctor Who – Inferno (1970)

Jon Pertwee as Dr Who in a suit in an office with a brick wall

Jon Pertwee as Dr Who © BBC

Director: Douglas Camfield
Starring: Jon Pertwee, Caroline John, Nicholas Courtney, Olaf Pooley, Christopher Benjamin
Production Company:BBC
Kent Locations Used: Kingsnorth Industrial Estate, Medway

Inferno (1970) is a seven part serial from popular sci-fi show Doctor Who starring Jon Pertwee. Inferno is a science project aimed at exploiting a new power source underneath the earth’s crust. While the Doctor is fixing his TARDIS, he is thrown in to a parallel universe, where his misgivings of Inferno are confirmed when he sees how it has almost completely destroyed the alternate earth.

Kingsnorth Powerstation next to a road

Kingsnorth Powerstation screenshot © BBC

Jon Pertwee (Worzel Gummidge, Jackanory) stars as the third Doctor alongside Caroline John (Harry Enfield’s Television Programme, P.R.O.B.E), Nicholas Courtney (The Sarah Jane Adventures, Downtime), Olaf Pooley (The Corpse, Star Trek: Voyager) and Christopher Benjamin (Pride and Prejudice, Angel).

The production visited Kingsnorth Industrial Estate in Medway which featured as the setting for the Inferno project. This estate used to be a large oil refinery known as Berry Wiggins and Co Ltd. and is now an Industrial Estate to many businesses.

Medway is a group of towns set along the River Medway, steeped in history, particularly with Charles Dickens connections. Productions which have previously filmed in the area include London Spy (2015), Les Misérables (2013) and Sherlock Holmes (2009).

Doctor Who – Inferno (1970) first aired on BBC1 from Saturday 9th May to Saturday 20th June 1970 and is now available to purchase on DVD.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.


Doctor Who – The Ambassadors of Death (1970)

Three people in space suits stand in front of a large orange planet in a starry sky. They are reaching out in front of them, towards John Pertwee as The Doctor. He looks startled. The Doctor wears a black coat, white shirt and large black bow tie.

Doctor Who – The Ambassadors of Death (1970) © BBC

Director: Michael Ferguson
Writer: David Whitaker
Starring: Jon Pertwee, Caroline John, Nicholas Courtney, William Dysart, John Abineri
Production Company: BBC
Kent Locations Used:
Northfleet Quarry & LaFarge Cement Works

The Ambassadors of Death (1970) is the third serial in the seventh series of Doctor Who. When two astronauts on the Mars Probe Seven lose contact with Earth, the Doctor and United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (UNIT) must investigate. When the astronauts finally return, the Doctor suspects that they may, in fact,  be aliens and  is soon caught in a government conspiracy.

The serial was directed by Michael Ferguson (Doctor Who: The Claws of Axos (1971), The Sandbaggers) and written by David Whitaker (Doctor Who – The Enemy of the World (1968), Showtime). It stars John Pertwee (Doctor Who – Inferno (1970), Carry On Cleo) as the Doctor, Caroline John (Love Actually, P.R.O.B.E The Zero Imperative) as his companion Liz Shaw, Nicholas Courtney (Doctor Who – Mind of Evil (1971), Incendiary) as the Brigadier, William Dysart (The Last Shot You Hear, Edward the Seventh) as Reegan and John Abineri (The Last of the Mohicans, Robin of Sherwood) as General Charles Carrington.

Filming for the serial took place at the former Northfleet Quarry and Lafarge Cement Works. The Quarry doubles as the exterior of the Space Centre in Episodes 4, 6 & 7 of the serial, and the Cement Works feature in Episode 3, doubling as the Quarry where Reegan buries two dead workers in the shingle.

The site of the old Northfleet Works had been used for cement production since 1853, but was formerly opened under its new name in 1970 and later incorporated an existing quarry to the south. It is now no longer operational

Doctor Who – The Ambassadors of Death (1970) aired on BBC1 from Saturday 21st March 1970 to Saturday 2nd May 1970 and is currently available to purchase on DVD.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.