External links
- David Banks: Spotlight entry
- David Banks Dr Who Image Archive
- David Banks at IMDb
- David Banks at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
David Banks | |
|---|---|
| Born | 24 September 1951 |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, writer, author |
David Banks (born 24 September 1951) is an English actor, writer and author. He is best known for playing the Cyber Leader in the Doctor Who stories Earthshock (1982), The Five Doctors (1983), Attack of the Cybermen (1985) and Silver Nemesis (1988). [1] As a theatre actor, he has played many leading roles in London and throughout the UK. He is also the author of several published books.
His numerous TV appearances include long-running portrayals in Brookside , playing the wrongly convicted murderer Graeme Curtis, and 181 episodes of L!ve TV’s drama series Canary Wharf as Max Armstrong, head of news, who was finally abducted by aliens. He also appeared in EastEnders in 1992, playing the photographer, Gavin, at Michelle Fowler's graduation ceremony.
During the 1980s, he was the Cyber Leader in the science fiction series Doctor Who in all stories featuring the Cybermen: Earthshock (1982), The Five Doctors (1983), Attack of the Cybermen (1985) and Silver Nemesis (1988). In 1989, he played the part of Karl the Mercenary in the stage play Doctor Who - The Ultimate Adventure , except for two performances when he appeared as The Doctor, replacing Jon Pertwee who had fallen ill.
He writes and directs and has worked extensively as a voice artist, recording over 100 audiobooks – including an unabridged version of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (Talking Books, 2006). In 2007, he revived his portrayal of Karl the Mercenary in a Big Finish Productions audio adaptation of Doctor Who - The Ultimate Adventure with Colin Baker as The Doctor. In 2018, he reprised his role as the Cyber Leader for the Big Finish audio story Hour of the Cybermen [2] and again in 2019 for the audio story Conversion. [3]
Banks is the author of several published books. In 1988, he wrote Doctor Who – Cybermen, illustrated by Andrew Skilleter (Who Dares Publishing, 1988), [4] which encompasses the history and conceptual origins of cybermen. He adapted the book into four audio cassettes, The ArcHive Tapes, which he also narrated. [5] (These were re-released on CD in 2013 with bonus material by Explore Multimedia. [6] ) He later wrote the novel Iceberg (Virgin, 1993) for the Virgin New Adventures range of Doctor Who spin-off novels, which was set in 2006, when an inversion of the Earth's magnetic field is threatening to destroy human civilization, and featured the Cybermen and the investigative journalist Ruby Duvall. His play Severance, about the 12th century lovers Abelard and Heloise, was first performed in 2002. In 2008, he was invited to deliver a paper about cyber emotions entitled "Life as an emotionless killing machine: Cybermen in a Strange State" [7] by the Universities of Sydney and Melbourne. This paper references the recent reappearance of Cybermen on television after a long absence.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | The Cuckoo Waltz | PC Dave | Granada Television (Episode: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?) |
| 1980 | Keep it in the Family | Leslie | Thames Television (Episode: The Mouthtrap) |
| 1982 | Earthshock | Cyber Leader | BBC TV Doctor Who |
| 1983 | Man of Letters | Dennis O’Donovan | BBC TV Play for Today |
| 1983 | The Five Doctors | Cyber Leader | BBC TV Doctor Who 20th Anniversary Special |
| 1985 | Attack of the Cybermen | Cyber Leader | BBC TV Doctor Who |
| 1988 | Silver Nemesis | Cyber Leader | BBC TV Doctor Who |
| 1991 | The Bill | DI Graveny | ITV (Episode: Caught Napping) |
| 1991-1992 | Brookside | Graeme Curtis | Channel 4 (22 episodes} |
| 1992 | A Time to Dance | Ray | BBC TV mini series |
| 1994 | EastEnders | Gavin | BBC TV soap opera |
| 1995 | Death in the Playground | Derek Wakeley | BBC TV Rough Justice |
| 1995 | Going Under | Dennis Smalley | BBC TV Crimewatch Special |
| 1996 | Canary Wharf | Max Armstrong | L!VE TV soap opera (186 episodes) |
| 2006 | Doctors | Inspector Headley | Thames Television soap opera (Episode: Beat) |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
The Master, or "Missy" in their female incarnation, is a recurring character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its associated spin-off works. They are a renegade alien Time Lord and the childhood friend and later archenemy of the title character, the Doctor. They were most recently portrayed by Sacha Dhawan.
The Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. The Cybermen are a species of space-faring cyborgs who often forcefully and painfully convert human beings into more Cybermen in order to populate their ranks while also removing their emotions and personalities. They were conceived by writer Kit Pedler and story editor Gerry Davis, and first appeared in the 1966 Doctor Who serial The Tenth Planet.
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include Doctor Who, the characters Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog from 2000 AD, Blake's 7, Dark Shadows, Dracula, Terrahawks, Sapphire & Steel, Sherlock Holmes, Stargate, The Avengers, The Prisoner, Timeslip, and Torchwood.
Harry Sullivan is a fictional character from the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who and is a companion of the Fourth Doctor. Played by Ian Marter, the character appears as a regular during the programme's twelfth season in 1974–1975. Harry appeared in 7 stories.
Adric is a fictional character played by Matthew Waterhouse in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was a young native of the planet Alzarius, which exists in the parallel universe of E-Space. A companion of the Fourth and Fifth Doctors, he was a regular in the programme from 1980 to 1982 and appeared in 11 stories. The name Adric is an anagram derived from the physicist Paul Dirac.
Silver Nemesis is the third serial of the 25th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC1 in three weekly parts from 23 November to 7 December 1988. In New Zealand, all three parts were broadcast on TVNZ on 25 November.
Earthshock is the sixth serial of the 19th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 8 to 16 March 1982. This serial marks the final regular appearance of Matthew Waterhouse as Adric and his climactic death, with the final episode featuring unique silent credits in memory of the character. It is also the first to feature the Cybermen since Revenge of the Cybermen in 1975.
Revenge of the Cybermen is the fifth and final serial of the 12th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 19 April to 10 May 1975. It was the first to feature the Cybermen since The Invasion (1968) and the last until Earthshock (1982).
Eric Saward is a British radio scriptwriter who worked for the BBC as a television script editor and screenwriter on the science fiction series Doctor Who from 1982 until 1986. He wrote the stories The Visitation (1982), Earthshock (1982), Resurrection of the Daleks (1984) and Revelation of the Daleks (1985).
Nicholas Briggs is an English actor, writer, director, sound designer and composer. He is associated with the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-offs, particularly as the voice of the Daleks and the Cybermen in the 21st century series.
Killing Ground is a Virgin Publishing original novel written by Steve Lyons and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Sixth Doctor and Grant Markham, as well as popular enemies the Cybermen.
Sadie Isabelle Amy Miller is an English actress and author. She is known for her portrayal of Natalie Redfern in the Sarah Jane Smith audio drama series by Big Finish, her novel, Moon Blink, from Candy Jar Books's series, Lethbridge-Stewart, as well as her association with the science fiction series, Doctor Who. She is the daughter of actors Brian Miller and Elisabeth Sladen.
Legend of the Cybermen is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It takes place after The Mind Robber and The Wreck of the Titan.
The Eighth Doctor Adventures is a Big Finish Productions audio play series based on the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. It sees the return of Paul McGann reprising his role as the Eighth Doctor from the 1996 television movie.
In 2012, Big Finish Productions began producing audio dramas featuring Doctor Who's fourth Doctor, as portrayed by Tom Baker. Baker had previously declined to feature in any Big Finish releases, but after recording a trilogy of full cast audio boxsets for BBC Audiobooks, he decided to participate. This was also part of a spin off series of the Monthly range.
The Seventh Doctor Adventures is a Big Finish Productions audio play series based on the television series Doctor Who. It sees the return of Sylvester McCoy reprising his role as the Seventh Doctor.
The Sixth Doctor Adventures is a Big Finish Productions audio play series based on the television series Doctor Who. It sees the return of Colin Baker reprising his role as the Sixth Doctor.
