Forum Topic

Classic Dr Who, Familiar Surroundings!

Hi Folks,Is anyone on here of an age to recall the Jon Pertwee era of Dr Who?Well as a child growing up in Yorkshire the Dr Who adventure that terrified me the most was called 'Spearhead From Space'. It memorably featured shop mannequins suddenly coming to life and murdering people. I have now lived in Ealing for several years and its only recently that I discovered that the sequence which used to give me nightmares is actually right on my doorstep. None other than M&S in Ealing Broadway! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9JJnJ1-vGY

Mark Poole ● 6607d7 Comments

That's right; it's where M&S now is; in those days it was an amazingly scruffy department store called John SomethingorOther; looked like a jumble sale.

Susan Kelly ● 6607d

Yes Susan, 'John Sanders' I believe (the name briefly comes into shot during the clip). From what you say though its not a store that will be too fondly remembered by the local residents who were around at that time!

Mark Poole ● 6607d

Actually my octogenarian neighbours claim to miss John Sanders; strange, since they are otherwise very sane. I also recall when Bentalls was on the other side of the Broadway in the early 80s, before it moved into the precinct; going in there was like being Dr Who and travelling back to the 1950s.

Susan Kelly ● 6607d

Bentalls was a very good store. I find it hard to believe you'd liken it to the 1950s. Bentalls still exists in Kingston. John Sanders did go down just before it closed, but in it's earlier days it was just as good as Bentalls. In fact I'd say Ealing Broadway in the days when those stores were there was a far better place to shop than it is now.

Pat Kingham ● 6607d

Yes, Bentalls was great, especially the Food Hall.

Jane Salisbury ● 6606d

Interesting to note that when the series was rekicked in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper, of all the monsters they could have used,they chose the Autons to get the scare factor in that very first episode.

David Archer ● 6606d

We could certainly do with a department store now that even Daniels is no more.

Susan Kelly ● 6604d