50 Years Since Doctor Who at Athelhampton

It's now 50 years since Athelhampton starred in Doctor Who. With Tom Baker as the Doctor and Elisabeth Sladen as his companion, this particular episode featured scientists in Antarctica, a crazed millionaire, and mysterious plants.

Athelhampton played the home of reclusive, eccentric, plant-obsessed millionaire Harrison Chase, who has used violent henchmen to acquire the seed pod of a mysterious, malignant alien plant. The Doctor and Sarah Jane infiltrate his estate in an effort to put a stop to his experimentations, but both end up being captured.

Mary Whitehouse (as one might expect) was not impressed with the episode, complaining of its violent imagery. However, it has been described as "one of the greats" of this era of Doctor Who, with the pacing and Baker's performance particularly praised. There's an argument that this episode is the closest that Doctor Who got to being a Bond movie, in terms of the action-adventure, as well as its concept, direction, and performances.

In celebration of this memorable time in Athelhampton's recent history, we've held an online draw in which you can win a complete set of DVDs of the 13th series, and see Doctor Who at Athelhampton for yourself. The draw is happening today - keep an eye out to see if you're the winner!