Professor Quatermass, debuted 1955

Professor Bernard Quatermass, of the British Rocket Group. To many brought up in England in the fifties and sixties, the name 'Quatermass' is synonymous with science fiction at its most compelling. Written by Isle of Man writer Nigel Kneale as the BBC TV plays, 'The Quatermass Experiment', 'Quatermass II' and 'Quatermass and the Pit' thrilled British TV's earliest viewers when screened in six separate episodes in 1953, 1955 and 1957 respectively. In the third series, respected English actor Andre Morell breathed life into the role of the British government rocket scientist with an interest in things other than rocket science. Though in retrospect the acting appeared often amateurish, even given the 'live' nature of BBC plays then, the impact even now is dramatic, perhaps in part because of the simplistic representations of life which the developing TV genre portrayed.

In each serial, plucky Professor Bernard Quatermass of the British Rocket Group would overcome alien invaders in between some serious science and drinks at his club. He was TV's first hero - and everyone, from Doctor Who through to Fox Mulder owes him a huge debt