Steven Taylor travelled with the Doctor between The Chase and The Savages.

Steven was a space pilot whose ship had crashed on the planet Mechanus and was the only human on the whole planet, a prisoner of the evil robot Mechanoids. When The Doctor and his companions arrived he was relieved to meet real people, and even more so to be rescued.

At first he had Ian Chesterton's scepticism about the TARDIS. When they arrived in 1066 he took a long time to believe he really was back in time and it wasn't just a re-enactment of the Viking invasion. But there was no doubting his heroism. He was even more of an action man than Ian, the teacher, and threw himself into the thick of any trouble. He was intelligent, too, and when they came to the unnamed planet of "The Savages" where an advanced intellectual population and a savage one outside the city had to be integrated into a single race he was willing to become their elected leader and stay on to mould their future.

Peter Purves born, February 10, 1939, was born in Blackpool, Lancashire, and originally planned to go into teaching, training at Alsager College of Education, but began acting with the Barrow-in-Furness Repertory Company. He first became well-known to television audiences in the mid-1960s as Steven Taylor, travelling companions of The Doctor.

After leaving Doctor Who, Peter became a regular presenter on the children's magazine programme Blue Peter, and was one of the longest-serving, lasting from 1967 to 1978. For much of that time, he co-presented with John Noakes and Valerie Singleton, and was so closely associated with the programme, especially as "the sensible one", that he found the image difficult to shake off afterwards. His subsequent career has mainly been as a presenter, frequently for major dog shows such as Crufts. Other stints in front of the camera include presenting BBC shows on darts. He was also host of the long-running BBC1 motorbike trials series Kick Start.

Peter maintained his connection to Doctor Who throughout his time on Blue Peter, often hosting special features on the programme and interviewing the actors.

He also made cameo appearances in episodes of programmes such as the soap opera EastEnders and the sitcom The Office. In the sitcom I'm Alan Partridge, Peter featured in one of Partridge's typically bizarre anecdotes, the punchline of which was the pun "don't be blue, Peter".

Peter now lives in the Suffolk village of Sibton.

Film And TV

Doctor Who

Flight Through Eternity (5 June 1965) - Morton Dill
The Planet of Decision (26 June 1965) - Steven Taylor
The Watcher (3 July 1965) - Steven Taylor
The Meddling Monk (10 July 1965) - Steven Taylor
A Battle of Wits (17 July 1965) - Steven Taylor
Checkmate (24 July 1965) - Steven Taylor
Four Hundred Dawns (11 September 1965) - Steven Taylor
Trap of Steel (18 September 1965) - Steven Taylor
Airlock (25 September 1965) - Steven Taylor
The Exploding Planet (2 October 1965) - Steven Taylor
Temple of Secrets (16 October 1965) - Steven Taylor
Small Prophet, Quick Return (23 October 1965) - Steven Taylor
Death of a Spy (30 October 1965) - Steven Taylor
Horse of Destruction (6 November 1965) - Steven Taylor
The Nightmare Begins (13 November 1965) - Steven
Day of Armageddon (20 November 1965) - Steven
Devil's Planet (27 November 1965) - Steven
The Traitors (4 December 1965) - Steven
Counter Plot (11 December 1965) - Steven
Coronas of the Sun (18 December 1965) - Steven
The Feast of Steven (25 December 1965) - Steven
Volcano (1 January 1966) - Steven
Golden Death (8 January 1966) - Steven
Escape Switch (15 January 1966) - Steven
The Abandoned Planet (22 January 1966) - Steven
Destruction of Time (29 January 1966) - Steven
War of God (5 February 1966) - Steven Taylor
The Sea Beggar (12 February 1966) - Steven
Priest of Death (19 February 1966) - Steven
Bell of Doom (26 February 1966) - Steven
The Steel Sky (5 March 1966) - Steven Taylor
The Plague (12 March 1966) - Steven
The Return (19 March 1966) - Steven
The Bomb (26 March 1966) - Steven
The Celestial Toyroom (2 April 1966) - Steven Taylor
The Hall of Dolls (9 April 1966) - Steven
The Dancing Floor (16 April 1966) - Steven
The Final Test (23 April 1966) - Steven
A Holiday for the Doctor (30 April 1966) - Steven Taylor
Don't Shoot the Pianist (7 May 1966) - Steven
Johnny Ringo (14 May 1966) - Steven
The OK Corral (21 May 1966) - Steven
The Savages: Episode 1 (28 May 1966) - Steven
The Savages: Episode 2 (4 June 1966) - Steven
The Savages: Episode 3 (11 June 1966) - Steven
The Savages: Episode 4 (18 June 1966) - Steven

Myth Makers Vol. 32: Peter Purves (1995) (V)
"EastEnders" .... TV Presenter (2 episodes, 1987)
Robbie (1979) .... Narrator
"Z Cars" .... Cord / ... (3 episodes, 1964-1967)
- All Through the Night: Part 2 (1967) TV Episode .... Cord
- All Through the Night: Part 1 (1967) TV Episode .... Cord
- You Get All Kinds (1964) TV Episode .... Bus Conductor
"Play of the Month" (1 episode, 1965)
- Luther (1965) TV Episode
"Dixon of Dock Green" .... Brian (1 episode, 1965)
- Castles in the Air (1965) TV Episode .... Brian
"Armchair Theatre" .... Danny (1 episode, 1964)
- The Girl in the Picture (1964) TV Episode .... Danny
"The Villains" .... Terry Buckley (1 episode, 1964)
- Red Hot Winter (1964) TV Episode .... Terry Buckley

"Crufts Dog Show" .... Himself - Presenter (107 "TV Burp" .... Himself (1 episode, 2007)
"Breakfast" .... Himself (1 episode, 2006)
The Story of 'Doctor Who' (2003) (TV) .... Himself
"19 Keys" .... Himself (1 episode, 2003)
"The Office" .... Himself (1 episode, 2001)
I Love a 1970's Christmas (2000) (TV) .... Host
"Meet Ricky Gervais" .... Himself (1 episode, 2000)
"The RDA" .... Himself (1 episode, 2000)
The 100 Greatest TV Moments (1999) (TV) .... Himself
Myth Makers: William Hartnell (1999) (V)
"Fantasy World Cup" .... Himself (1 episode, 1998)
"Pets Go Public" (1998) TV Series .... Himself
"Light Lunch" .... Himself
"Children in Need" .... Himself (1 episode, 1985)
"Kick Start" (1979) TV Series .... Himself (????-1991)
"Blue Peter" (1958) TV Series .... Himself - Presenter (unknown episodes, 1967-1978)