Ian Fairbairn (actor)

Ian Fairbairn (17 September 1931 – 2 December 2014) was an English actor who was a regular in children's science fiction programme Timeslip (in the dual roles of Alpha 4 and Dr. Frazer), as well as being a popular choice for director Douglas Camfield.

His first acting role was playing a lady in waiting in Saint Joan while at Mill Hill School in London. Following National Service, Fairbairn worked in the city for a while before winning a scholarship to the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama. This led to working at Farnham Repetory and then numerous television appearances.[1][2]

He appeared in the TV series Softly, Softly, Z-Cars, Paul Temple, Play for Today, The Onedin Line, The Professionals, Dramarama and Last of the Summer Wine plus others.[3][4]

He appeared in the Doctor Who stories The Macra Terror (1967), The Invasion (1968), Inferno (1970) and The Seeds of Doom (1976) - the latter three for Camfield.[5]

Fairbairn liked to keep documentation of his various TV work[6][7] including the only original copies of Timeslip scripts known to exist.[8]