Actor Neil Hallett, who died earlier this year aged 80, was remembered by British television viewers for his role as agent Tony Miller in ATV’s undercover police thriller Ghost Squad, later retitled GS5. To Anderson fans, however, Hallett will always be SHADO scientist Dr Joseph Kelly in the UFO episode Close Up, and Dr Dove in the Implicado episode of The Protectors.
Hallett made his screen debut in Three Steps In The Dark (1953) and, shortly after, landed a regular role as Bassett opposite Robert Shaw in ITC’s The Buccaneers series. He guested in episodes of The Adventures Of Robin Hood, William Tell, The Avengers, The Saint and Department S, and appeared regularly as Charles Turner in the BBC soap The Newcomers. Later, he was seen in The Persuaders!, Thriller, The New Avengers, The Sweeney, The Professionals, Return Of The Saint, Bergerac and Doctor Who. His feature appearances included roles in X The Unknown (1956), Dentist On The Job (1961), Thunderball (1965) and several saucy British sex comedies, notably in a starring role as Percy Hampton, the wily butler at Cockshute Towers in Robert Young’s Keep It Up Downstairs (1976). Married to Tracy Reed (Jane Carson in the UFO episode The Dalotek Affair), he retired to Spain in 1991.
Originally published in FAB 53.