The UFO TV show cast: A weirdly perfect mix of grit and purple wigs
If you were a kid in the early seventies, or maybe you just discovered the reruns on some obscure streaming service at 3 a.m., you know UFO. It was Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s first big leap from puppets into real-life actors, and honestly, it was a trip. People usually remember the lavender hair on Moonbase or the silver jumpsuits, but the actual UFO TV show cast was surprisingly heavy-duty. We're talking about Shakespearean-trained actors and future Bond candidates playing out a cold, depressing war against organ-harvesting aliens.
It wasn’t Star Trek. It was much bleaker.
The show centered on SHADO (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defence Organisation), a secret group hiding under a movie studio. Because sure, why not? But the actors didn't play it for laughs. They played it like a high-stakes Cold War thriller.
Ed Bishop as the ice-cold Commander Straker
Ed Bishop was the heart of the show, even if his character, Commander Ed Straker, seemed to have a heart made of liquid nitrogen. Bishop was an American actor who had already done voice work for Anderson (he was Captain Blue in Captain Scarlet) and had a bit part in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Straker was basically a workaholic sociopath for the greater good. He’s the guy who let his own son die because he wouldn’t divert a SHADO craft to deliver life-saving medicine. You don't see that on The Brady Bunch.
Bishop wore a blond toupee for the role—which looked surprisingly natural—and brought this frantic, barely-contained rage to every scene. He didn't want to be a hero; he just wanted to win. Off-camera, Bishop was known for being incredibly kind and a huge fan of the show's legacy until he passed away in 2005.
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George Sewell and the "too ugly" controversy
George Sewell played Colonel Alec Freeman, Straker’s right-hand man and basically the only person who could tell him to shut up. Sewell had this classic "British tough guy" face—pockmarked, rugged, and real. He was the emotional anchor of the first half of the series.
Then, things got weird behind the scenes.
The show had a production break when they moved from MGM-British Studios to Pinewood. During that gap, the American bigwigs at ITC allegedly thought Sewell didn't look "leading man" enough for US audiences. Basically, they thought he was too rugged for the shiny, plastic future they were selling.
They dropped him. No big send-off, no death scene. He just... vanished. It's one of the biggest "what-ifs" in the show's history because the chemistry between him and Bishop was what made the SHADO office scenes actually work.
The Moonbase ladies and Gabrielle Drake
You can't talk about the UFO TV show cast without mentioning the purple wigs. The explanation was that the wigs were part of the uniform to prevent static electricity from messing with the Moonbase equipment. Sounds like total sci-fi nonsense, but hey, it looked cool on a 1970s TV screen.
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Gabrielle Drake played Lieutenant Gay Ellis. She was the primary Moonbase commander and, frankly, she was way overqualified for the role. Drake brought a real sense of professional competence to a character that could have just been eye candy.
She left the show midway through to pursue stage work and movies. If her name sounds familiar, she’s the sister of the legendary folk musician Nick Drake. She’s spent much of her later life protecting his musical legacy, but to sci-fi fans, she’ll always be the cool-headed commander in the silver suit.
Michael Billington: The Bond who almost was
When the show needed some fresh blood and more "action hero" energy, they brought in Michael Billington as Colonel Paul Foster. Foster was a test pilot who accidentally saw a UFO and was basically told: "Join us or we'll have to silence you."
Billington was incredibly handsome and did a lot of his own stunts. Fun fact: he is the actor who screen-tested for James Bond more than anyone else in history. He was the top choice to replace Sean Connery and Roger Moore multiple times but never quite landed the gig, though he did show up as a villain in the opening of The Spy Who Loved Me.
In UFO, he was the perfect foil for Straker. He was impulsive, emotional, and often clashed with the boss’s "mission first, people second" philosophy.
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The rotating door of SHADO operatives
Because the show was filmed out of order and dealt with those weird production breaks, the cast list feels like a revolving door. You've got:
- Wanda Ventham as Colonel Virginia Lake. She was a computer genius and eventually took over the "number two" spot after George Sewell left. (Trivia: She’s Benedict Cumberbatch’s mom!)
- Dolores Mantez as Nina Barry. She was one of the longest-serving Moonbase operatives and one of the few women of color in a prominent sci-fi role at the time.
- Vladek Sheybal as Dr. Doug Jackson. He brought a creepy, sinister vibe to the medical wing. You might recognize him as the chess master Kronsteen from From Russia with Love.
- Ayshea Brough as Ayshea Johnson. She was a regular at the SHADO control desk and a popular pop star in the UK at the time.
Why the cast felt so "real"
Despite the futuristic setting (which was 1980—funny, right?), the actors treated the material like a gritty drama. There was a lot of smoking, drinking, and failed marriages. It was "adult" sci-fi before that was really a thing.
The actors weren't playing superheroes. They were playing tired government employees who were sick of fighting a secret war that nobody would ever thank them for. That’s why it still resonates. You can feel the exhaustion in Ed Bishop’s eyes.
Where to find them now
Sadly, many of the lead actors, including Ed Bishop, Michael Billington, and George Sewell, have passed away. However, their work is more accessible than ever.
If you want to appreciate the UFO TV show cast properly, don't just look at the costumes. Watch the episode "Confetti Check A-O.K." It’s a flashback episode about how the secrecy of SHADO destroyed Straker’s marriage. It’s a masterclass in acting that just happens to take place in a world with flying saucers.
Actionable Next Steps
- Watch the "Exposed" episode: This is where Michael Billington joins the cast, and it’s arguably the best entry point for seeing the chemistry between the leads.
- Check out the Blu-ray restorations: The network (ITV) released high-definition versions that make the 1970s sets and the actors' performances pop in a way the old fuzzy TV broadcasts never could.
- Research the "Space: 1999" connection: If you like this cast, look into why UFO Season 2 was cancelled and turned into Space: 1999. Many of the same production ideas carried over, though the cast was almost entirely replaced.