Malcolm Hulke was a successful writer for radio, television and the cinema from the 1950s to the late 1970s. His work included episodes for Armchair Theatre and The Avengers, and 54 episodes for Doctor Who, broadcast between 1967 and 1974, for which he is best remembered. He was also a socialist, belonging for a time to the Communist Party of Great Britain, and his political views fed into his work.

Michael Herbert is a socialist historian who lives in Tameside, Greater Manchester. He teaches history to adults at Aquinas College, Stockport and Chetham’s Library, Manchester. His published work includes Never Counted Out: the story of Len Johnson, Manchester’s Black Boxing Hero and Communist; The Wearing of the Green: a political history of the Irish in Manchester and Up Then Brave Women: Manchester’s Radical Women 1819–1918. He is a Trustee of the Working Class Movement Library in Salford and a committee member of the Mary Quaile Club. His website is redflagwalks.wordpress.com