General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast

Alternative 3 (1977) – Conspiracies, Secret Mars Bases, Brian Eno and 1970s TV Hoaxes

Our #SummerOfStrange continues. We step away from Hammer, Amicus, vampires, and classic screen monsters to explore British television’s most infamous media hoax: Alternative 3. Produced for Anglia Television’s Science Report and written by David Ambrose, this 1977 mockumentary sparked widespread paranoia regarding climate emergencies, the UK "brain drain", secret space programmes, and covert Mars bases.
We unpack the production history, cultural legacy, and fringe theories stemming from the broadcast – from its delayed April Fools’ Day airing to its impact on UFO literature, sci-fi audio dramas, and cult cinema.

Key Links & Upcoming Live Event
Live Screening & Podcast Event: Join us on Friday 30th October at 7:30pm at ActOne Cinema in Acton for Hammer’s Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde plus a live podcast recording – Book tickets here
Watch Alternative 3 on YouTube: Stream the full television broadcast
Read the 1978 Novelisation: Alternative 3 by Leslie Watkins on Archive.org

Key Discussion Points
The Plot & The Hoax: How a fake documentary detailing climate catastrophe and moon-colonisation duped viewers across the UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
The Aftermath & Pop Culture Legacy: Leslie Watkins’ 1978 tie-in book Alternative 003, Jim Keith’s conspiracy text Casebook on Alternative 3, Richard Linklater’s Slacker, and parallels to the Dimension X radio story "The Man in the Moon".
Brian Eno’s Electronic Score: Ambient music tracks featured on Music for Films, Eno’s work with Roxy Music, high-profile production credits for David Bowie, Talking Heads, and U2, and creating the Windows 95 startup sound on a Mac. Plus, secondary score releases from Add N to (X), Stereolab, and Hairy Butter.
Writer David Ambrose & Director Christopher Miles: Screenwriting credits behind D.A.R.Y.L., The Final Countdown, Taffin, The Survivor, and Oscar-nominated short The Six Sided Triangle.

Cast & Trivia Deep Dives
Tim Brinton (Presenter): ITN and BBC newsreader and Conservative MP featured in Carry On Emmannuelle, Dixon of Dock Green, and The Avengers.
Shane Rimmer (Bob Grodin): Voice of Scott Tracy in Thunderbirds, actor in Dr. Strangelove, Star Wars: A New Hope, Rollerball, Space: 1999, Superman I–III, Batman Begins, and James Bond films You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever, and The Spy Who Loved Me.
Richard Marner (Dr Carl Gerstein): Colonel Von Strohm in 'Allo 'Allo!, with roles in Count Dracula, The African Queen, The Dirty Dozen, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, The Boys from Brazil, Children of the Damned, and The Sum of All Fears.
David Baxt (Harry): Played Thomas Wayne in Tim Burton's Batman, with appearances in Inseminoid, The Shining, and The Tomorrow People.
Gregory Munroe (Colin Benson): Appeared in Mixed Blessings, Ace of Wands, and as Fariah in Doctor Who: The Enemy of the World.
Ivor Roberts (George Pendlebury): Featured in Penda's Fen, Oh, Doctor Beeching!, You Rang, M'Lord?, and Boon.

Listen & Follow
Catch up on our previous #SummerOfStrange episodes covering Penda's Fen and 1970s parapsychology mania on your podcast app of choice.
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The 16th episode of the fourth season of the BBC anthology series Play for Today, Penda’s Fen – originally broadcast on 21 March 1974 – is widely celebrated as a visionary masterpiece of British folk horror and 1970s television drama. Written by David Rudkin and directed by Alan Clarke, Time Out London named it one of the 100 best British films.


The Visionary Realism of Alan Clarke
Director Alan Clarke is renowned for his stark social realism and controversial depictions of institutionalised communities. His 1977 borstal drama Scum was banned by the BBC, later returning as a 1979 feature film, while his television film Made in Britain introduced Tim Roth as a racist skinhead. He tackled corporate corruption in Beloved Enemy, military interrogation in Psy-Warriors, and directed David Bowie in Bertolt Brecht’s Baal. His final work, The Firm starring Gary Oldman, drew heavy press criticism for its depiction of violent football hooliganism in Thatcher’s Britain.
While Penda’s Fen trades Clarke’s urban realism for a mystical landscape of angels and demons, it retains his fierce preoccupation with identity, authority, and systemic oppression.

Cult Television & Audio Connections
The surreal atmosphere is driven by an electronic score from Paddy Kingsland of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Kingsland manipulated a Benjamin Britten recording for the play, and went on to score The Changes, the radio and TV versions of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and classic Doctor Who serials.
The cast links directly to landmark British cult media:

Spencer Banks (Stephen Franklin): The quintessential 1970s television adolescent, Banks also starred as Simon Randall in the children’s sci-fi series Timeslip.
Georgine Anderson (Mrs Franklin): A veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company who later played May in the 2007 Doctor Who episode ‘Gridlock’ – representing the show’s first married same-sex couple.
Ian Hogg (Arne): Famous as the lead in Rockliffe’s Babies and the villainous Josiah Samuel Smith in the Doctor Who story Ghost Light.
Jennie Hesselwood (Mrs Arne): Mother of Toby Jones and wife of Freddie Jones (Dune, The Elephant Man).
Graham Leaman (Sir Edward Elgar): Features a massive Doctor Who pedigree including The Macra Terror (tying directly back to the Macra in ‘Gridlock’), The Seeds of Death, and The Three Doctors.
Ivor Roberts (Cooke): A familiar face from the ‘Croftiverse’ comedies Oh, Doctor Beeching! and You Rang, M’Lord?, as well as Genesis of the Daleks.
Ron Smerczak (Joel): Later transitioned to action cinema in American Ninja 4: The Annihilation and Cyborg Cop.

Current Promotions & Events

The General Witchfinders Book Club: Our debut spin-off episode is out now, run with independent bookshop Teaseland & Skylark in Dorchester. Host Ross welcomes author Ray Newman (The Grave Digger’s Boy) to unpack Andrew Michael Hurley’s folk horror novel, Starve Acre. Listen here: https://tinyurl.com/GW-BC-01
Summer Spin-Off – Department X: Join James and Ross as they investigate the 1970s obsession with ESP, telekinesis, and psychic premonitions. Listen to 'Mysterious Powers & Strange Forces' here: https://tinyurl.com/MYSpower
London Halloween Live Show: We are taking over ActOne Cinema in Acton on Friday 30th October at 7:30pm for a screening of Hammer’s Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde and a live podcast recording. Tickets are £14: https://tinyurl.com/DRJeky11
'Hammer Presents' Blu-ray Giveaway: Win a bundle of restored rarities including The Snake Woman, Dr. Blood’s Coffin, Cry of the Banshee, and Crucible of Horror. Enter before Friday 31st July: https://tinyurl.com/HamPrize
General Witchfinders Issue 4: Grab our 76-page zine of unsettling folk horror fiction, original artwork, and deep-dive features: https://tinyurl.com/gwZINE

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Welcome to the very first episode of the General Witchfinders Book Club – a new spin-off from our regular British horror podcast, run in partnership with Teasel & Skylark, an independent bookshop in Dorchester.

To accompany our real-life, face-to-face book club meet-ups, host Ross Cleaver invites a special guest co-host onto the show every two months to discuss our latest reading choice.

On this inaugural episode, Ross welcomes author Ray Newman. Ray is the author of the novel The Grave Digger’s Boy, as well as three exceptional collections of short stories: Municipal Gothic, Intervals of Darkness, and Thin Places in Hard Concrete. Together, they delve into Andrew Michael Hurley’s acclaimed 2019 novel, Starve Acre.

Starve Acre

‘An impeccable work of folk horror’ – The Irish Times

The worst thing possible has happened. Richard and Juliette Willoughby's son, Ewan, has died suddenly at the age of five. Convinced that the boy still lives on in some form, and desperate to make contact, Juliette seeks the help of the Beacons, a seemingly benevolent group of occultists. Richard, an art historian, tries to blot out the pain of his grief by turning his attention to the field opposite their house, Starve Acre. Patiently he digs in the barren soil looking for the roots of a legendary oak tree, but unearths something which ought to have remained buried.

‘I will confidently predict that no reader will guess where it's heading . . . Hurley's ability to create a world that's like ours in many ways and really not in many others is again on full display’ – The Times


How to Get Involved
We want to build a community around these books, both locally in Dorset and remotely with our podcast listeners and zine readers.

Join us in Dorchester: Ross leads the in-person discussions at the King’s Arms Hotel. Spaces are limited, so sign up at the Teasel & Skylark shop. Local club members get 10% off the featured books, plus 10% off all other books and gifts in-store (excluding original artwork). These discounts are only available in person at the shop.

Join us from elsewhere: If you are not local, read along at home and send your thoughts or audio voicemails to generalwitchfinders@gmail.com.


Support Independent Bookshops
If you are close enough to Dorchester, please order your copy through Teasel & Skylark and pop in to collect it. If you cannot get to West Dorset, please find your local indie store via Bookshop.org.

Links & Resources
Book Club Info: General Witchfinders Book Club
Our Partner Bookshop: Teasel & Skylark
Find Indie Shops Nationwide: Bookshop.org
Support the Show: General Witchfinders Patreon
Social Media: Instagram | Bluesky

Featured Guest Links (Ray Newman):

Blog: Precast Reinforced
Bluesky: Ray Newman on Bluesky
Books: The Grave Digger’s Boy | Thin Places in Hard Concrete | Intervals of Darkness | Municipal Gothic
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Summer is the season of the spin-off at General Witchfinders. We have a few episodes beyond our usual format to share, starting with James’s exploration of parapsychology in the 1970s.
Why did that decade see such a dramatic rise in the cultural obsession with ESP, telekinesis, and psychic premonitions? James has been digging into the archives and thinks he has the answer.
Join James and Ross for an intriguing journey into the seventies counterculture in our new spin-off: ‘General Witchfinders – Department X: Mysterious Powers & Strange Forces’.

For people who struggle with background music behind speech, here is a voice-only version – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1am2tJWJtB_wIqxax3E11S-7eZQVLzyAw/view?usp=sharing

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https://www.actonecinema.co.uk/movie/general-witchfinders-present-dr-jekyll-sister-hyde/

We are bringing General Witchfinders to London on Halloween-eve – Friday 30th October at 7:30pm.

We really want to make this night a success – and by success, we mean not spending a load of money just to watch a film in a cinema all on our own! If you can make it, please grab a ticket and bring along a Hammer-friendly friend or two to help us fill the room. We would also massively appreciate your help to spread the word so we can reach as many people as possible.

We are teaming up with ActOne Cinema in Acton for a big-screen outing of Hammer’s Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde, followed by a live podcast recording.

Tickets are £14 and available now.

https://www.actonecinema.co.uk/movie/general-witchfinders-present-dr-jekyll-sister-hyde/

If you can tell everyone you know, it would mean the world to us.

ActOne Cinema, 119 – 121 High Street, London, W3 6NA

Acton Town (Tube) and Acton Central (Overground).
Bus routes 70, 266, 440, E3, 207, SL8, and 218 stop nearby.
Salisbury Street car park is a two-minute walk away.
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/general-witchfinders.
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