[Afamilyatwar-list] Ends and Means

[john at johnfinch.com]

On 2018-05-06 16:12, Scott Filderman via Afamilyatwar-list wrote:
> Surely someone has asked this before but here goes....
> 
> As Jean Ashton’s death neatly coincides with the end of the Second
> Series, I wonder if the actress (really wonderful) wanted off the
> series or had signed on for only so long or what the deal was. Major
> characters leaving a Series always have a backstory. Patrick Troughton
> had enough of Doctor Who after 3 years, so he morphed into Jon
> Pertwee....
> 
> And what about David Dixon? A very interesting young actor who
> apparently had a very attenuated career. Was he “written off”
> because he wasn’t interested or why was his character killed?
> (Beyond fulfilling the story requirement of “young men die in
> war”)
> 
> I’m always interested in why people leave a job. Did they want to
> move on, or were they fired?


HI,   Neither of these two was fired.  Robert died to heighten the 
troubled relationship between Jean and |Edwin and to emphasise the 
losses to the Merchant Navy.  Jean died to point up the damage to 
familes during the war and not just those in uniform. Mothers were 
particularly exposed.  These helped to expose the various stresses and 
strains on civilians in wartime.  JF