THE MOVING PICTURE BOY ARCHIVE

ANDREW AND GAVIN CONRAD

Names: Gavin and Andrew Conrad
Date of birth: c. 1970

Television Filmography

1984   Doctor Who (Season 21, episodes 21-24, 'The Twin Dilemma')
1985   Shine on Harvey Moon (Season 4, episode 8, 'Love and Marriage')

Boys are rather thin on the ground in classic Doctor Who (and not that much more numerous in modern Who). This svelte pair of identical twin boys were a decorative presence in the Doctor Who serial the 'The Twin Dilemma'. They played the Sylvest twins, Romulus and Remus, who are abducted by the timelord Azmael, himself in the service of Mestor, a gastropod who needs the mathematical genius of the twins for his own nefarious purposes. Shortly prior to Doctor Who the boys had played in the stage show Oliver! in the West End. A year after Doctor Who, they made a brief appearance as two schoolmates of Stanley Moon (played by Lee Whitlock) in Shine on Harvey Moon. In 2026, they appeared in an interview on the BBC blu-ray release of Season 21 of Doctor Who, in which they reminisced on their time in the series.

Concerning the casting of the Conrad twins, Doctor Who: The Complete History, Volume 40 (Panini UK, 2015) says the following: "The main casting problem was the Sylvest twins. Going through the casting directory, Spotlight, [director Peter] Moffatt had found several twins, including a pair of girls whom he thought suitable. However, [producer John] Nathan-Turner was keen that the twins should be boys, narrowing Moffatt's choices to Andrew and Paul Conrad, recommended by their agent at the eleventh hour. The twins' father was Les Conrad, who had been an extra on Doctor Who since 1964, including the previous serial, The Caves of Androzani. He also played the uncredited role of a Jacondan Guard in this story, as well as acting as his children's chaperone. Moffatt was unhappy with their casting, feeling that the boys were inexperienced, betrayed little expression and had flat voices, one with a lisp. Paul had to adopt the stage name of 'Gavin' for his appearance, since an actor called Paul Conrad was already registered with actors' union, Equity. The boys, however, were very diligent, and [co-star Maurice] Denham [who played Azmael] was particularly patient with them." (p. 27, errors in spelling and grammar corrected)

Below: Production photo, the boys with their father, Les Conrad, made up as a Jacondan for his uncredited role as Mestor's guard.

Screenshots of the Conrad twins in Doctor Who, The Twin Dilemma
Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

On 24 March 1984, two days after the transmission of Part One of The Twin Dilemma, the twins had a brief appearance (as themselves) on the BBC's Saturday Superstore, to be asked some particularly inane questions by presenter Sarah Greene.

The boys in Shine on Harvey Moon (left and centre in first two screencaps, with Lee Whitlock on right)

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