Richard Franklin Richard Franklin ( born 15 January 1936 ) played Captain Mike Yates on " Doctor Who " from " Terror of the Autons " to " Planet of the Spiders " . He reprised the role for the twentieth - anniversary special " The Five Doctors " and the thirtieth - anniversary adventure " Dimensions in Time " . Franklin also wrote " The Killing Stone " , a spin - off novel featuring Mike Yates and released as a BBV audio book . Biography . Mr Franklin left a career in advertising to join the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1963 . Soon afterward he began his first professional work as an actor with the Century Theatre . His first television role was in an episode of " Dixon of Dock Green " . Afterwards , he appeared as a photographer and a guard in " The Fiction - Makers " , a two part episode of " The Saint " which were later edited together into a film . He also worked for eighteen months as a member of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre . After a run on the popular drama series , " Crossroads " , Franklin made his first appearance as Mike Yates in the 1971 " Doctor Who " story " Terror of the Autons " . For the next three seasons of the series ' run , he made semi - regular appearances as the dashing young officer , a member of United Nations Intelligence Taskforce . Though he only appeared in nine stories , the character became immensely popular with fans . While on " Doctor Who " , he also appeared in episodes of and " The Pathfinders " . After making his final regular " Doctor Who " appearance in " Planet of the Spiders " , Franklin made no television appearances until a small role in " Blake ' s 7 " in 1980 . He was then invited back for a cameo appearance in the 1983 twentieth anniversary episode , " The Five Doctors " . In 1984 , Franklin appeared in the TV movie " Waving to a Train " . There was another gap in his career until 1988 , when he gained a regular role as Denis Rigg in soap opera . He appeared in thirty five episodes until 1989 . Franklin returned to " Doctor Who " again in 1993 for " Dimensions in Time " , a skit televised on the BBC as part of its Comic Relief charity drive . It brought past cast members from the show together in an adventure which also featured cameos by members of the cast of " EastEnders " . In the 1990s , Franklin made guest appearances in and . In the 2000s , Franklin mostly made appearances only in short films , but made an appearance in the film . He also had a small role as an engineer in the 2016 " Star Wars " film . Franklin has remained a frequent and popular guest at fan conventions . He also wrote and directed a sketch , " Recall UNIT : The Great Tea - Bag Mystery " , in which members of the old troop were brought back into action to search for a shrunken Margaret Thatcher . In 1997 , Franklin ran unsuccessfully as a member of the Referendum Party for Hackney South / Shoreditch in the General Election . The Referendum Party opposes UK membership in the European Union . Franklin ' s entry into politics and his association with a party perceived by some as radical was something of a surprise to his fans . In 2005 he ran for Hove as a member of the Silent Majority Party and was again unsuccessful . Richard Franklin continues to act and appear at " Doctor Who " fan conventions . He reprised the role of Mike Yates opposite Tom Baker for the 2009 AudioGO series " Hornets ' Nest " and the 2010 series " Demon Quest " . He has also voiced Yates in several Big Finish " Doctor Who " audio stories . He is a first cousin once removed of Emma Campbell - Jones .