'Succession' by Martin Worth

Arriving in ancient Egypt, Phil, Helen and Terry immediately encounter Princess Nataken – Belor in disguise – who accuses them of robbing the tomb of King Tutakhamun. After her guards arrest the children, Nataken transforms Helen and Terry into birds and locks them inside a small cage; she then threatens to leave them like this forever unless Phil helps her with her plan to become empress of Egypt. Elsewhere, Lord Ai – the late king’s Chamberlain, and this era’s Rothgo – busies himself with overseeing Tutakhamun’s burial; Ai is deeply concerned that the deceased pharaoh’s widow, Queen Ankhensepaten, will lose her rightful claim to the throne due to the machinations of her sister, Princess Nataken. Recognising Rothgo, Phil attempts to call out to him, but Nataken steals his voice and imprisons him within a statue. The evil witch gloats over her possession of four fragments of the Nidas, revelling in the fact that when she locates the final piece, her power will be unchallenged, finally allowing her to defeat Rothgo. Meanwhile, Lord Ai finds Terry and Helen trapped inside the aviary, but his magic is not enough to break Belor’s spell. Ai confronts Nataken, who now has Phil under her spell, and is calling him her son; ignoring her sister Ankhensepaten’s protests that her real son died stillborn, Nataken decrees that Phil be made pharaoh, an act that will allow her to rule through him as empress. Rothgo tries to stop the evil witch, but her power is too strong; all seems lost – has Belor finally won the fight for supremacy over Rothgo..?

Ron Moody (Rothgo / Lord Ai), Pamela Salem (Belor / Princess Nataken), Lisa Turner (Helen), Simon Henderson (Terry), Simon Beal (Phil Church), Mark Buffery (Embalmer), Suzi Arden (Queen Ankhensepaten), Simeon Andrews (Guard)

Directed by Peter Graham Scott
Produced by Peter Graham Scott
Executive Producer Patrick Dromgoole

TX (UK):
21st September 1981

Notes:
*Featuring Rothgo, Phil, Helen and Terry