I had always thought that the show had written off Anthony George as Burke. The actor was not as popular as Mitchell Ryan, and the story of Victoria and Barnabas was heating up. Plus, having Burke die in an airplane crash made it better to bring him back than it would if Barnabas had simply killed Burke onscreen.
Then, the show, when it moved to 1795, invited back two of its actors: Anthony George and Thayer David. Both of their characters had died. I am a little suprised that Frank Shofield was not asked back. He could have played one of the judges. Maybe he was asked back.
I am curious about why the original Sam and Matthew were replaced.
And, I ALWAYS liked the original Willie better than John Karlen.