 The appearances of the main characters were inspired by those of actors and other <unk> , who were typically selected from the show business <unk> Spotlight . According to Glanville , as part of a trend away from the strong caricature of previous series , APF was seeking " more natural faces " for the puppets . The face of Jeff Tracy was based on that of Lorne Greene , Scott on Sean Connery , Alan on Robert Reed , John on Adam Faith and Charlton Heston , Brains on Anthony Perkins and Parker on Ben <unk> . Sylvia Anderson brought the character of Penelope to life in likeness as well as voice : after her test moulds were rejected , sculptor Mary Turner decided to use Anderson herself as a template . Terry Curtis was also an original sculpture of Supermarionation puppets . 
