Christopher Morley pays tribute to the Second Doctor's companion, Zoe Heriot.
Anyone bursting to find the answer to the question
of 'what's life like as a companion who's often quite a bit smarter
than the Doctor they travel with?' could do worse than to watch any
episode of Zoe Heriot's tenure alongside Patrick Troughton's Doctor.
Joining the Second Doctor & Jamie aboard the TARDIS following the events of The Wheel In Space - the Cybermen seeking to invade Space Station W3, aka the Wheel, to use its handy radio links to mother Earth to direct their invasion fleet towards it - she proves herself to be quite knowledgeable as the Wheel's resident librarian. It's her brains that'll save the day time & time again....
Joining the Second Doctor & Jamie aboard the TARDIS following the events of The Wheel In Space - the Cybermen seeking to invade Space Station W3, aka the Wheel, to use its handy radio links to mother Earth to direct their invasion fleet towards it - she proves herself to be quite knowledgeable as the Wheel's resident librarian. It's her brains that'll save the day time & time again....
Starting in fact
with her first full journey accompanying her new Time Lord friend, and
sometimes intellectual equal, when she finds herself selected as a
candidate for slave labour. The greatest & best minds of the
Dulcian (inhabitants of Dulkis) population are being picked out by
two Dominators, Toba & Rago, to help them with their plan to
drill into the crust of the planet to establish an energy source &
attempt to repair their ship.
But even her seeming reliance on cold hard logic isn't enough to get her out of a squeeze after she & her pals escape via a little detour into the Land of Fiction. Seeing what looks like the Wheel on the TARDIS monitor, with Jamie having seen his native Scotland, both are tempted into having a look around. Of course, they're actually nowhere near either the far future or the land of haggis & bagpipes - this is the White Void, existing outside the confines of normal time & space.
So begins what can only be described as one of the most surreal challenges the Doctor will ever face. Note also Ms Heriot's outfit, which may also later have inspired whoever went on to dress the Go-Jos, & after them Pan's People, for their various appearances on vintage Top Of The Pops. Compare & contrast, purely in the interests of popular culture of course...
But even her seeming reliance on cold hard logic isn't enough to get her out of a squeeze after she & her pals escape via a little detour into the Land of Fiction. Seeing what looks like the Wheel on the TARDIS monitor, with Jamie having seen his native Scotland, both are tempted into having a look around. Of course, they're actually nowhere near either the far future or the land of haggis & bagpipes - this is the White Void, existing outside the confines of normal time & space.
So begins what can only be described as one of the most surreal challenges the Doctor will ever face. Note also Ms Heriot's outfit, which may also later have inspired whoever went on to dress the Go-Jos, & after them Pan's People, for their various appearances on vintage Top Of The Pops. Compare & contrast, purely in the interests of popular culture of course...
Of course, they
never jigged around an exploded console, did they?
As well as beating Babs Lord & her fellow People to the punch, Wendy Padbury began her acting career in Crossroads just two years before she landed the role of Zoe. She played Stephanie 'Stevie' Harris, & would later join Frazer Hines in Emmerdale after the pair had left Who alongside Patrick Troughton's departure in 1969. All three would return in 1983 for The Five Doctors, although briefly in the case of Zoe and Jamie's cameos.
Taking a break from acting Wendy Padbuty found she couldn't quite leave it all behind! She moved into business as a theatrical agent, among her list of clients were no less than Nicholas Courtney, Mark Strickson & Colin Baker.
Padbury is now retired and lives in France and gives very few interviews about her time on Doctor Who. She did grace Doctor Who Magazine with a rare conversation, explaining that she no longer appeared at Doctor Who conventions nor spoke about her time on the programme as she felt she no longer had anything new to say about it.
However, she did appear as a guest at Gallifrey One in 2009 where she spoke about how, when she was patron of The National Youth Theatre, she was one of the first to discover a young lad who had, at that time, just been announced as the Eleventh Doctor...
As well as beating Babs Lord & her fellow People to the punch, Wendy Padbury began her acting career in Crossroads just two years before she landed the role of Zoe. She played Stephanie 'Stevie' Harris, & would later join Frazer Hines in Emmerdale after the pair had left Who alongside Patrick Troughton's departure in 1969. All three would return in 1983 for The Five Doctors, although briefly in the case of Zoe and Jamie's cameos.
Taking a break from acting Wendy Padbuty found she couldn't quite leave it all behind! She moved into business as a theatrical agent, among her list of clients were no less than Nicholas Courtney, Mark Strickson & Colin Baker.
Padbury is now retired and lives in France and gives very few interviews about her time on Doctor Who. She did grace Doctor Who Magazine with a rare conversation, explaining that she no longer appeared at Doctor Who conventions nor spoke about her time on the programme as she felt she no longer had anything new to say about it.
However, she did appear as a guest at Gallifrey One in 2009 where she spoke about how, when she was patron of The National Youth Theatre, she was one of the first to discover a young lad who had, at that time, just been announced as the Eleventh Doctor...
You might say there's a certain circularity there, as Matt Smith would base his interpretation of the Time Lord on Pat Troughton's performance, right down to the bow tie & certain mannerisms.
Before her retirement from the business, Padbury had
several film cameos. You may have seen her in 1967's Charlie Bubbles with Albert Finney, as well as the 1970 cult horror Blood On Satan's Claw.
See if you can spot a fellow member of the classic Who
cast in this clip...
It might be immediately obvious, but if you just can't put your finger on it this might help!
If soap, drama, horror, stage, television and film wasn't enough, Wendy Padbury appeared on children's TV too! Three series of Freewheelers a sort of The Avengers for kids, and co- presenting series two of Score With The Scaffold are on her resume.
You might well wonder who exactly the Scaffold were. Some, though, might recall the Liverpudlian comedy/musical/poetry trio, the three members being Mike McCartney (whose brother Paul pinched the Second Doctor's hairstyle during his Beatles days), perhaps understandably swapping his given surname for 'McGear', poet Roger McGough & John Gorman. Score With... served as a little light entertainment for the pop pickers of the day, running for a year from 1970-71. Initially the group went it alone, performing songs & sketches as well as taking questions from their audience. With the introduction of the lovely Ms Padbury, though, it became more of a gameshow.
It might be immediately obvious, but if you just can't put your finger on it this might help!
If soap, drama, horror, stage, television and film wasn't enough, Wendy Padbury appeared on children's TV too! Three series of Freewheelers a sort of The Avengers for kids, and co- presenting series two of Score With The Scaffold are on her resume.
You might well wonder who exactly the Scaffold were. Some, though, might recall the Liverpudlian comedy/musical/poetry trio, the three members being Mike McCartney (whose brother Paul pinched the Second Doctor's hairstyle during his Beatles days), perhaps understandably swapping his given surname for 'McGear', poet Roger McGough & John Gorman. Score With... served as a little light entertainment for the pop pickers of the day, running for a year from 1970-71. Initially the group went it alone, performing songs & sketches as well as taking questions from their audience. With the introduction of the lovely Ms Padbury, though, it became more of a gameshow.
Padbury's children
arrived by her marriage to It Ain't Half Hot, Mum
stalwart Melvyn Hayes - he played Gunner ' Gloria' Beaumont. Eldest daughter Joanna in 1974, followed by youngest
Charlotte in 1977.
Charlotte also became an actress, and has lent her voice to several Big Finish Doctor Who audio plays. If you've heard The Memory Cheats & The Uncertainty Principle, your ears will have been treated to mother & daughter performing together (Wendy as Zoe, Charlotte as Jen). She's also appeared in Master/Love & War as Death/Jade, Cassandra in Annihilation, Bel in A Handful Of Dust & Veltreena in Lords Of The Red Planet.
Charlotte also became an actress, and has lent her voice to several Big Finish Doctor Who audio plays. If you've heard The Memory Cheats & The Uncertainty Principle, your ears will have been treated to mother & daughter performing together (Wendy as Zoe, Charlotte as Jen). She's also appeared in Master/Love & War as Death/Jade, Cassandra in Annihilation, Bel in A Handful Of Dust & Veltreena in Lords Of The Red Planet.
Well, they say
the apple never falls far from the tree!
