Deborah Patricia Watling (2 January 1948 – 21 July 2017) was an English actress who played the role of
Victoria Waterfield
Victoria Waterfield is a fictional character played by Deborah Watling in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. A native of Victorian England, she was a companion of the Second Doctor and a regular in the p ...
, a companion of the
Second Doctor
The Second Doctor is an incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, the protagonist of the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor Patrick Troughton. Out of his 1 ...
in the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
television series ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'' from 1967 to 1968. She began her career as a child actress, making her debut as a regular in ''
The Invisible Man
''The Invisible Man'' is an 1897 science fiction novel by British writer H. G. Wells. Originally serialised in '' Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a s ...
'' (1958–1959). Watling is also well known for starring in the films ''
Take Me High
''Take Me High'' (also known as ''Hot Property'') is a 1973 British film directed by David Askey and starring Cliff Richard (in his final film role), Deborah Watling, Hugh Griffith, George Cole and Anthony Andrews. It was written by Chris ...
'' (1973) with
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...
and ''
That'll Be the Day
"That'll Be the Day" is a song written by Buddy Holly and Jerry Allison. It was first recorded by Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes in 1956 and was re-recorded in 1957 by Holly and his new band, the Crickets. Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes' ver ...
'' (1973) with
David Essex
David Essex (born David Albert Cook; 23 July 1947) is an English singer-songwriter and actor. From 1973 to 1994, he attained 19 Top 40 singles in the UK (including two number ones) and 16 Top 40 albums. Internationally, Essex had the most suc ...
as well as playing Julie Robertson in ''
The Newcomers'' (1969) and Norma Baker in ''
Danger UXB
''Danger UXB'' is a 1979 British ITV television series set during the Second World War. It was developed by John Hawkesworth and starred Anthony Andrews as Lieutenant Brian Ash, an officer in the Royal Engineers (RE).
The series chronicl ...
'' (1979) on television.
Early life
Watling was born 2 January 1948 at the
Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital
Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital is one of the oldest maternity hospitals in Europe, founded in 1739 in London. Until October 2000, it occupied sites in Marylebone Road and at 339–351 Goldhawk Road, Hammersmith, but is now located betw ...
in London, the daughter of actors
Jack Watling
Jack Stanley Watling (13 January 1923 – 22 May 2001) was an English actor.
Life and career
Watling was born 13 January 1923 in Chingford, Essex, England. The son of a travelling scrap metal dealer, Watling trained at the Italia Conti Academy ...
and Patricia Hicks. Her brother
Giles and her half-sister,
Dilys, were also actors.
[''Daddy's Girl: The Autobiography,'' Deborah Watling and Paul W.T. Ballard, Fantom Films, 2012] She was raised in
Epping until the family moved to the 16th-century Alderton Hall in
Loughton
Loughton () is a suburban town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. The town borders Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell, Chingford, and Buckhurst Hill, and lies north-east of Charing Cross. For statistical purposes ...
,
Essex
Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
.
Educated at
Braeside School in
Buckhurst Hill
Buckhurst Hill is an affluent suburban town in Epping Forest District, Epping Forest, Essex, within the Greater London Urban Area and adjacent to the northern boundary of the London Borough of Redbridge. The area developed following the opening ...
, Watling considered becoming a dentist before enrolling at the
Italia Conti Stage School.
Watling made her film debut aged three and started playing background roles in her father's films. During one of her half-sister's parties, Watling started talking to a boy who turned out to be
Michael Craze
Michael Francis Craze (29 November 1942 – 8 December 1998) was a British actor noted for his role of Ben Jackson, a companion of the Doctor, in the long-running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He played the part fro ...
from whom she would take over as a companion in ''Doctor Who'' many years later.
Career
Beginning as a child actress, Watling had a regular role as the niece of Peter Brady in ''
The Invisible Man
''The Invisible Man'' is an 1897 science fiction novel by British writer H. G. Wells. Originally serialised in '' Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a s ...
'' (1958) television series. She was later cast for the lead role in ''Alice'' (1965),
Dennis Potter
Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935 – 7 June 1994) was an English television dramatist, screenwriter and journalist. He is best known for his BBC television serials '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978) and '' The Singing Detective'' ...
's play about
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...
and
Alice Liddell
Alice Pleasance Hargreaves (''née'' Liddell, ; 4 May 1852 – 16 November 1934) was an English woman who, in her childhood, was an acquaintance and photography subject of Lewis Carroll. One of the stories he told her during a boating trip becam ...
, for the BBC's ''
The Wednesday Play
''The Wednesday Play'' is an anthology series of United Kingdom, British television plays which ran on BBC One, BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramatic ...
''. She co-starred with
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...
in the 1973 film ''
Take Me High
''Take Me High'' (also known as ''Hot Property'') is a 1973 British film directed by David Askey and starring Cliff Richard (in his final film role), Deborah Watling, Hugh Griffith, George Cole and Anthony Andrews. It was written by Chris ...
'', and the same year had a small role in the film ''
That'll Be the Day
"That'll Be the Day" is a song written by Buddy Holly and Jerry Allison. It was first recorded by Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes in 1956 and was re-recorded in 1957 by Holly and his new band, the Crickets. Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes' ver ...
''. She played Norma Baker in the ITV series ''
Danger UXB
''Danger UXB'' is a 1979 British ITV television series set during the Second World War. It was developed by John Hawkesworth and starred Anthony Andrews as Lieutenant Brian Ash, an officer in the Royal Engineers (RE).
The series chronicl ...
'' (1979), and appeared regularly in the theatre.
According to the short BBC Video documentary ''The Dalek Factor'' about the making of the story, released in September 2021 as part of the animated restoration of the serial, Denise Buckley was cast in the role of Victoria Waterfield by director Derek Martinus. The production team had been hoping that
Pauline Collins
Pauline Collins (born 3 September 1940) is a British actress who first came to prominence portraying Sarah Moffat in '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' (1971–1973) and its spin-off '' Thomas & Sarah'' (1979). In 1992, she published her autobiography ' ...
would continue in the role of Samantha Briggs, that she had played in the previous story ''
The Faceless Ones
''The Faceless Ones'' is the Doctor Who missing episodes, mostly missing eighth serial of the Doctor Who (season 4), fourth season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts fro ...
'', but had created Victoria as a potential ongoing character should Collins decline. When Collins confirmed she did not want to join the regular cast, it was decided to introduce Victoria as the new companion and Denise Buckley was released, but paid in full, with Watling replacing her as a more suitable actress for the continuing role. Watling played Victoria in ''Doctor Who'' from 1967 to 1968, though owing to the BBC's
wiping
Wipe or wiping may refer to:
Hygiene
* Toilet paper or wet wipes, or their use
Arts and media
* Wipe (transition), a gradual transition in film editing
* Wipe curtain, a kind of theater curtain
* ''Wipe'' or ''Screenwipe'', a television series ...
policy of the time, ''
The Tomb of the Cybermen'' (1967) and ''
The Enemy of the World
''The Enemy of the World'' is the fourth serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which originally aired in six weekly parts from 23 December 1967 to 27 January 1968.
The serial is set in Aust ...
'' (1967–1968) are the only serials in which she appeared that still exist in their entirety. She also appeared in ''
Dimensions in Time
''Dimensions in Time'' is a charity special crossover between the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and the soap opera ''EastEnders.'' The special was broadcast in two parts on 26 and 27 November 1993 and was filmed on lo ...
'' (1993) and ''
Downtime
In computing and telecommunications, downtime (also (system) outage or (system) drought colloquially) is a period when a system is unavailable. The unavailability is the proportion of a time-span that a system is unavailable or offline.
This is ...
'' (1995).
Watling also appeared in the ''Doctor Who'' audio drama ''
Three's a Crowd
''Three's a Crowd'' (also known as ''Three's Company, Too'' in the ''Three's Company'' syndication package) is an American sitcom television series produced as a spin-off sequel and continuation of '' Three's Company'' that aired on ABC from ...
'' and regularly attended ''Doctor Who'' conventions and events. In November 2013, she appeared in the one-off 50th anniversary comedy homage ''
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot
''The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot'' is a 2013 comedy spoof and homage to the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. It appeared on the BBC Red Button service after the broadcast of "The Day of the Doctor", the official 50th ann ...
''.
Personal life
In her later years, Watling lived with her husband in
Thorpe-le-Soken
Thorpe-le-Soken is a village and civil parish in the Tendring District, Tendring district of Essex, England. It is located east of Colchester, west of Walton-on-the-Naze and Frinton-on-Sea, and north of Clacton-on-Sea.
History
Since 2002, arch ...
,
Essex
Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
where she was a well known figure in the village and regularly used her acting experience by directing the local pantomimes.
Her autobiography, entitled ''Daddy’s Girl'', was published in 2010.
Death
Watling died on 21 July 2017, aged 69, at Beaumont Manor nursing home in
Frinton-on-Sea
Frinton-on-Sea is a seaside town and (as just Frinton) a former civil parish, now in the parish of Frinton and Walton, in the Tendring district of Essex, England. In 2018 it had an estimated population of 4,837.
History
The place-name 'Fri ...
, six weeks after being diagnosed with
lung cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...
.
Filmography
Film
Television
Audio dramas
References
External links
*
Deborah Watling's official website (archived)BBC Norfolk Online – RealAudio interviewfrom the
Holt ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'' Midsummer Invasion 2006
Deborah WatlingAveleyman)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watling, Deborah
1948 births
2017 deaths
English television actresses
20th-century English actresses
Actresses from Buckinghamshire
Actors from Loughton
Actresses from Essex
21st-century English actresses
English child actresses
Deaths from lung cancer in England
20th-century English businesspeople
Actresses from London
Actors from Epping
Alumni of the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts
Deborah Watling