Lisa Bowerman (born 1 February 1962) is a British actress. She is best known for portraying Sandra Mute, the paramedic, in the first two series of the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

medical drama '' Casualty'', and ''

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 ...

'' companion Professor Bernice Summerfield in a series of the same name and many related audio dramas for

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and radio drama, audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'' ...

productions, as well as directing many series for the company.

Career

Bowerman trained at the

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (BOVTS) is a drama school in Bristol, England. The institution provides training in acting and production for careers in film, television and theatre. BOVTS was an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance a ...

and was a regular in the first two series of BBC medical drama '' Casualty'' playing Sandra Mute, the show's first female paramedic. Her other television work includes: ''Dodgem'', ''The Count of Solar'', ''

Grange Hill ''Grange Hill'' is a British Children's television series, children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical Comprehensive school (England and Wales), comprehensive school. The show began its ru ...

'', ''The Vision Thing'', '' Doctors'', '' McCallum'', '' Bad Girls'' and '' Night and Day''. In 2007 she guest-starred as the

home secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

's PA in '' Spooks'', and returned to ''Casualty'' for a one-episode cameo role as a patient. In 2011 and 2012, she appeared in five episodes of ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'' as solicitor Jennifer Lingwood. In July 2014 Bowerman directed episodes 1 and 2 of the audio drama series ''Osiris'' by Everybodyelse Productions. In 2018 she directed ''The Coming of the Martians'' (also known as ''The War of The Worlds''), starring

Colin Morgan Colin Morgan (born 1 January 1986) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He is known for playing the title character in the BBC fantasy series ''Merlin'' (2008–2012), Leo Elster in ''Humans'' (2015–2018), and Billy Clanton in Kenneth Branagh' ...

, Nigel Lindsay and Ronald Pickup, for Sherwood Sound Studios. In 2022 she directed ''When Michael Met Benny'', a podcast drama as well as an adaptation of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

The Chimes (starring

Toby Jones Toby Edward Heslewood Jones''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 7 September 1966) is an English actor. He is known for his extensive character actor roles on stage and screen. From 1989 ...

) both for Average Romp Productions. She has recorded plays for BBC Radios 3 & 4, and has worked extensively in theatre. She plays the role of Julianne Wright in ''

The Archers ''The Archers'' is a British radio soap opera currently broadcast on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word Radio broadcasting, channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now pr ...

''.

''Doctor Who'' and Bernice Summerfield

Bowerman has had a connection with the British science fiction television series ''

''—and its assorted spinoffs—since 1989. For the BBC, she played the role of Karra in ''

Survival Survival or survivorship, the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things ...

'' (the final serial in the original run of ''

'' in 1989), and voiced Saruba Velak in '' Dreamland'' (a 2009 animated serial connected to the revived series). 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 ...

''.The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot
, BBC programmes, retrieved 26 November 2013 Since 1998, she has played companion Bernice Summerfield in the

series of the same name. She appeared in six Bernice Summerfield/

audio plays opposite Sylvester McCoy as the

Seventh Doctor The Seventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-o ...

and Sophie Aldred as Ace, as well as four boxed sets opposite her partner David Warner as the 'Unbound Doctor'; she has starred in over 150 audio plays and audiobooks based solely on Bernice. It is now acknowledged as the longest running female led drama series in any medium. Bowerman has also either directed or played supporting roles in numerous other Big Finish audio series: the latter roles have included Ruby in the '' Sapphire & Steel'' stories " Water Like a Stone", " Cruel Immortality" and " Second Sight", Murash in "I, Davros: Guilt" and Ellie in 14 series of '' Jago & Litefoot'' starring Trevor Baxter and Christopher Benjamin.

Filmography

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowerman, Lisa 1962 births English television actresses Living people People from Upton-upon-Severn Actresses from Worcestershire