Margaret Helen "Maggie" Stables (born 1932 ) , 2014) was a British actress who played the part of the companion

Evelyn Smythe This is a list of fictional characters who were companions of the Doctor, in various spinoff media based on the long-running British science fiction television series, ''Doctor Who''. A Abby Amy, portrayed by Ciara Janson, is a companion ...

in a range of audio dramas by

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'' ...

based on 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 A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

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 ...

''.

Career

Stables began acting as a second career after retiring from a long-held position as a French teacher. After some experience in musical theatre, in 1991 she acted in a production of ''

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The firs ...

'', with

Nicholas Briggs Nicholas Briggs (born 29 September 1961) is an English actor, writer, director, sound designer and composer. He is associated with the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs, particularly as the voice of the Da ...

. This led to Briggs' later casting Stables as Ruthley in Big Finish's first ''Doctor Who'' play, ''

The Sirens of Time ''The Sirens of Time'' is a 1999 audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was the first Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the series and became the first in the company's '' Ma ...

'', and as Evelyn the following year. Stables appeared in several Big Finish audio roles beyond Evelyn. In addition to Ruthley, Stables appeared in ''

Zagreus In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Zagreus () was a god sometimes identified with an Orphic Dionysus who was dismembered by the Titans and reborn. In the earliest mention of Zagreus, he is paired with Gaia and called the "highest" god, th ...

'' as the Great Mother, in '' Sarah Jane Smith: The TAO Connection'' as Mrs Lythe, and the

Bernice Summerfield Professor Bernice Surprise Summerfield, or simply Benny, is a fictional character created by author Paul Cornell as a new companion of the Seventh Doctor in Virgin Publishing's range of original full-length ''Doctor Who'' novels, the '' New Ad ...

audio drama ''

Just War The just war theory () is a doctrine, also referred to as a tradition, of military ethics that aims to ensure that a war is morally justifiable through a series of criteria, all of which must be met for a war to be considered just. It has bee ...

'' as Ma Doras. Stables also portrayed Evelyn Smythe in the

webcast A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, webca ...

''Doctor Who'' story '' Real Time''. Stables was a justice of the peace from 1971 to 2003, sitting in both the Edmonton and Haringey Petty sessions.

Last years and death

Stables retired from acting in 2013 due to a long-term illness. She died in her sleep, on 26 September 2014.

References

External links

Video interview with Maggie Stables
BBC.co.uk; accessed 29 September 2014. *http://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/a-whology-maggie-stables-67290.htm], DoctorWhoTV.co.uk; accessed 21 March 2015. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stables, Maggie British radio actresses British stage actresses British television actresses 2014 deaths Place of birth missing Year of birth missing