Victoria Waterfield is a fictional character played by Deborah Watling in the long-running British

science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...

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 ...

''. A native of

Victorian England In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed th ...

, she was 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 ...

and a regular in the programme from 1967 to 1968. Only two complete serials to feature her ('' The Tomb of the Cybermen'' 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 ...

'') exist complete in the

BBC archives The BBC Archives are collections documenting the BBC's broadcasting history, including copies of television and radio broadcasts, internal documents, photographs, online content, sheet music, commercially available music, BBC products (includ ...

. However, DVDs of all her adventures have still seen release, with both official animation and photo reconstructions utilizing the original surviving audio taking the place of the missing episodes. Watling reprised her role in the spin-off ''

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 ...

'' and a few audio dramas, one of which featured her as a temporary assistant to the

Sixth Doctor The Sixth 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 is portrayed by Colin Baker. Although his televisual t ...

. Victoria appeared in 7 stories (39 episodes).

Casting

According to the short BBC Video documentary ''The Dalek Factor'' about the making of ''The Evil of the Daleks'', 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 Sam 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 Deborah Watling replacing her as a more suitable actress for the continuing role.

Character history

Victoria first appears in the 1967 serial ''

The Evil of the Daleks ''The Evil of the Daleks'' is the mostly-missing ninth and final serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which originally aired in seven weekly parts from 20 May to 1 July 1967. In this seri ...

''. She is the daughter of widowed scientist Edward Waterfield (played by John Bailey), who in 1866 is experimenting with

time travel Time travel is the hypothetical activity of traveling into the past or future. Time travel is a concept in philosophy and fiction, particularly science fiction. In fiction, time travel is typically achieved through the use of a device known a ...

and has attracted the attention of the

Dalek The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrial race of extremely xenophobic mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by writer Terry Nation and first appeared in th ...

s. In order to assure Waterfield's collaboration with their capture of

the Doctor The Doctor, sometimes known as Doctor Who, is the protagonist of the long-running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. An extraterrestrial Time Lord, the Doctor travels the universe in a time travelling spaceship called th ...

and their experiments with the Human and Dalek Factors, the Daleks with the help of Theodore Maxtable took Victoria as a prisoner. To measure his emotional responses, they then manipulated

Jamie McCrimmon James Robert McCrimmon, usually simply called Jamie, is a fictional character played by Frazer Hines in the long-running British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. A Bagpipes, piper of the Clan Mac ...

into rescuing her, although they ultimately re-captured her and took her to

Skaro The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial race of extremely xenophobic mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by writer Terry Na ...

. At the conclusion of the adventure, Waterfield is killed saving the Doctor's life, and asks him to take care of Victoria. The Doctor and Jamie take her in as part of the

TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space") is a fictional hybrid of a time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. While a TARDI ...

crew. On the outside, Victoria is a typically fragile lady of her era, frequently screaming when faced with the creatures the Doctor and his companions encounter in their travels, such as the Cybermen and the

Yeti The Yeti ()"Yeti"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. is an ape-like creature purported t ...

. However, this exterior hides an inner strength that crops up when needed. Victoria may be young, but she has an instinct for when she is being lied to, and her sensibility is a contrast to the recklessness of Jamie and the curiosity of the Doctor. Jamie, in particular, is very protective towards and fond of Victoria, and is heartbroken when she chooses to leave. Despite being a good match to her two companions, Victoria eventually finds herself unsuited to extended travel with the Doctor. At the conclusion of the serial ''

Fury from the Deep ''Fury from the Deep'' is the Doctor Who missing episodes, completely missing sixth serial of the Doctor Who (season 5), fifth season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which originally aired in six weekly parts from 1 ...

'', she decides to leave the TARDIS, settling with a family named Harris in the 20th century. Her subsequent life is not shown in the television series. She is mentioned, but not seen to be travelling with the Second Doctor, in the 1985 serial ''

The Two Doctors ''The Two Doctors'' is the fourth serial of the Doctor Who (season 22), 22nd season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in three weekly parts on BBC One, BBC1 from 16 February to 2 March 198 ...

''.

Other appearances

Victoria's life after leaving the TARDIS is not explored in the series. The video release ''

'' (1995), and its 1996 novelisation by Marc Platt as part of the Virgin Missing Adventures range, reveals that she struggles to adapt to twentieth century life and eventually returns to the Detsen monastery in

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

, where she again falls under the influence of the Great Intelligence, now trapped on Earth after the end of '' The Web of Fear''. The Intelligence manipulates Victoria into founding New World University, with the money left to her by her father (via a new will he drew up whilst working for the

s in 1866), where Victoria serves as Vice Chancellor and the possessed Professor Travers as Chancellor. Using the university's computers, the Intelligence seizes control of the internet and creates new Yetis. Realising she has been misled, Victoria helps

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, generally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', created by writers Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln and played by Ni ...

and Sarah Jane Smith defeat it. She is then approached by both the Third and Fourth Doctors, but chooses not to travel with them. The 1993

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campaign featured a short ''Doctor Who''/''

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'' crossover called ''

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 ...

''. In a story involving the various incarnations of the Doctor meeting up with various companions, Victoria ends up alongside the Third Doctor (

Jon Pertwee John Devon Roland Pertwee (; 7 July 1919 – 20 May 1996), known professionally as Jon Pertwee, was an English actor. Born into a theatrical family, he became known as a comedy actor, playing Chief Petty Officer Pertwee (and three other roles) in ...

) as they make their way back to the TARDIS after finding out that the culprit behind all the confusion is The Rani (played by Kate O'Mara). Watling had broken her arm prior to filming, and so wore a long cloak to conceal her cast. Watling also returned to the role of Victoria Waterfield in the audio drama '' Power Play'', where she was campaigning against nuclear waste before she became caught up in a plot to frame the Doctor for the actions of an assassin who destroys entire planets, resulting in her meeting the

and

Peri Brown Perpugilliam "Peri" Brown is a fictional character played by Nicola Bryant in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. An American botany major from Fell's Point in Baltimore, Maryland, Peri is a companion of ...

; as in ''Downtime'', she declined the offer to rejoin the Doctor, but was assured that the TARDIS doors will always be open to her.

List of appearances

Television serials

;Season 4 *''

'' (episodes 2–7) ;Season 5 *'' The Tomb of the Cybermen'' *''

The Abominable Snowmen ''The Abominable Snowmen'' is the mostly missing second serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which originally aired in six weekly parts from 30 September to 4 November 1967. In this se ...

'' *'' The Ice Warriors'' *''

'' (episodes 1–3, 5–6) *'' The Web of Fear'' *''

'' ;30th anniversary charity special *''

Video

*''

'' (also novelised by scriptwriter Marc Platt as part of the Virgin Missing Adventures line)

Audio

*''The Great Space Elevator'' *'' The Emperor of Eternity'' *'' Power Play'' (with the

) *''The Black Hole'' *''The Story of Extinction''

Short Trips audios

*''The Way Forward''

Novels

; Virgin Missing Adventures *'' Twilight of the Gods'' by Christopher Bulis *'' The Dark Path'' by David A. McIntee ; Past Doctor Adventures *'' Dreams of Empire'' by

Justin Richards Justin Richards (born 14 September 1961) is a British writer. He has written science fiction and fantasy novels, including series set in Victorian or early-20th-century London, and also adventure stories set in the present day. He has written ...

*''Heart of TARDIS'' by Dave Stone *''

Combat Rock ''Combat Rock'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Clash, released on 14 May 1982 through CBS Records. In the United Kingdom, the album charted at number 2, spending 23 weeks in the UK charts and peaked at number 7 in the U ...

'' by Mick Lewis

Short stories

*"Face-Painter" by Tara Samms ('' Short Trips: A Universe of Terrors'') *"The Astronomer's Apprentice" by Simon A. Forward ('' Short Trips: The Muses'') *"The Farmer's Story" by Todd Green ('' Short Trips: Repercussions'') *"The Age of Ambition" by Andrew Campbell ('' Short Trips: Life Science'') *"Screamager" by Jacqueline Rayner ('' Short Trips: Monsters'') *"The Last Emperor" by Jacqueline Rayner ('' Short Trips: 2040'') *"The Cutty Wren" by Ann Kelly ('' Short Trips: The Ghosts of Christmas'') *"On a Pedestal" by Kathleen O. David ('' Short Trips: The Quality of Leadership'')

Comics

*"Freedom by Fire" by

David Brian Brian James Davis (August 5, 1914 – July 15, 1993), better known as David Brian, was an American actor. He is best known for his role in '' Intruder in the Dust'' (1949), for which he received critical acclaim and a Golden Globe nomination. ...

(''Doctor Who Annual 1969'') *"Atoms Infinite" by

(''Doctor Who Annual 1969'') *"Bringer of Darkness" by Warwick Gray and Martin Geraghty (''Doctor Who Magazine'' Summer Special 1993)

References

External links

Victoria Waterfield on the BBC's ''Doctor Who'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waterfield, Victoria Television characters introduced in 1967 Doctor Who companions Female characters in drama television series Fictional characters from the 19th century Orphan characters in television