Tardis Party: Katy Manning/ Sarah Sutton ~ Dalek Darlings
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Talent…
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… These are the lovely ladies and gorgeous girls of eras gone by whose beauty, ability, electricity and all-round x-appeal deserve celebration and – ahem – salivation here at George’s Journal…
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Yes, this blog’s celebration of Doctor Who in its 50th anniversary year continues apace, peeps, but just before the regular reviews of the show’s superb serials past move on to the stellar Tom Baker era, it’s time to pause and take a moment to reflect (nay, literally look back) on the cast-iron classic companion of the Jon Pertwee era, the sexy and, yes, saucy Katy Manning. And she’s not alone – let’s not forget the equally lovely ’80s Who co-star Sarah Sutton either. For, no question, this delectable duo deserves to be inducted into this blog’s Talent hall of fame…
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Profiles
Names: Catherine (Katy) Ann Manning/ Sarah Sutton
Nationalities: English
Professions: Actress and director/ Actress
Born: October 14 1946, Guildford, Surrey/ December 12 1961, Basingstoke, Hampshire
Known for: Katy – playing the popular and always decked-out-in-early-’70s-garb Jo Grant opposite Third Doctor Jon Pertwee, beginning with the serial Terror Of The Autons (1971) and culminating in The Green Death (1973) – although she returned as the character in the 2010 Death Of The Doctor episode of Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007-11). Six years after departing the show, she achieved notoriety when she posed nude draped on a Dalek for Girl Illustrated magazine. Yet her post-Who career is notable for more than merely this; she’s successfully trod the boards for many years, not least in Australia where she and her young children moved in the late ’70s/ early ’80s and where she also wrote and staged the play Private Wives. In 2007, she appeared in a stage version of sitcom ‘Allo ‘Allo (1982-92) and returned to the UK in 2009 to tour her well received, Bette Davis-themed, one-woman-show Me and Jezebel.
Sarah – portraying the aristocratic, eccentrically dressed Trakenite Nyssa opposite (very briefly) Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor and then Peter Davison’s Fifth Doctor and fellow companions Janet Fielding (Tegan Jovanka) and Matthew Waterhouse (Adric). Her tenure in the show began with the story The Keeper Of Traken (1981) and concluded with the fittingly named Terminus (1983). Although her acting career’s been sporadic since her stint in Who, she also appeared in the BBC serial Unnatural Pursuits (1991), a 1989 episode of Casualty (1986-present) and resurrected Nyssa in the Children In Need-night-broadcast, 30th anniversary-celebrating Who special Dimensions In Time (1993).
Strange but true: Ever a free-spirit, Katy lived with Aussie household name Barry Crocker for nearly 30 years, then on returning to the UK recently she seemingly drifted away from him (it’s repeatedly reported he’s now with Priscilla Presley), claiming she’s not interested in the ‘neediness’ of relationships/ Although, aged 19 when she began in 1967, Deborah Watling (Victoria Waterfield) may be the youngest actress to have portrayed a companion, Sarah holds the distinction of being the second youngest (20 years-old) and the youngest British actress ever to have played Lewis Carroll‘s heroine, when she played the lead in Alice Through The Looking Glass (1974) at just 13.
Peak of fitness: Katy – yep, it’s got to be those Dalek photos really, hasn’t it?/ Sarah – the taking off of her skirt in her final serial Terminus and effectively playing the rest of the story in her underwear; in her words ‘a parting gesture to the fans’
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CLICK on images for full-size
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