Dream debut for Dr Who girl
- Publication: TV Scene
- Date: 1984-06-02
- Author:
- Page: 29
- Language: English
STEPPING out of the Mediterranean in a brief white bikini was an eye-catching way for Nicola Bryant to make her debut as Dr Who's latest shapely assistant.
And the beautiful brunette starring with the "new" Doctor, Colin Baker, in the latest Dr Who series, hopes that scenario I will do as much for her career as a similar scene did for Ursula Andress when she appeared in the Bond classic, Dr No.
"Landing the part of Perpugillian Brown was like a dream come true," says 21-year-old Nicola.
"It's my very first job... and I simply couldn't believe it at first.
"I've been a Dr Who fan for as long as I can remember."
Yet, when she first began watching the series, she remembers that "the first thing I did when the theme music came up on the screen was to dive behind the sofa and watch the series in safety!
"I suppose I must have been about four when I started watching it.
"I used to get quite terrified at times, but I don't think I missed a single episode.
"Frankly, I'm sure that all children enjoy being frightened by monsters like the Daleks that you find on the program, because you know that Dr Who always wins in the end."
Nicola is naturally delighted by her lucky break - less than a year ago, she was still a pretty, poor drama student, wondering where her first job would come from.
"My agent simply telephoned one day to send me along for a Dr Who audition at the BBC," she explains.
"I wasn't very hopeful, because I honestly didn't think I had any chance of getting such a part at such an early stage of my career.
"I couldn't believe it when I won the audition."
Nicola becomes Dr Who's 25th assistant in a series that has been running for more than 20 years.
Yet she confesses: "At first, my parents weren't very keen about my becoming an actress. They were worried by all the tales they had heard about how tough it was ...
"But I'm sure that they are as thrilled as I am."
Nicola's first location work took her to Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands, but it was not all fun in the sun.
She was working among sharp volcanic rocks a so-called moonscape.
"It was pretty gruelling," she recalls.
"And as well as all that, everything about television work was very new to me.
"I didn't have much of an idea about what to do, or which camera to look at...
"But I learn fast, and everybody was very patient and helpful.
"One thing about working on the series that did take some getting used to out there was getting up very early in the mornings and working very long hours.
"That was a shock to the system at first.
"I keep realising just how lucky I've been to get this part because there have been a lot of very good actresses who've played the Dr Who assistants before me.
"I think I'm lucky in that there's a great deal of my personality and character in Perpugillian Brown.
"Like me, she's an adventurous girl, who is determined to be independent!"
Caption: NICOLA...being Dr Who's screen assistant is not all fun.
Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
- APA 6th ed.: (1984-06-02). Dream debut for Dr Who girl. TV Scene p. 29.
- MLA 7th ed.: "Dream debut for Dr Who girl." TV Scene [add city] 1984-06-02, 29. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: "Dream debut for Dr Who girl." TV Scene, edition, sec., 1984-06-02
- Turabian: "Dream debut for Dr Who girl." TV Scene, 1984-06-02, section, 29 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Dream debut for Dr Who girl | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Dream_debut_for_Dr_Who_girl | work=TV Scene | pages=29 | date=1984-06-02 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=18 March 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Dream debut for Dr Who girl | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Dream_debut_for_Dr_Who_girl | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=18 March 2025}}</ref>
