Rare RT photos come to light after 53 years
- Publication: Radio Times
- Date: 2023-12-02
- Author: Patrick Mulkern
- Page:
- Language: English
The Radio Times photo archive is always yielding surprises, but we believed we'd accounted for every last morsel of Doctor Who. That is until a few months ago, when a set of 25 negatives was discovered in the files of our late and much-missed RT staff photographer Don Smith. Never catalogued or printed before, they'd lain forgotten since he took them in December 1970.
Broadcasting historian Steve Arnold stumbled upon them while helping to sort through Don's collection after his death last year. During a career that began in the 1950s — much of it for RT — Don had preserved thousands of unused photos. "He hated seeing anything go in a skip so there were stacks of material," says Steve. "I'd promised I'd help him. The task was monumental and I'm grateful to Don's family for trusting me to get on with it."
The pictures were taken on the set of a story called The Mind of Evil. Jon Pertwee was into his second year as the third Doctor, Katy Manning played his plucky companion Jo Grant, and together they were tackling the latest diabolical scheme of the original Master (Roger Delgado). He'd seized control of a men's prison with an alien parasite that fed on criminal impulses.
Katy is delighted to see the pictures for the first time 53 years later. "It was only my second story and Jo got to take on a whole prison full of blokes and show that she was made of quite tough stuff.
"Right from the start, Jon, Roger and I formed such a strong bond. They were mentors to me. I'd had very little television experience so was like a little sponge sucking everything up."
Jo became the first long-running female companion, staying three years and winning the hearts of millions. Katy left in 1973, but the magic of Doctor Who has never left her. She adores her association with the show and has returned to the role many times — just this year filming Tales from the Tardis. It brings us up to date with Jo, who is now a grandmother and a widow reflecting on love and loss.
"It was very emotional for me," says Katy, whose Doctor Who costars died many years ago. "I felt a flash of 'double memory' as both Jo and myself of some of the people that I had truly loved in my life."
She even wore one of the Doctor's original jackets, now owned by writer/actor/fan Mark Gatiss. "It still feels Jon, it almost smells Jon — it's filled with Pertwee!" says Katy. "I'd nestled under it on so many cold locations. Whenever someone has a velvet jacket on now, I get butterflies in my stomach. Velvet hugs!"
All of Katy Manning's Doctor Who episodes are now on iPlayer, as is her 2023 return as Jo in Tales of the Tardis
Caption: CLASSIC WHO Katy Manning as Jo Grant, Jon Pertwee as the third Doctor and Roger Delgado as the original Master in 1970
Caption: IN TIME Katy Manning as Jo in Tales of the Tardis; RT's Don Smith, left
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.: Mulkern, Patrick (2023-12-02). Rare RT photos come to light after 53 years. Radio Times .
- MLA 7th ed.: Mulkern, Patrick. "Rare RT photos come to light after 53 years." Radio Times [add city] 2023-12-02. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Mulkern, Patrick. "Rare RT photos come to light after 53 years." Radio Times, edition, sec., 2023-12-02
- Turabian: Mulkern, Patrick. "Rare RT photos come to light after 53 years." Radio Times, 2023-12-02, section, edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Rare RT photos come to light after 53 years | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Rare_RT_photos_come_to_light_after_53_years | work=Radio Times | pages= | date=2023-12-02 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=24 April 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Rare RT photos come to light after 53 years | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Rare_RT_photos_come_to_light_after_53_years | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=24 April 2025}}</ref>
