Who's your lady friend, Doctor?
- Publication: Daily Express
- Date: 2009-01-05
- Author: Dana Gloger, Simon Edge
- Page: 19
- Language: English
THE latest Doctor Who, Matt Smith, will have a new assistant when he steps into the Tardis next year.
Rumours of who it will be began after Saturday's shock announcement that virtual unknown Matt, 26, will take over as Time Lord from David Tennant early in 2010.
Former EastEnders star Michelle Ryan has emerged as the hot favourite to partner him. The 24-year-old, who is well known in the US for her role as Bionic Woman was "a firm BBC favourite", according to a source.
The actress auditioned to be the Doctor's helper in 2005, hoping to take over from Billie Piper, but the part wen t to Freema Agyeman.
Ryan could face stiff competition again this time. Other names linked to the part include Gina Bellman, 42, from New Zealand, who has appeared in Jekyll and Coupling and Carey Mulligan, 23, who played Sally Sparrow in a previous Doctor Who episode.
The BBC is likely to keep its choice of his helper as secret as the name of the new Time Lord.
Nearly seven million people watched a special Doctor Who Confidential on Saturday to see who would take on the main role in the science fiction programme.
Caption: Matt the new Time Lord outside his box of tricks, but will Michelle Ryan, inset, be his assistant?
New star lands with galaxy of talent
I FIRST saw Matt Smith, the new Doctor Who, on stage in Alan Bennett's magnificent play The History B oys.
Three of the "sixth-formers preparing for their Oxbridge entrance" have already become stars; Dominic Cooper with Mamma Mia! James Corden with Gavin And Stacey and Russell Tovey in Little Dorrit.
Matt Smith is the fourth star to emerge from that brilliant class. TV viewers are most likely to know him from the period thriller The Ruby In The Smoke or Party Animals. For me, he is unforgettable as the star of That Face at the Royal Court and Duke of York's theatres.
The play is about a mad, alcoholic mother and her relationship with her teenage daughter and son. Mother was played by Lindsay Duncan who was, as ever, superb but the centre of the drama was Henry - a stunning performance by Matt Smith.
We have to wait 15 months to see what talented Matt does with the role of The Doctor but the omens are good.
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.: Edge, Dana Gloger, Simon (2009-01-05). Who's your lady friend, Doctor?. Daily Express p. 19.
- MLA 7th ed.: Edge, Dana Gloger, Simon. "Who's your lady friend, Doctor?." Daily Express [add city] 2009-01-05, 19. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Edge, Dana Gloger, Simon. "Who's your lady friend, Doctor?." Daily Express, edition, sec., 2009-01-05
- Turabian: Edge, Dana Gloger, Simon. "Who's your lady friend, Doctor?." Daily Express, 2009-01-05, section, 19 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Who's your lady friend, Doctor? | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Who%27s_your_lady_friend,_Doctor%3F | work=Daily Express | pages=19 | date=2009-01-05 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=31 March 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Who's your lady friend, Doctor? | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Who%27s_your_lady_friend,_Doctor%3F | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=31 March 2025}}</ref>
