This is the calm before the storm
- Publication: Radio Times
- Date: 2023-11-25
- Author: Stephen Kelly
- Page: 14
- Language: English
Bonnie, you fir played the Doctor's companion Mel nearly 40 years ago. Does it feel surreal to still be talking about it all these years later?
BONNIE It's ridiculous! I wouldn't have predicted it, never in a million years. It was a job for two summers. If someone had said to me then, "You'll still be involved in Doctor Who 40 years later," I'd have just laughed. It's fabulous to be returning to the show again when it's so beloved.
You're reprising your role in Millie's first series next year. What was it like being back?
BONNIE I loved it! Goodness me, I think the budget for one scene is probably more than we ever had for a whole episode. We literally had the sets put together with sticky-back plastic and polystyrene. I'm really thrilled to be back because I didn't really enjoy my first time at all. I felt very frustrated and surplus to requirement. I tried desperately to be very earnest and so was pretty awful in it. It's lovely to come back and to fix that a bit, hopefully.
MILLIE Oh my gosh, yes, you went above and beyond!
BONNIE I never even had an introductory story first time, I just turned up! Nobody knew why. I was suddenly just there with big shoulder pads.
Do you have any advice for Millie?
BONNIE One thing I did say to Millie is that playing a companion can be quite difficult, because you feel like you're the person asking the annoying questions. "Why are we doing that? What's happening?" It can be a tricky role.
MILLIE Yeah, you're asking what the audience is thinking. But with the companion now, it's nice that you're also your own character and dealing with your own problems aside from the Doctor's. But I'm bracing myself because this is the calm before the storm. I know it's going to go wild all of a sudden.
BONNIE Enjoy it. The fans are very passionate. That can be bad as well as good, because they will always have an opinion and they will ask lots of questions. Just go with the ride, really.
Millie, you were just a baby when the show was revived in 2005. Was modern Doctor Who part of your childhood?
MILLIE I feel like everyone has a Doctor that really holds a place in their heart and Matt Smith was mine. I loved Amy Pond [Karen Gillan, too. I looked up to her as the companion. It's my childhood dreams coming true. If I told little Millie, "Hey, you're going to be doing this when you're older," I'd love to see her reaction. It was very much a thing me and my dad used to watch together.
BONNIE Who was your dad's Doctor?
MILLIE Colin Baker! It's crazy how it just keeps going. I can't wait to show it to my kids one day.
Beyond the three anniversary specials, looking ahead to Christmas and the fresh series next year - what can we expect in Doctor Who's future?
MILLIE New monsters, new people to love. You'll see Ruby's back story and you'll see how the 15th Doctor [Ncuti Gatwa] is amazing. I'm so excited for everyone to see it.
BONNIE I think it's quite dark, too - at least the episodes I was involved with.
MILLIE Yeah, in a way, it starts off quite classic Doctor Who and then it goes a bit Black Mirror-y.
How did you find working with Ncuti?
BONNIE He has great energy but also tremendous vulnerability. And that's something that's different compared to the show from 40 years ago.
MILLIE Oh my God, he has that giggly energy, like your best friend at school. I absolutely adore him and he's going to blow everyone out of the water. He's like no other Doctor you've ever seen. Now, he's my Doctor.
Caption: CRACKING DUOS 15th Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby (Millie Gibson) and, left, seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) and Mel (Bonnie Langford) in 1987
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- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=This is the calm before the storm | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/This_is_the_calm_before_the_storm | work=Radio Times | pages=14 | date=2023-11-25 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=23 May 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=This is the calm before the storm | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/This_is_the_calm_before_the_storm | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=23 May 2025}}</ref>
