How I fell for Dr Who
- Publication: Daily Express
- Date: 1980-11-22
- Author: Janice Morley
- Page: 9
- Language: English
LALLA WARD TALKING ABOUT THE SHOWBIZ ROMANCE OF THE YEAR
WHEN Lalla Ward and Tom Baker tie the matrimonial knot r in the. Dr Who scarf next month they will bring together two vividly contrasting backgrounds.
Tom was brought up in Liverpool among Irish pubs and Irish priests with aspirations of being a monk, while Lalla, the daughter of Viscount Bangor, had a completely different upbringing,
Her father, writer and former BBC war correspondent. Edward Ward, and mother, writer and former BBC radio producer, Marjorie Ward, raised Lalla between trendy Chelsea and their home in the South of France.
FUTURE
But two years ago Liverpool and Chelsea came together when Lana walked into the role of Princess Astra... and into the life of the Doctor.
Lalla bad returned front painting in the South of France, after her relationship with a married actor had broken up, end the words : "I'll never get involved with an actor," had, hardly hit the air when she met Tom.
But this week she had to eat those words : "I know, it's really dangerous to make such declarations, you never know what the future Is going to do."
And Tom is just as bad. His marriage ended 11 years ago with two sons now in their teens, And his oft-uttered sentence on matrimony is : "I'm a confirmed bachelor."
PLANS
So today they are both chewing over their declare-Lions while they plan a Chelsea register office wedding a few days before Christmas.
Both will be off our screens as Dr Who and his assistant by February; end Lalla says it was their leaving that sparked off their plans.
"When we met it wasn't a great big feeling. We got on well from the word go, we were friends.
"We used to like each other's company and did a lot of things together and it Just developed."
On their age difference — Lalla is 28, Tom 45 — she says: "I haven't thought about it very much. We just, get on.
"We're similar. We aren't planners ... if we're going to do something we do it then and there.
"We're both readers, love books, and we're both actors. It's just easy."
Though Tom claims their love has been simmering from the moment they met, Lalla says : "It didn't really all gell in my mind until I realised we weren't going to be working together any longer.
"The relationship didn't take five seconds—it took ten."
She assures me it wasn't a romance of sweet nothings being whispered across intergalactic space. "We were very, professional but I think I was asked by our producer to take the part of Tom's assistant, when the part of the Princess came to an end, because he knew that we got on well."
And because they're both so sure they will continue to get on well they will not be living together, "I can't imagine life without Tom, so I might as well marry him," she says. We are now going to be on the, same planet."
JOBS
Not all the time, though, it seems. "We both have new jobs lined up and as with all actors, work tears you apart, especially when we both take it so seriously, But at least we understand the profession."
The distant future is not a problem at the moment as they are enjoying the present too much. "I can't believe people are so interested, but if people want to share our good news that's lovely."
Did Tom get down on his knees and ask Lord Bangor's permission ?
It appears not. "Tom has met my parents but doesn't know them very well," says Lalla." They're happy if I'm happy, so it won't be a problem."
WAGES
As a teenager she painted murals on the walls of the faintly home near St Tropez.
Recently she's been painting murals on the walls at Tom's flat. And she's been able to bump up the variable wages of an actress with commissions for illustrating books. "I'd never give up painting,' she says. "I love it.
"When we are together in public people assume it's Dr Who and his assistant. It's funny how people confuse the image with us as real people.
So remember, next time you see them in the street, it's not Doctor and Mrs Who, but Mr Baker and wife.
Caption: Tom and Lalla ...settling down together 'on the same planet'
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.: Morley, Janice (1980-11-22). How I fell for Dr Who. Daily Express p. 9.
- MLA 7th ed.: Morley, Janice. "How I fell for Dr Who." Daily Express [add city] 1980-11-22, 9. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Morley, Janice. "How I fell for Dr Who." Daily Express, edition, sec., 1980-11-22
- Turabian: Morley, Janice. "How I fell for Dr Who." Daily Express, 1980-11-22, section, 9 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=How I fell for Dr Who | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/How_I_fell_for_Dr_Who | work=Daily Express | pages=9 | date=1980-11-22 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=5 May 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=How I fell for Dr Who | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/How_I_fell_for_Dr_Who | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=5 May 2025}}</ref>
