Carry on Screaming!
30th anniversary special
20 November 1993
10th (1973) | 20th (1983) | 30th (1993) | 40th (2003) | 50th (2013) | 60th (2023)
- Publication: Radio Times
- Date: 1993-11-20
- Author:
- Page: 40
- Language: English
The Time Lord was rarely alone in his Tardis. Over the years he was accompanied by a steady stream of intergalactic hitchhikers, the assistants, whose main role was to fall into the claws of the Daleks
Through three decades, one elite group dominated the reveries of British youth. Mostly ordinary young men and women, they were our guides to a world of fantasy. They fought monsters and won, and awoke the first stirrings of adolescent lust. They were the assistants, around 30 in all, who accompanied the Doctor on his travels.
It all began with Susan, the Doctor's granddaughter. "She was going to be quite a tough little girl," says Carole Anne Ford, who travelled with William Hartnell from 1963 to 1965, "a bit like the Avengers lady, using karate and judo. Then they decided they wanted me to be a normal teenage girl."
Carole Anne Ford and a handful of successors (Deborah Watling/Victoria, Elisabeth Sladen/Sarah Jane and Nicola Bryant/Peri) recall the time-travelling life in Doctor Who: 30 Years in the Tardis next week on BBC1. None was remarkable - it was their ordinariness that made them the perfect foil to the Doctor - but all inspired an affectionate following. Frazer Hines, the kilted Jamie, was pursued in the late 60s with one burning question: "Do you wear anything under your kilt?". "I did," admits Hines, now an Emmerdale resident. "Usually football shorts, so I could get a game as soon as I'd finished on set."
But being an assistant on Doctor Who was by no means a passport to a lasting career. The actors had little to do except get the Doctor into trouble and scream when in peril, and few of them went on to serious roles. Katy Manning, who played mini-skirted Jo Grant, had no illusions about the job. "I first met Jon [Pertwee] in the foyer of
Katy Manning now lives in Australia, teaching and acting occasionally. Doctor Who remains the public highpoint of her career, Elisabeth Sladen co-starred in the only spin-off, K9 and Company; Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart) is currently appearing in The Mousetrap; and Peter Purves found more enduring fame as a Blue Peter presenter.
It was the most atypical assistant who perhaps had the most success. Louise Jameson, as the knife-wielding Leela, wore a primitive bikini and killed her enemies (much to the Doctor's distress). "I was astounded that I became a sex symbol," says Jameson, who went on to star in Tenko, Bergerac (as Jim's girlfriend) and Rides. "But I suppose if you put somebody in leathers and bang them on after the football results, it's inevitable."
Clockwise, from top left: Carole Anne Ford (as Susan); Peter Purves (Steven); Frazer Hines (Jamie); Katy Manning (Jo Grant); Nicola Bryant (Peri); K-9 (as himself); Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane) and Nicholas Courtney (the Brigadier). Right: Louise Jameson as the savage Leela
WHERE'S WHO?
Everyone's Doctor crazy! As well as Children in Need, there is:
• Doctor Who - 30 Years Saturday 4.00pm Radio 2
• Doctor Who 30th Anniversary Sunday 10.00am UK Gold, with episodes at 1.00pm and 1.55pm, and Monday - Friday 11.45pm
• Doctor Who: 30 Years In the Tardis Monday 29 November BBC1 Documentary with interviews and clips
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.: (1993-11-20). Carry on Screaming!. Radio Times p. 40.
- MLA 7th ed.: "Carry on Screaming!." Radio Times [add city] 1993-11-20, 40. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: "Carry on Screaming!." Radio Times, edition, sec., 1993-11-20
- Turabian: "Carry on Screaming!." Radio Times, 1993-11-20, section, 40 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Carry on Screaming! | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Carry_on_Screaming! | work=Radio Times | pages=40 | date=1993-11-20 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=8 April 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Carry on Screaming! | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Carry_on_Screaming! | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=8 April 2025}}</ref>
