Look Who's back! (2024)
- Publication: TV Times
- Date: 2024-06-15
- Author:
- Page: 8
- Language: English
BONNIE LANGFORD on why she loves being part of the Whoniverse
Having first embarked on adventures in time and space almost 40 years ago, Bonnie Langford admits that she couldn't have imagined in her wildest dreams that she'd get the chance to play Doctor Who fan favourite Mel Bush again.
'I would never in my life have said. "Yeah, I'll be back doing that!"' chuckles the actor, dancer and singer, 59, as she joins TV Times for an exclusive interview. "Ile thought seems ridiculous, but it's such a happy place to work. It's great to be back!'
Originally exploring the universe as computer programmer turned companion Mel in the BBC' sci-fi drama from 1986 to 1987 alongside Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy's Sixth and Seventh incarnations of the time traveller, Bonnie reprised the role for a brief cameo in 2022 story The Power of the Doctor before returning in last year's 6oth anniversary special The Giggle with David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor.
Now working for fictional military organisation UNIT, Mel is back this week to help the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) in The Legend of Ruby Sunday, the opening tale of what is set to he an .._epic two-part season finale.
Here, Bonnie tells us more...
It's great to have Mel on our screens again, Bonnie! How have you found returning to the show?
It is very nice to come back to a character who I always felt was unfinished - and unstarted as she didn't get a proper beginning story [Mel had been travelling with the Sixth Doctor for some time when viewers met her in tale Terror of the Vervoids]! But it's lovely to be in a place that feels like home.
Does Doctor Who feel different compared to when you first appeared in it?
It does. We used to rehearse running up and down corridors, which seems daft now! It always felt like we were a little rep company, with Colin or Sylvester and I as the regulars who would welcome everyone in.
I think the show is treated with a lot more respect now, too. When we did it, it was regarded as this slightly offbeat, weird show that a small minority of people would watch. But now it really feels so inclusive and there's a lot more love for it.
Can you share any teasers about this week's instalment, The Legend of Ruby Sunday?
Well, since the 2023 Christmas special [The Church on Ruby Road', Ruby's been trying to discover who her birth mother is, because she feels her whole life is such a mystery. I don't think she travels with the Doctor for that, but there's certainly a curiosity to find the missing piece of her life, and that's sort of where we start this episode.
Mel has recently been recruited by UNIT. Are you enjoying this new chapter for your character?
Yes. It's great to be in a story environment where Mel is now able to contribute with her skills, but also to feel part of this family that understands who and what the Doctor is. UNIT is there to support the Doctor, so together they've all got the same motive. But there are some unexpected events...
Intriguing! Am I Being Unreasonable? star Lenny Rush makes his debut this week as Morris Gibbons, UNIT's new scientific adviser. What was it like having him on your team?
Lenny's adorable! He's such a charming young man, and he's always got a smile on his face. He's a proper giggle and it was lovely working with him.
You've starred alongside a number of Doctors over the years. How do they compare?
I knew Colin already from being in pantomime with him, and he was very different in this vein, but I absolutely adore him. When Sylvester came into the show [in 1987], I felt like I was the one holding his hand, because I'd done a few episodes by then. He was just as wide-eyed as I had been!
David Tennant was glorious, and totally on it. And Ncuti Gatwa brings a young, cool vibe. We instantly bonded. The first thing he did as the Doctor [in The Giggle] was fall into my arms!
I also did one day with Jon Pertwee, who was the Third Doctor, on the EastEnders set [for the 1993 charity crossover special Dimensions in Time for Children in Need], which I find funny now because I ended up in the BBC' soap playing Carmel Kazemi for three and a half years 'from 2015 to 2018].
Have you and Millie Gibson, who plays Ruby, swapped stories about your respective companion experiences?
It's very different now to the old days. Back then, all we did was run around, meet monsters, get in the way and say, 'But Doctor!' But I was able to say to Millie that you're asking the questions that the audience needs to know the answers to. Otherwise no one would know what the Doctor is doing, because it's all in his head!
Finally, have you enjoyed this series as a viewer?
Yes! It started off all jolly, light and fluffy, but then it started to veer in different directions, because that's what you can do with sci-fi. What I think is so important about it is that this incredible being - the Doctor - is basically a ray of hope and that's wonderful.
DOCTOR WHO is previewed on [[Ruby asks the Doctor and Mel to help find out more about her foundling past |pages 36-37]]
Time travel: Back in 1987 with Sylvester McCoy's Seventh Doctor
Allies: Mel with Ruby and the Fifteenth Doctor
Special guest: Alongside David Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor in The Giggle
Start of the adventure: Mel and the Sixth Doctor, played by Colin Baker
BLASTS FROM THE PAST
'The thing I always adored about Doctor Who was the cast and we had all these big names appear in it. I was so surprised when [Hollywood star] Stubby Kaye, who I knew from musical theatre, and Ken Dodd were in Delta and the Bannermen in 1987.
'And the other day, somebody showed me 1987's Paradise Towers where little old ladies are trying to fatten Mel up and eat her! It's hilarious - very camp and totally outrageous, plus I had to get into a swimming pool that was completely unheated!
'I also thought Dragonfire [Mel's last episode in 1987] was a beautiful story.'
Caption: Cameo: With Ken Dodd in Delta and the Bannermen
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- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Look Who's back! (2024) | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Look_Who%27s_back!_(2024) | work=TV Times | pages=8 | date=2024-06-15 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=21 December 2025 }}</ref>
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