Deborah Watling
{{short description|English actress (1948–2017)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Deborah Watling
| image = DeborahWatling (cropped).JPG
| caption = Watling in 2008
| image_size =
| birth_name = Deborah Patricia Watling
| birth_date = {{birth date|1948|1|2|df=y}}
| birth_place = London, England
| death_date ={{death date and age|2017|7|21|1948|1|2|df=y}}
| death_place = Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, England
| education = Braeside School, Buckhurst Hill
| alma_mater = Italia Conti Stage School
| known_for = Doctor Who
Take Me High
That'll Be the Day
| occupation = {{hlist|Actress|author}}
| years_active = 1958–2016
| spouse ={{Plainlist|
- {{marriage|Nicholas Field|1980|1983|end=div}}
- {{marriage|Steve Turner|1992}}
}}
| father = Jack Watling
| relatives = {{Plainlist|
- Giles Watling (brother)
- Dilys Watling (maternal half-sister)}}
}}
Deborah Patricia Watling{{cite web|url=http://www.deborahwatling.net|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170724111913/http://www.deborahwatling.net/|title=Deborah Watling Official Site|archive-date=24 July 2017|access-date=26 April 2020}} (2 January 1948 – 21 July 2017) was an English actress who played the role of Victoria Waterfield, a companion of the Second Doctor in the BBC television series Doctor Who from 1967 to 1968.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/companions/page11.shtml |title=Doctor Who – Classic Series – Companions – Victoria Waterfield |publisher=BBC |date=2014-09-24 |access-date=2017-07-21}}A critical history of Doctor Who on television, John Kenneth Muir, McFarland & Co (1999), p.144 She began her career as a child actress, making her debut as a regular in The Invisible Man (1958–1959). Watling is also well known for starring in the films Take Me High (1973) with Cliff Richard and That'll Be the Day (1973) with David Essex as well as playing Julie Robertson in The Newcomers (1969) and Norma Baker in Danger UXB (1979) on television.
Early life
Watling was born 2 January 1948{{cite book|last1=Scott|first1=Cavan|last2=Wright|first2=Mark|title=Who-ology: Doctor Who: The Official Miscellany|location=London|publisher=BBC Books|date=2013|isbn=9781849906197|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Okr1_6pV6cQC|page=119}} at the Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in London, the daughter of actors Jack Watling and Patricia Hicks. Her brother Giles and her half-sister, Dilys, were also actors.Daddy's Girl: The Autobiography, Deborah Watling and Paul W.T. Ballard, Fantom Films, 2012 She was raised in Epping until the family moved to the 16th-century Alderton Hall in Loughton, Essex.{{Cite web|url=https://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Deborah_Watling|title=Deborah Watling – The Doctor Who Cuttings Archive|website=Cuttingsarchive.org|access-date=31 January 2022}} Educated at Braeside School in Buckhurst Hill, Watling considered becoming a dentist before enrolling at the Italia Conti Stage School. Watling made her film debut aged three and started playing background roles in her father's films. During one of her half-sister's parties, Watling started talking to a boy who turned out to be Michael Craze from whom she would take over as a companion in Doctor Who many years later.
Career
Beginning as a child actress, Watling had a regular role as the niece of Peter Brady in The Invisible Man (1958) television series. She was later cast for the lead role in Alice (1965),{{Cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jul/24/deborah-watling-obituary | title=Deborah Watling obituary| newspaper=The Guardian| date=2017-07-24| last1=Hadoke| first1=Toby}} Dennis Potter's play about Lewis Carroll and Alice Liddell, for the BBC's The Wednesday Play. She co-starred with Cliff Richard in the 1973 film Take Me High,Cliff Richard: The Biography, Steve Turner, Lion Books (2008), p.257 and the same year had a small role in the film That'll Be the Day.[http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Deborah_Watling:_In_Time-travelling_they_can_hear_you_scream] {{dead link|date=July 2017}} She played Norma Baker in the ITV series Danger UXB (1979),Variety international showbusiness reference, Mike Kaplan, Garland Publications (1981), p.687 and appeared regularly in the theatre.{{cite web|url=https://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Deborah_Watling|title=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive : Deborah Watling|website=Cuttingsarchive.org|access-date=31 January 2022}}
File:Jamie & Victoria (11027723533).jpg at a Doctor Who 50th Anniversary event in 2013]]
According to the short BBC Video documentary The Dalek Factor about the making of the story, released in September 2021 as part of the animated restoration of the serial, Denise Buckley was cast in the role of Victoria Waterfield by director Derek Martinus. The production team had been hoping that Pauline Collins would continue in the role of Samantha Briggs, that she had played in the previous story The Faceless Ones, but had created Victoria as a potential ongoing character should Collins decline. When Collins confirmed she did not want to join the regular cast, it was decided to introduce Victoria as the new companion and Denise Buckley was released, but paid in full, with Watling replacing her as a more suitable actress for the continuing role.BBC Video. ASIN: B098412KTK. Release date: 27 Sept. 2021 Watling played Victoria in Doctor Who from 1967 to 1968,{{Cite web | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/deborah-watling-actress-whose-short-stint-as-a-doctor-who-companion-made-a-lasting-impression-a7862891.html | title=Deborah Watling: Actress whose short stint as a Doctor Who companion made a lasting impression| website=Independent.co.uk| date=2017-07-27}} though owing to the BBC's wiping policy of the time, The Tomb of the Cybermen (1967) and The Enemy of the World (1967–1968) are the only serials in which she appeared that still exist in their entirety. She also appeared in Dimensions in Time (1993){{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/dimensionstime/detail.shtml|title = BBC One – Doctor Who|publisher=BBC}} and Downtime (1995).{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jul/24/deborah-watling-obituary|title = Deborah Watling obituary|website = The Guardian|date = 24 July 2017}}
Watling also appeared in the Doctor Who audio drama Three's a Crowd and regularly attended Doctor Who conventions and events. In November 2013, she appeared in the one-off 50th anniversary comedy homage The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot."[https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03lv3mj The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot]", BBC programmes, retrieved 26 November 2013
Personal life
In her later years, Watling lived with her husband in Thorpe-le-Soken, Essex where she was a well known figure in the village and regularly used her acting experience by directing the local pantomimes.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jul/24/deborah-watling-obituary|title=Deborah Watling obituary|date=24 July 2017|work=The Guardian}}
Her autobiography, entitled Daddy’s Girl, was published in 2010.
Death
Watling died on 21 July 2017, aged 69, at Beaumont Manor nursing home in Frinton-on-Sea, six weeks after being diagnosed with lung cancer.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-40684318|title=Deborah Watling, Doctor Who companion dies aged 69|date=21 July 2017|publisher=BBC News}}{{cite news|url=http://www.clactonandfrintongazette.co.uk/news/15426589.Family_pay_tribute_to_actress_Deborah_Watling__who_played_Doctor_Who_s_second_companion__who_has_died__aged_69/|title=Tributes paid to former Doctor Who companion Deborah Watling|date=21 July 2017|work=Clacton Gazette}}
Filmography
= Film =
| class="wikitable" | |||
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | That'll Be the Day | Sandra | |
| 1973 | Take Me High | Sarah Jones | |
| 1977 | Where Time Began | Glauben | Voice; English version |
| 1995 | Downtime | Victoria Waterfield | |
| 2000 | Out of Site | Mrs Pearson | |
| 2001 | Possessions | Lady Winkworth |
= Television =
| class="wikitable" | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958–1959 | The Invisible Man | Sally Wilson | 11 episodes |
| 1959 | The Adventures of William Tell | First Child | Episode: "The Spider" |
| 1960 | A Life of Bliss | Carol Fellows | 6 episodes |
| 1965 | rowspan=2|The Wednesday Play | Alice Liddell | Episode: "Alice" |
| rowspan="5" | 1966 | Gretchen Westermann | Episode: "Calf Love" | |
| The Power Game | Jennifer | Episode: "Late Via Rome" | |
| This Man Craig | Clare Maitland | Episode: "Period of Adjustment" | |
| Out of the Unknown | Sarah Richards | Episode: "The World in Silence" | |
| Horizon | Sophy | Episode: "Hand Me My Sword, Humphrey" | |
| 1967 | No Hiding Place | Valerie Forbes | Episode: "A Girl Like You" |
| 1967–1968 | Doctor Who | Victoria Waterfield | 40 episodes |
| 1969 | The Newcomers | Julie Robertson | 26 episodes |
| 1971 | Crime of Passion | Leonie Juhan | Episode: "Magdalena" |
| rowspan="2" | 1972 | ITV Sunday Night Drama | Nurse Beverly | Episode: "Old Newsome" |
| Doctor in Charge | Emma Livingstone | 2 episodes | |
| rowspan="3" | 1973 | rowspan=2|Late Night Theatre | Annabelle Walsh | Episode: "Death to the General" |
| Jane | Episode: "The Gypsy's Revenge" | ||
| Arthur of the Britons | Thuna | Episode: "The Slaves" | |
| 1977 | A Roof Over My Head | Maureen | Episode: "A Roof Over My Head" |
| rowspan="2" | 1978 | Rising Damp | Lorna | Episode: "Hello Young Lovers" |
| Lillie | Georgie Reed | Episode: "Sunset and Evening Star" | |
| rowspan="2" | 1979 | Danger UXB | Norma Baker | 7 episodes |
| Accident | Miriam Saxon | Episode: "Ends and Ways" | |
| 1981 | The Jim Davidson Show | Various | 5 episodes |
| 1993 | Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time | Victoria Waterfield | TV short (Part Two) |
| 2013 | The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot | Deborah Watling | TV film |
=Audio dramas=
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20170724111913/http://www.deborahwatling.net/ Deborah Watling's official website (archived)]
- [https://www.bbc.co.uk/norfolk/realmedia/nb/doctor_who_deborah_watling_holt_au_nb.ram BBC Norfolk Online – RealAudio interview] from the Holt Doctor Who Midsummer Invasion 2006
- [http://www.aveleyman.com/ActorCredit.aspx?ActorID=18014 Deborah Watling](Aveleyman)
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watling, Deborah}}
Category:English television actresses
Category:20th-century English actresses
Category:Actresses from Buckinghamshire
Category:21st-century English actresses
Category:English child actresses
Category:Deaths from lung cancer in England
Category:20th-century English businesspeople
Category:Actresses from London