Tributes have been paid to actress Deborah Watling, who died yesterday after a short illness.

Watling played Victoria in the 1960's, alongside Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines, who was one of the first to comment.

I've just found out about dear Deb's. Loved her so much RIP

— Frazer Hines (@WhoFrazer) July 21, 2017

Watling was an active member of the convention circuit and much loved by many other stars of Doctor Who. Nicola Bryant tweeted "I am so sad to hear of the passing of the lovely Deborah Watling.We had so many laughs & heart to heart", while Katy Manning added "So deeply saddened to hear that the wonderful funny talented #DeborahWatling has gone on her awfully big adventure ,oneofthe absolute best"

Deborah Watling's sister is the actress Dilys Watling and her brother the former actor, and current Member of Parliament for Clacton, Gyles Watling, who told PA In recent years Watling had returned to the character of Victoria for Big Finish audio productions. Senior Producer David Richardson said Deborah Watling is survived by her husband Steve.

It is with deep sadness we report the death of Deborah Watling, forever known as the Second Doctor's companion Victoria.

Deborah Watling joined Doctor Who in 1967, just over 50 years ago. She remained with the series for just under a year, playing the Victorian orphan taken into the care of the Doctor.

Alongside Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines, Watling would occupy the Tardis throughout what is now viewed as the classic monster era of the show, featuring Cybermen, Daleks, Ice Warriors and, of course, The Yeti.

Deborah Watling was born on 2nd January 1948. She was born into a theatrical family, her father the actor Jack Watling and her mother the actress Patricia Hicks. It was inevitable that she and her siblings would end up on the stage and by the age of ten, she was appearing in the ITV series The Invisible Man, playing the niece of Peter Brady.

In 1965 she played Alice Liddell in the BBC Wednesday play written by Dennis Potter and based on the life of Lewis Carroll. It was this appearance which led her to be cast as Victoria Waterfield in the final story of Season four, The Evil of the Daleks.

It wasn't initially to be a companion role. The producers were hoping to persuade Pauline Collins, who had appeared in the previous story, to stay on. When Collins declined, the role of ongoing companion was offered to Watling and Victoria joined the TARDIS crew.

It is well known that the team of Troughton, Watling, and Hines got on extremely well with Watling often the butt of the boys jokes. Many of her stories have been wiped since transmission, and the return of two to the archive a few years ago, The Enemy of the World and most of The Web of Fear brought her considerable delight.

She left Doctor Who in April 1968, at the end of Fury from the Deep. Small roles in the films That'll Be the Day and Take Me High followed. On TV she appeared in Rising Damp and The Newcomers and in 1979 she played Norma Baker in the ITV series Danger UXB.

She briefly returned to the character of Victoria in 1993, for the Children In Need skit, Dimensions in Time before recreating Victoria in a number of audio plays for Big Finish.

Deborah Watling was diagnosed with lung cancer six weeks ago and died earlier today.

The BBC has issued a formal response to complaints about the casting of Jodie Whittaker as the thirteenth Doctor.

Since the news was released on Sunday, the Corporation has received a number of complaints about the casting decision.

As part of its complaints procedure it has now responded.

Incoming Doctor Who Showrunner Chris Chibnall has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Edge Hill University.

The award for, services to Literature, was made on Monday 17th July. In a video released by the University, Chibnall talked about how it felt to receive the award and his aspirations for Doctor Who.

Peter Capaldi was paid between £200,000 and £250,000 for his work on Doctor Who in the previous financial year, according to figures published by the BBC today.

The BBC has been instructed by government to publish the salaries of all on screen staff members who earn more than £150,000 each year, as part of the 2016 charter renewal.

The BBC has 96 staff members who fit into this category with Radio 2 and Top Gear presenter Chris Evans topping the chart with a salary of over 2 million pounds.

The highest paid actor is Derek Thompson from Casualty who earned between £350,000 and £400,000 in the year. The list only includes those working directly for the BBC and not those working on independent productions comissioned by the corporation, such as Sherlock.

The figure just reflects the amount of licence fee money paid to the actor and does not include any money paid by the commercial company BBC Worldwide for any other work undertaken.

Candy Jar Books has announced its third free Lethbridge-Stewart short story of 2017, to accompany the newly released The Daughters of Earth:


The book has been written by newcomer Jonathan Macho, who was a runner up in the South Wales Short Story Competition of 2015, run by Candy Jar Books. His first encounter with Candy Jar Books came in 2014 at their Summer Book Festival.

Range Editor Andy Frankham-Allen explains:
Jonathan says:
Andy continues:
Jonathan adds:

The Two Brigadiers also includes an mini-short written by Andy Frankham-Allen called When Times Change..., in which Sir Alistair himself remarks upon the announcement of Jodie Whittaker, the new Doctor Who!


The book will be sent out free to everybody who purchases (includes any bundles or subscription featuring...) this month’s release, The Daughters of Earth by Sarah Groenewegen. This is the second novel in series four, focusing on a subject matter than is still topical. Sarah says:

The Daughters of Earth is available to buy individually or as part of a bundle from Candy Jar Books.

The BBC have revealed that the video announcing Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor received over sixteen million views online

The minute-long specially shot scene debuted on BBC One after the Men’s Wimbledon final on Sunday, where just over 5 million viewers saw it. It was also released on BBC social media channels around the world.

The reveal has been watched 9.8 million times on the BBC One Facebook channel so far, with over 2.5 million views on the Doctor Who Twitter account - making it the most successful tweet of all time for Doctor Who.

Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, says: The teaser trailer, which debuted on Friday evening before the BBC One 6 O’Clock News, has been watched a further 4.8 million times online.

Jodie Whittaker will make her debut as the Doctor in this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special, when the current Doctor – played by Peter Capaldi - will regenerate.

The actor and playwright Trevor Baxter has died, aged 84.

Graduating from RADA in 1961, Baxter appeared in a variety of shows since his debut in the 1950s, chalking up credits in a number of well-known series such as Adam Adamant Lives!, Z Cars, Thriller, The New Avengers, George and Mildred, Rumpole of the Bailey, and in later years roles such as Lanyon in Jack The Ripper, Gordon Naylor in The Politician's Wife, and Dr Albrigtsen in Maelstrom. On the big screen, he appeared in films including Nutcracker, Parting Shots, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow and Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj.

However, for Doctor Who fans it is the pairing up with Christopher Benjamin to play Professor George Litefoot alongside Henry Gordon Jago that he will be remembered for. Created for the 1977 fourth Doctor tale The Talons of Weng-Chiang, the partnership proved popular and memorable, and though rumours of a spin-off television series never came to fruition at the time, the duo found new life through Big Finish with their own series of audio adventures. (You can read the Big Finish tribute here).

Louise Jameson played Leela alongside Baxter in The Talons of Weng-Chiang and today paid tribute to the actor. Off-screen, Baxter appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and was also an accomplished playwright, with plays such as Edith Grove, The Undertaking, Ripping Them Off and Through A Glass Darkly. In 2003 he adapted Oscar Wilde's A Portrait of Dorian Gray for the stage, and in 2005 Wilde's short story Lord Arthur Savile's Crime.

Now the dust has settled on the announcement of the casting of Jodie Whittaker as the thirteenth Doctor, we can access reaction from around the world which has been pouring in.

Sixth Doctor Colin Baker was one of the first to express his delight, tweeting "Well I never the BBC really did do the right thing and let the Doctor be in touch with her feminine side. As a father of daughters - result!".

Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy also congratulated the actress "Congratulations Jodie Whittaker!!!!! One small step for Women, one Giant leap for Womenkind!!"

However the fifth Doctor Peter Davison called for an understanding of those resistant to change. "It might be more helpful to be encouraging, and not simply scornful, of fans who are uncertain about change.!!"

Past companions welcomed the change. Janet Fielding, who played Tegan in the 1980's, tweeting "I was zooming round in the #Tardis the yr #jodiewhittaker was born. Never thought then I'd ever see a female #Dr. V excited. Yipppeeeee" while Louise Jameson who played Leela in .the 1970's added "Congratulations to the brilliantly talented #jodiewhittaker Fabulous that we have a female doctor. Squeeeeeeee" . Katy Manning added "12 actors have given their superb magic touch to creating their Doctors & I feel 13 will be a corker good on you Chris Chibnall"

Alex Kingston, who plays River Song in the series, was being interviewed at a convention when the news was announced, and gave her reaction to the crowd. "Jodie Whittaker? Oh my goodness!. God, I’m always the damn cradlesnatcher!"

Press reaction is also overwhelmingly positive with the Telegraph saying the casting could be a boost for the show which has seen its audience decline in recent years. "Forget naysayers insisting that the 54-year-old show’s hero must be a man. Wave away cynics whining that this is “political correctness gone mad”. The casting of a woman will breathe new life into the sci-fi franchise, which has recently struggled in the ratings. Making Who history is a headline-grabbing way to begin arresting that decline. "

Variety also thinks it's about time a woman took on .the role. "Coming from one of the biggest media franchises on the planet, the news that the new “Doctor Who” is female is huge — and almost completely delightful. the fact that Jodie Whittaker has been named the Thirteenth Doctor is cause for celebration. Not only is Whittaker a fine actor — she was fantastic in “Broadchurch” and “Attack the Block” — her casting sends a message."

Time magazine thought it was about timey wimey we had a female Doctor "For many fans, it’s an exciting change that will make the show even more relatable. However, there will undoubtedly be some complaints from fans who can only envision the Doctor as a white male with a British accent. Just call it a miracle that the Doctor can still regenerate at all. In other words, as the Doctor said way back in the beginning, This is who I am, right here, right now, all right? All that counts is here and now, and this is me!”

Opinion is more split amongst fans with many taking to social media to express their disappointment with what they feel is an overly PC decision. However, the reaction of one young fan to the news, reported here on the Huffington Post, summed up the importance of the casting too many.

Finally, The British Prime Minister Theresa May, the second woman to hold that position, is said to be "pleased" that the next Doctor will be a woman, according to her official spokesman.

Following the news that she had been cast as the thirteenth, and first female Doctor, Jodie Whittaker has been taking about the role and her feelings on becoming the number one Time Lord