Nicola Bryant was born and raised in a small village near Guildford in Surrey, the older of two daughters of Denis and Sheila Bryant. She has a younger sister named Tracy.[3] She began taking dance classes at the age of three, and also took piano lessons. At the age of ten she auditioned to go to ballet schools, but was unable to take up places offered because of asthma. Upset by this development, she joined a local amateur dramatic group.
On leaving school she auditioned for all of the London drama schools, and took up a scholarship to the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. In her final year there, she played the part of Nanette in a production of the musical No, No, Nanette.[4]
Career
Bryant's first professional part was as Peri Brown in Doctor Who.[3] She played the part from 1984 to 1986, first with Peter Davison, and then with Colin Baker as the Doctor.[5] Bryant's tenure on the show was met with raised eyebrows in some quarters as series producer John Nathan-Turner admitted (in his book Doctor Who: The Companions and elsewhere) that his intention was to pump up the sex appeal of the ageing series by casting the young actress who was often seen wearing low-cut outfits in the show. As the Doctor Who production team were only auditioning American actors for the role of Peri, Bryant's agent encouraged her to use an American accent until contracted for the role, and backtracked on a promise to inform the production of her nationality before any public appearances as herself. Bryant therefore continued to speak in an American accent throughout her time in the role, including in interviews and rehearsals, with only Baker becoming aware of her true nationality and accent.[6]
Bryant appeared in the Doctor Who serial The Two Doctors (1985), and she enjoyed working with Patrick Troughton, who returned as the Second Doctor. During the programme's hiatus during 1985 and 1986, Bryant reprised the role of Peri in a BBC radio production entitled Slipback alongside Baker. As a consequence of the hiatus, Bryant's three-year contract expired half way through season 23; Nathan-Turner did not renew her contract as he did not wish for a companion to be part of the series for more years than previous Doctors.[6]
After appearing in Doctor Who, Bryant spent nine months at the Savoy Theatre in the West End of London in the thriller Killing Jessica with Patrick Macnee, directed by Bryan Forbes. She was cast in other television roles, including a part in Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988). In the early to mid-1990s, she co-starred with Baker in a series of made-for-video science fiction films entitled The Stranger for BBV, although the first few films in the series were little more than Doctor Who episodes in disguise. She also appeared alongside Baker, Davison, Sylvester McCoy and Jon Pertwee in another BBV production, The Airzone Solution, which includes a love scene between Baker and Bryant.
In February 2006, she performed in a New End Theatre production of the Carl Djerassi play Taboos, and in early 2007 appeared in a London stage production of Tom Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll at the Duke of York's Theatre. A DVD documentary, In The Footsteps of The Two Doctors, following Bryant's return to some of the locations featured in the Doctor Who serial The Two Doctors, was released in late 2006.[7]
Bryant in 2008
She returned to the stage in 2008 in a touring production of an adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's "Don't Look Now", playing the part of Laura Baxter. This production continued into 2009.[5]
In the summer of 2009, Bryant filmed an improvised documentary-style film for Australian director Ben Briand as well as recording eight audio stories for Big Finish as a "missing season" of adventures for Doctor Who. On 2 March 2010 she appeared in Holby City as a television news reporter,[8] and in 2011 she featured in the Dark Shadows audio drama The Blind Painter. In 2013 she appeared in a Doctor Who-themed episode of the game show Pointless.[9]
Appearing in commercials, Bryant has been the face of Woolwich Building Society, National Saving, and Nurofen. Bryant was in the Ridley Scott Associates production for Axa Health Insurance.[citation needed]
Bryant's voice-over work spans more than three decades. She has been the voice behind BMW, Duchy Originals, Florida Orange Juice, Twinings Tea, Nationwide, Woolwich Building Society, medical and pharmaceutical companies and Bovis Houses. She has also voiced documentaries for the BBC and NBC.[3]
Colin Charles Baker is an English actor. He played Paul Merroney in the BBC television drama series The Brothers from 1974 to 1976 and the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who from 1984 to 1986. Baker's tenure as the Doctor proved to be a controversial era for the series, which included a hiatus in production and his subsequent replacement on the orders of BBC executives. His performances as the Sixth Doctor in audio plays published by Big Finish Productions have been generally well received by fans.
BBV Productions is a UK-based video and audio production company founded in 1991, specialising in science fiction drama. The company has expanded to include publishing of novels and scripts associated with its productions.
Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett, known professionally as Peter Davison, is an English actor. He made his television acting debut in 1975 and became famous in 1978 as Tristan Farnon in the BBC's television adaptation of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small stories. He subsequently played the fifth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who from 1981 to 1984.
The Rani is a fictional character in the British BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, portrayed by Kate O'Mara. She is a renegade Time Lord, and a nemesis of the series' title character, a Time Lord known as the Doctor. The Rani is an amoral biochemist who experiments on humans and other species, and considers everything secondary to her research. The character appeared in two classic serials, The Mark of the Rani (1985) and Time and the Rani (1987), before the original run of Doctor Who went off the air in 1989. The Rani later appeared as the principal villain in Dimensions in Time, a 1993 Doctor Who charity television special for BBC Children in Need. The character has since been featured in multiple Doctor Who audio dramas and novels.
Dimensions in Time is a charity special crossover between the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and the soap opera EastEnders. The special was broadcast in two parts on 26 and 27 November 1993 and was filmed on location at Greenwich and the EastEnders Albert Square set.
The Stranger is a series of direct-to-video science-fiction dramas produced by BBV and starring Colin Baker. They are now available on DVD.
The Caves of Androzani is the sixth serial of the 21st season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 8 to 16 March 1984.
The Two Doctors is the fourth serial of the 22nd season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in three weekly parts on BBC1 from 16 February to 2 March 1985.
Perpugilliam “Peri” Brown, is a fictional character played by Nicola Bryant in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.
Janet Claire Mahoney, known professionally as Janet Fielding, is an Australian actress who starred in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who as companion Tegan Jovanka.
Caroline Frances John was an English actress. She played classical roles on the stage as well as several television roles. She is best known for playing Elizabeth "Liz" Shaw in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who
The Tenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is played by David Tennant in three series and nine specials. The character has also appeared in other Doctor Who spin-offs. In 2023, Tennant returned to the role, this time as the fourteenth incarnation of the Doctor.
Sarah Sutton is a British actress. She played the role of Nyssa in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.
Planet of Fire is the fifth serial of the 21st season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 23 February to 2 March 1984.
The Fifth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Peter Davison.
A number of officially licensed audio productions based upon the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who have been produced over the years.
Marina Sirtis is a British actress. She is best known for her role as Counselor Deanna Troi on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and four Star Trek feature films, as well as other appearances in the Star Trek franchise.
The Airzone Solution is a 1993 British sci-fi-thriller film, produced by BBV. It was written by Nicholas Briggs and directed by Bill Baggs. It stars Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Peter Davison, Sylvester McCoy, Jon Pertwee and Heather Tracy.
The Kingmaker is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The drama was written by Nev Fountain, who is best known for his work on the BBC radio and television comedy series Dead Ringers, and guest stars Jon Culshaw, who in that series is known for his impression of Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor.
P.R.O.B.E. is a series of direct-to-video science-fiction films mostly written by Mark Gatiss and produced by BBV Productions. It was the first live-action Doctor Who spin-off series.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
