Wendy Padbury | |
---|---|
Born | Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England | 7 December 1947
Education | Alcester Grammar School |
Occupations | |
Years active | 1964–2010; 2023 |
Known for | Zoe Heriot in Doctor Who (1968–1969) Crossroads |
Spouse | |
Children | 2, including Charlie Hayes |
Wendy Padbury (born 7 December 1947) is a British actress and former talent agent. She has appeared in television series since 1966, including as Zoe Heriot, a companion to Patrick Troughton's Doctor in Doctor Who , from 1968 to 1969.
Before becoming an actress Padbury took ballet classes, but these came to an end due to her flat feet. She replaced ballet with Saturday morning drama classes with a strong emphasis on elocution. [1]
Padbury came to prominence in 1966 when she joined the cast of the long-running ATV soap opera Crossroads after she came second in the television talent contest Search for a Star. For her initial song in the contest she chose "(When I Marry) Mr. Snow" and made the unusual decision to sing a capella. Afterwards, the guest celebrity, Stubby Kaye, praised her very highly and predicted that she would go far, somewhat to the embarrassment of the presenter since, at that point, no one contestant should have been singled out. In Crossroads, she played the role of Stephanie "Stevie" Harris, foster daughter to the show's main character, Meg Mortimer (Noele Gordon).
She was cast as the Second Doctor's new companion, Zoe Heriot, in Doctor Who in 1968. She became very close to her co-stars Frazer Hines and Patrick Troughton, the latter playing the Doctor. Padbury tells many fond stories about the practical jokes they would play on each other during rehearsals. [1]
Her connection with Doctor Who after she left the programme (at the same time as Hines and Troughton) was not quite over. She appeared in Doctor Who and the Daleks in the Seven Keys to Doomsday (1974), a stage play at the Adelphi Theatre London based on the television series, in which she played a companion named Jenny, opposite Trevor Martin as the Doctor. She then made an appearance, again with Hines and Troughton, in Doctor Who's 20th anniversary story, "The Five Doctors". [2]
Her other roles include co-presenter of the second series of Score with the Scaffold . She appeared in three series of the children's television adventure programme Freewheelers playing the part of Sue Craig. [3] She made a series of appearances as Rosemary Roberts in the British soap opera Emmerdale (then known by its original title Emmerdale Farm), coincidentally opposite Frazer Hines, one of the major stars of that show.
Her film appearances included a brief role in Charlie Bubbles (1967) with Albert Finney, [4] and Piers Haggard's cult British horror film The Blood on Satan's Claw (1971) as the unfortunate Cathy Vespers. [5] Coincidentally, she appeared alongside both actress Roberta Tovey who played Susan in the Dr Who movie Dr Who and the Daleks , and actor Anthony Ainley who a decade later would take the role of The Master in Doctor Who, including the above mentioned episode, "The Five Doctors".
In an interview with Doctor Who Magazine , Padbury explained that she no longer appeared at Doctor Who conventions nor spoke about her time on the programme, as she felt she no longer had anything new to say about her time in the show.[ citation needed ] However, following her retirement she returned to the convention scene and was a guest at Gallifrey One in 2009 where she spoke about how she first met then new Doctor actor, Matt Smith.[ citation needed ]
Padbury is now retired and lives in France, [6] having previously worked as a theatrical agent. [7] Nicholas Courtney, Colin Baker and Mark Strickson, all former Doctor Who actors, were among her clients. She discovered Matt Smith at the National Youth Theatre. [8]
In 2023, Padbury reprised her role as Zoe Heriot in the series Tales of the TARDIS . [9]
Padbury attended Alcester Grammar School in Warwickshire. She was married to Melvyn Hayes from 1974 to 1987, [10] with whom she had two daughters, Joanna (born 1974) and actress Charlie (born 1977).
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1967 | Charlie Bubbles | Woman in Cafe | |
1971 | The Blood on Satan's Claw | Cathy Vespers | |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1964 | Crossroads | Stevie Harris | 44 episodes |
1968–69 | Doctor Who | Zoe Heriot | 48 episodes |
1971 | Z-Cars | Christina | Episode: Kid's Stuff |
Score with the Scaffold | Presenter | ||
1971–73 | Freewheelers | Sue Craig | 39 episodes |
1974 | Crown Court | Fiona Sumner | Episode: The Getaway |
1975 | The Emperor's Nightingale | Kay-Su | |
1976–81 | You and Me | Presenter | BBC Schools Series |
1976–77 | Merry-Go-Round | Presenter | BBC Schools Series |
1982–83 | Over To You | Presenter | ITV Schools Series |
1983 | Doctor Who: The Five Doctors | Zoe Heriot | TV special |
1987 | Emmerdale Farm | Rosemary Roberts | 6 episodes |
1991 | The Bill | Manageress | Episode: The Negotiator |
2023 | Tales of the TARDIS | Zoe Heriot | Episode: "The Mind Robber" |
The Seeds of Death is the fifth serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Brian Hayles and an uncredited Terrance Dicks and directed by Michael Ferguson, it originally aired in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 25 January to 1 March 1969. It sees the return of the Ice Warriors, previously introduced by Hayles in the 1967 serial The Ice Warriors.
The War Games is the seventh and final serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in ten weekly parts from 19 April to 21 June 1969.
The Evil of the Daleks is the mostly-missing ninth and final serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in seven weekly parts from 20 May to 1 July 1967.
Zoe Heriot is a fictional character played by Wendy Padbury in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A young astrophysicist who lived on a space wheel in the 21st century, she was a companion of the Second Doctor and a regular in the programme from 1968 to 1969. Zoe appeared in eight stories.
James Robert McCrimmon, usually simply called Jamie, is a fictional character played by Frazer Hines in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A piper of the Clan MacLeod who lived in 18th-century Scotland, he was a companion of the Second Doctor and a regular in the programme from 1966 to 1969. The spelling of his surname varies from one script to another; it is alternately rendered as Macrimmon and McCrimmond. Jamie appeared in 20 stories.
The Dominators is the first serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in five weekly parts from 10 August to 7 September 1968. The Second Doctor and his travelling companions Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot work with the Dulcians of the planet Dulkis to prevent the alien Dominators from blowing up Dulkis and using its irradiated remains as spaceship fuel.
Frazer Simpson Frederick Hines is an English actor. He began his career as a child actor and appeared in A King in New York (1957) with Charlie Chaplin. He later played Jamie McCrimmon in Doctor Who, appearing in more episodes than any other companion. He was a regular in the series alongside Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor between 1966 and 1969, and later made guest appearances in the 1980s stories "The Five Doctors" and The Two Doctors. He also had a long-running role as Joe Sugden in Emmerdale Farm between 1972 and 1994.
The Second Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by actor Patrick Troughton. Out of his 119 episodes, 53 are missing.
The Krotons is the fourth serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 28 December 1968 to 18 January 1969.
The Invasion is the partly missing third serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in eight weekly parts from 2 November to 21 December 1968.
The Space Pirates is the mostly missing sixth serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from 8 March to 12 April 1969.
The Wheel in Space is the partly missing seventh and final serial of the fifth season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from 27 April to 1 June 1968.
Davros is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.
Doctor Who: The Lost Stories is a sci-fi audio series produced by Big Finish Productions of Doctor Who audio plays adapted from unused TV stories.
Legend of the Cybermen is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It takes place after The Mind Robber and The Wreck of the Titan.
The twentieth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 3 January 1983 with the story Arc of Infinity, and ended 16 March 1983 with The King's Demons. A 20th Anniversary special, "The Five Doctors", followed in November 1983. John Nathan-Turner produced this series, with Eric Saward script editing.
The sixth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 10 August 1968 with the first story of season 6 The Dominators and ended Patrick Troughton's reign as the Doctor with its final story The War Games. Only 37 out of 44 episodes are held in the BBC archives; 7 remain missing. As a result, 2 serials are incomplete: only episode 2 of the 6-part story The Space Pirates still exists, while The Invasion has had its two missing episodes reconstructed using animation.
The fifth season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 2 September 1967 with the first story of season 5 The Tomb of the Cybermen and ended on 1 June 1968 with The Wheel in Space. Only 22 out of 40 episodes are held in the BBC archives; 18 remain missing. As a result, only 2 serials exist entirely. However, The Abominable Snowmen, The Ice Warriors, The Web of Fear, and Fury from the Deep have had their missing episodes reconstructed using animation.
Doctor Who: The Early Adventures is a series of audio dramas based on the British television series Doctor Who and produced by Big Finish Productions.