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onnie comments: Well, due to the powers of the internet, my connection with the Doctor Who 'worldwide community' has flourished. It's great to know that there are so many fans and supporters of the show - many of you have contacted me through this web site and many I have met this year through some signings and a convention. Yes, I have attended my first convention since appearing in the show in the mid-eighties! On September 2nd 2000, I was at the Panopticon event in Manchester, England. Thanks and congratulations to the organizers for what was a well planned and successful weekend. It was terrific to meet everyone, sign a plethora of memorabilia (most of which I didn't know existed), reunite with some of the actors and chat to Doctor Who audio producer Gary Russell on a panel interview. He reminded me of some of the antics we got up to while filming the show—the freezing cold swimming pool in Paradise Towers, the fact that I had to wear 3" high heels when I was assistant to Colin Baker's Doctor (our height difference meant that we didn't fit a camera two-shot otherwise!), and the various fun and games during the location filming for Delta and the Bannermen. We were sent to Wales, Barry Island to be precise, to film the story set in a 1950s British Holiday Camp. Why Barry Island? You may ask. Well, it really is a holiday camp, although at that time, it was virtually closed down and in serious need of some attention! Some of the crew stayed in the chalets, but not for long. They were not too keen on their uninvited 'guests'—a family of rats!
After about eight days of filming at night and catching up on the schedule with daylight scenes too, we were given a treat—Ken Dodd. He came to shoot a couple of scenes by an aircraft hangar in Wales. He was brilliant. He kept everyone jolly and alert with his fantastic humour—an absolute tonic. As expected, he was totally professional and eager to give his 100 precent attention and ability to the job in hand too.
I'm looking forward to meeting fans from across the waters in February at the Gallifrey convention in Los Angeles. I hope to meet loads of people and visit one of my favourite places with my husband and new baby. Don't forget to keep logging on for updates. You never know, there may be more audio adventures in the pipeline too!" In 2001, Bonnie recorded a second audio adventure for Big Finish, The One Doctor, which starred Colin Baker and Christopher Biggins. It was recently voted the most popular audio adventure of the year by readers of Doctor Who Magazine. New For 2004.... I have just appeared in ‘Fosse’, a musical concert celebrating the life and work of the legendary Bob Fosse. I was the only British member of an All-American cast, brought to the U.K. as part of the European leg of their tour. It was an extraordinary experience – thrilling to perform such routines as Mien Herr and Big Spender and enlightening to work in the company of 40 Americans. We started rehearsals in Llandudno, a picturesque and charming seaside town in North Wales. Being away from home always takes a bit of getting used to, but being an Englishwoman in the heart of Wales surrounded by only Americans did sometimes make me wonder where on Earth I had landed. We moved from Llandudno to Milton Keynes, Bristol and Nottingham and, as much as I enjoyed the tour, I am a true homebody at heart so would zip down the motorway to my home and loved ones whenever possible. On one such late night drive home from Bristol, I passed the signpost for Stroud. Now, you may wonder why I think that’s something of which to take note, but it brought back instant images of a quarry there where we filmed the one and only Doctor Who. I cast back my mind to that freezing cold, but bright morning. Dawn has now broken and already we are slightly behind our jam–packed schedule. Everyone is in good spirits, but aware that the weather is as unpredictable as always and the forecast of rain appears to be likely. I must also add that the location is a working quarry and we are filming in the dormant areas. Elsewhere there are lorries screeching back and forth delivering and collecting their loads – the director and crew become increasingly tense at the constant delays and stoppages. As usual, I am dressed in the flimsiest clothes in the heart of winter – how I wish I had better circulation. I am cold through to my bones, and my nose is shining like a certain animal known as Rudolph. It doesn’t help that I haven’t slept for 36 hours. No wild parties to attribute that to but the final night of a 6-month tour of ‘Peter Pan – The Musical’. I had finished the show, packed up the dressing room, gone home to pack a suitcase and driven through what was left of the night in time for copious cups of coffee and a sit down in the make-up wagon – Oh, the glamour of it all! Why did I always pack my work in to within an inch of my life?! Anyway, I am shattered and my teeth are chattering. After lunch, I sneak into the back seat of one of the crew Land Rovers’ and nod off. Just as I drift off in my slumbers to a Caribbean beach in the warm sunshine, I am rudely awakened by the Production Manager who virtually has to drag me, half-snoring, on to the muddy, damp set. How does Sleeping Beauty wake up in such a good mood after 100 years?! In my sleep-induced state I complete the shot – ‘Mel screaming in a super-imposed bubble’. That shot was turned into a collectors card that I have signed more times than I possibly care to mention. In hindsight of that fact, I may have been a bit more awake! Maybe I’m yawning and not screaming at all!! Finally, it is extraordinary that my connections with Doctor Who continue to be reinforced and rekindled. That is what is so unique about the show; you really do become part of a family tree. The prospect of a new series has brought about the usual requests for comments, interviews and predictions. The media have always had a fascination for Doctor Who, along with it’s cast and fans. So, the news of Billie Piper playing the new assistant for the forthcoming series has transformed me into a ‘font of knowledge and advice for her’, or so they reckon anyway!! I warmly welcome a regeneration of Doctor Who on the small screen. There is limitless scope for much more mileage in that creaky old TARDIS, I’m sure. It appears that the ingredients are all in place – A prominent writer, who has knowledge of, and affection for, the show (past, present and future of course), a cast of accomplished actors, an excellent production team and the support of the BBC itself. May I congratulate all the fans without whose support I am convinced this would not have happened. Let’s hope it is a great success and the future looks bright for even more episodes. But then,…………WHO knows?!! Photographs courtesy of 10th Planet
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For
once, the weather was great and as usual we were joined by a host
of terrific actors. The filming schedule was pretty tight though
and it wasn't long before we were running behind. One of the 'differences'
with employment on Doctor Who was that most of the actors
had to partake in semi-dangerous activities! Even in this story,
poor Hugh Lloyd had to wrestle with bees nests while delivering
his lines, oh, and there was that motor bike! I was in the sidecar,
Brian Davies rode pillion and Sylvester McCoy was driving. I don't
know why, but every time Sylvester tried to start that bike, it
just refused. Even when the crew started it, the minute Sylvester
got on, it would stop. Apart from one occasion when he got so carried
away, we crashed into the undergrowth narrowly missing the edge
of a sheer drop of a cliff! There were so many disasters with that
bike, they made a tape of outtakes which was played at the wrap
party accompanied by The Leader Of The Pack song! I wonder
where that got to?
Of
course, on my Panopticon panel, the subject of new Doctor Who
adventures was pretty evident! The Fires Of Vulcan had
just been released on CD and tape and was available at the convention.
It was directed by Gary Russell and produced by Big Finish Productions.
The reaction has been very positive so far—I think the audio
element gives a great opportunity for the imagination to run riot
(no wobbly sets!). I visited lovely Derek and the team at 10th Planet
in September 2000 and signed a record number of orders—my hand
took 3 days to recover! Thanks, Derek!