Deborah Watling, best known to sci-fi fans as the second Doctor’s companion Victoria Waterfield in classic Doctor Who, has died at the age of 69 after a brief battle with cancer.
Image: BBC
Watling joined Doctor Who in 1967 during “The Evil of the Daleks”, playing Victoria — the plucky young daughter of a Victorian inventor murdered by the Daleks, who chose to expand her horizons by travelling alongside the Doctor and his companion Jamie. Sadly, most of the stories from Watling’s time on the show no longer exist, having been lost from the BBC archives — only two remain intact, including the classic story “Tomb of the Cybermen”, Victoria’s first serial as a companion.
After leaving Doctor Who in 1968, Watling went on to appear in several TV shows, including the ITV drama Danger UXB. In the years after her time on the show Watling would return to her Doctor Who role multiple times, both in the bizarre charity skit special Dimensions in Time, and also several audio stories for Who drama producer Big Finish. Our thoughts are with her family.
[BBC]