Actress
Wendy Padbury was born on 7th December 1947, in Warwickshire. Wendy is most famous for her involvement in various Doctor Who projects.
Before becoming an actress Wendy took ballet classes but these came to an end due to her flat feet. They were replaced by Saturday morning drama classes with a strong emphasis on elocution.
Wendy 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”. She played the role of Stephanie “Stevie” Harris, foster daughter to the show’s main character, Meg Mortimer (Noele Gordon).
Wendy 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 aka Jamie McCrimon and Patrick Troughton, who played the Doctor. Wendy has many fond stories about the practical jokes they would play on each other during rehearsals.
Her connection with Doctor Who after she left the programme (at the same time as Frazer and Patrick) 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 Frazer Hines and Patrick Troughton in Doctor Who’s 20th anniversary story, The Five Doctors.
Other roles included co-presenter of the second series of Score With The Scaffold. Wendy appeared in three series of the children’s television adventure programme Freewheelers playing the part of Sue Craig. She alsomade a series of appearances in the British soap opera Emmerdale when it was known as Emmerdale Farm playing opposite Frazer Hines, one of the major stars of that show.
In 1970 Wendy appeared in Piers Haggard’s cult British horror film Blood on Satan’s Claw as the unfortunate Cathy Vespers, alongside Linda Hayden, as well as Anthony Ainley, who a decade later would take the role of The Master in Doctor Who.
In an interview with Doctor Who Magazine, Wendy 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. 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 Matt Smith whoplayed the 11th Doctor.
Wendy is now retired and is living in France, having previously been a theatrical agent with Nicholas Courtney, Colin Baker and Mark Strickson, all former Doctor Who actors, amongst her clients. She discovered Matt Smith at the National Youth Theatre.
Misty Moon Event:
- An Evening With Wendy Padbury – 20th August 2014