Doctor Who: Louise Jameson Talks About Low Pay in the Early Days of the Show

Given the amount of revenue that Doctor Who generates for the BBC and for the main actors on the show, it is difficult to imagine a time when it was not lucrative to be on the program. Well, that was not always the case.

Every once in a while, there is a tidbit of information that one learns about the olden days on Doctor Who that is a bit surprising. Be it in terms of parts left out of scripts, actors that would have portrayed the Doctor or other assorted knowledge, the history of Doctor Who can be as fascinating as the episodes themselves.

One of those interesting moments came about during a recent interview that Roz Lewis of The Telegraph did with Louise Jameson. Jameson, who portrayed Leela, travelling with the Fourth Doctor and K-9, talked about her pay during her early days at the BBC:

"I was in one episode of Z Cars in 1972, which I can’t remember the fee for. It probably wasn’t very much. When I started work on Dr Who, I got £120 per episode, which went up to £150. The BBC used to have this system, where you came in on a ground level and every job you get you get pushed up a little bit, so by the time I got to EastEnders I was on a pretty reasonable whack."

These amounts seem rather small, even given the time frame. She goes on, however, to express that being on Doctor Who has paid off in the long run:

"I’ve just played a [whore] in Toast of London, because Matt Berry [the co-creator and writer] liked Leela. I have certainly earned far more since appearing on the show, with conventions, TV appearances around the show, plus I have voiced audio books for Big Finish. This year I will be in New York, Chicago and LA for Dr Who conventions, plus I might be taking my one woman show Pulling Faces to New York too. It is all on the back of being known for that part."

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Perhaps this is why so many of the former actors and Doctors on the show are willing to appear at conventions or as a part of the various Big Finish productions. Not only does it give these actors a chance to reconnect with the fans and relieve their time on Doctor Who, these appearances may be far more lucrative than when they were a part of the show itself.

For people like Jameson, who were an important part of the program, that rate of pay was likely more than what others received. For someone who played a smaller role, even if they were a recurring character, being on Doctor Who may not have been as lucrative at the time. Yet, with the potential to open up other roles, and the current popularity of the show fueling the multitude of conventions appearing almost everywhere, that time on the show is starting to pay off.

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While Doctor Who has always had a following, there have been times in the past when it was not the same sort of powerhouse that it is currently. Those who were on the show during the classic series are certainly beginning to make up for that lower rate of pay.