On Friday, it was announced that Deborah Watling, who had played Second Doctor companion Victoria Waterfield, had passed away, at the age of 69.
Deborah Watling had joined the cast in The Evil of the Daleks, the final story of season four of the Classic Series. She played the role of Victoria Waterfield in most of season five, until she left the show in Fury from the Deep.
As a character, Victoria was interesting to watch due to her relationships with the Second Doctor and Jamie. All three members of the TARDIS team were clearly very close. This was also true of the actors. Of Patrick Troughton, she had said:
"I have said this before and it is true, Pat became like a second father to me both on the show and after I left…"
Her relationship with Frazer Hines, who played Second Doctor companion Jamie McCrimmon, was equally close.
"The other person on the show at the time was Frazer Hines playing the part of Jamie. He and I became like brother and sister. We had such a great rapport, and even today when we meet up at Doctor Who events things haven’t changed."
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Even after she left, she continued to play the role of Victoria. In 1995, she returned to the role in the independently made direct-to-video spin-off, Downtime. Along with being a sequel to Second Doctor serials The Abominable Snowmen and The Web of Fear, it also featured Nicholas Courtney as the Brigadier and Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith.
Like many other actors from the Classic Series, she had also played the role in several Big Finish stories. These have included releases in The Companion Chronicles, The Lost Stories and The Early Adventures. Her last portrayal of Victoria was in last year’s The Companion Chronicles: The Second Doctor – Volume 2.
I must admit, reading the BBC’s official announcement was a bit of a shock. Once again, the fandom of Doctor Who has suffered a huge loss. When she was originally cast at just 19 years old, Watling was extraordinarily young at the time, but she brought a great deal to the character. Especially during Victoria’s quieter moments. One of my favourite scenes of the entire series is a small, quiet conversation that she has with the Doctor in The Tomb of the Cybermen. It’s a nice character moment for both Troughton and Watling, and they both perform it exactly right.
My thoughts go out to both her family and her former co-star and close friend, Frazer Hines, at this difficult time.
Next: SDCC: What we learned about the Doctor Who Christmas Special