Victoria Waterfield

Victoria Waterfield
Doctor Whocharacter
Deborah Watlingas Victoria Waterfield
First appearance	The Evil of the Daleks(1967)
Last appearance	Fury from the Deep(1968)
Portrayed by	Deborah Watling
Shared universe appearances	Downtime(1995)
Non-canonical appearances	Dimensions in Time(1993)
Duration	1967–1968, 1993, 1995
In-universe information
Species	Human
Affiliation	Second Doctor
Family	Edward Waterfield (father)
Home	Earth
Home era	1866

Victoria Waterfieldis a fictional character played byDeborah Watlingin the long-running Britishscience fiction televisionseriesDoctor Who.A native ofVictorian England,she was acompanionof theSecond Doctorand a regular in the programme from 1967 to 1968. Only two complete serials to feature her (The Tomb of the CybermenandThe Enemy of the World) exist complete in theBBC archives.However, DVDs of all her adventures have still seen release, with both official animation and photo reconstructions utilizing the original surviving audio taking the place of themissing episodes.

Watling reprised her role in the spin-offDowntimeand a few audio dramas, one of which featured her as a temporary assistant to theSixth Doctor.Victoria appeared in 7 stories (39 episodes).

Casting

According to the short BBC Video documentaryThe Dalek Factorabout the making ofThe Evil of the Daleks,released in September 2021 as part of the animated restoration of the serial, Denise Buckley was cast in the role of Victoria Waterfield by director Derek Martinus. The production team had been hoping thatPauline Collinswould continue in the role of Sam Briggs, that she had played in the previous storyThe Faceless Ones,but had created Victoria as a potential ongoing character should Collins decline. When Collins confirmed she did not want to join the regular cast, it was decided to introduce Victoria as the new companion and Denise Buckley was released, but paid in full, with Deborah Watling replacing her as a more suitable actress for the continuing role.

Character history

Victoria first appears in the 1967 serialThe Evil of the Daleks.She is the daughter of widowed scientist Edward Waterfield (played byJohn Bailey), who in 1866 is experimenting withtime traveland has attracted the attention of theDaleks.In order to assure Waterfield's collaboration with their capture ofthe Doctorand their experiments with the Human and Dalek Factors, the Daleks with the help of Theodore Maxtable took Victoria as a prisoner. To measure his emotional responses, they then manipulatedJamie McCrimmoninto rescuing her, although they ultimately re-captured her and took her toSkaro.At the conclusion of the adventure, Waterfield is killed saving the Doctor's life, and asks him to take care of Victoria. The Doctor andJamietake her in as part of theTARDIScrew.

On the outside, Victoria is a typically fragile lady of her era, frequently screaming when faced with the creatures the Doctor and his companions encounter in their travels, such as theCybermenand theYeti.However, this exterior hides an inner strength that crops up when needed. Victoria may be young, but she has an instinct for when she is being lied to, and her sensibility is a contrast to the recklessness of Jamie and the curiosity of the Doctor. Jamie, in particular, is very protective towards and fond of Victoria, and is heartbroken when she chooses to leave.

Despite being a good match to her two companions, Victoria eventually finds herself unsuited to extended travel with the Doctor. At the conclusion of the serialFury from the Deep,she decides to leave the TARDIS, settling with a family named Harris in the 20th century.Her subsequent life is not shown in the television series. She is mentioned, but not seen to be travelling with the Second Doctor in the 1985 serialThe Two Doctors.

Other appearances

Victoria's life after leaving the TARDIS is not explored in the series. The video releaseDowntime(1995) and its 1996 novelisation byMarc Plattas part of theVirgin Missing Adventuresrange, reveals that she struggles to adapt to twentieth century life and eventually returns to the Detsen monastery inTibet,where she again falls under the influence of the Great Intelligence, now trapped on Earth after the end ofThe Web of Fear.The Intelligence manipulates Victoria into founding New World University, with the money left to her by her father (via a new will he drew up whilst working for theDaleksin 1866), where Victoria serves as Vice Chancellor and the possessed Professor Travers as Chancellor. Using the university's computers, the Intelligence seizes control of the internet and creates new Yetis. Realising she has been misled, Victoria helpsBrigadier Lethbridge-StewartandSarah Jane Smithdefeat it. She is then approached by both the Third and Fourth Doctors, but chooses not to travel with them.

The 1993Children in Needcampaign featured a shortDoctor Who/EastEnderscrossover calledDimensions in Time.In a story involving the various incarnations of the Doctor meeting up with various companions, Victoria ends up alongside the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) as they make their way back to the TARDIS after finding out that the culprit behind all the confusion isthe Rani(Kate O'Mara). Watling had suffered a broken arm prior to filming, and so wore a long cloak to conceal her cast.

Watling also returned to the role of Victoria Waterfield in the audio dramaPower Play,where she was campaigning against nuclear waste before she became caught up in a plot to frame the Doctor for the actions of an assassin who destroys entire planets, resulting in her meeting theSixth DoctorandPeri Brown;as inDowntime,she declined the offer to rejoin the Doctor, but was assured that the TARDIS doors will always be open to her.

List of appearances

Television serials

Season 4

• The Evil of the Daleks(episodes 2–7)

Season 5

• The Tomb of the Cybermen
• The Abominable Snowmen
• The Ice Warriors
• The Enemy of the World(episodes 1–3, 5–6)
• The Web of Fear
• Fury from the Deep

30th anniversary charity special

• Dimensions in Time

Video

• Downtime(also novelised by scriptwriterMarc Plattas part of theVirgin Missing Adventuresline)

Audio

• The Great Space Elevator
• The Emperor of Eternity
• Power Play(with theSixth Doctor)
• The Black Hole
• The Story of Extinction

Short Trips audios

• The Way Forward

Novels

Virgin Missing Adventures

• Twilight of the GodsbyChristopher Bulis
• The Dark PathbyDavid A. McIntee

Past Doctor Adventures

• Dreams of EmpirebyJustin Richards
• Heart of TARDISbyDave Stone
• Combat Rockby Mick Lewis

Short stories

• "Face-Painter" byTara Samms(Short Trips: A Universe of Terrors)
• "The Astronomer's Apprentice" bySimon A. Forward(Short Trips: The Muses)
• "The Farmer's Story" by Todd Green (Short Trips: Repercussions)
• "The Age of Ambition" by Andrew Campbell (Short Trips: Life Science)
• "Screamager" byJacqueline Rayner(Short Trips: Monsters)
• "The Last Emperor" by Jacqueline Rayner (Short Trips: 2040)
• "The Cutty Wren" by Ann Kelly (Short Trips: The Ghosts of Christmas)
• "On a Pedestal" by Kathleen O. David (Short Trips: The Quality of Leadership)

Comics

• "Freedom by Fire" byDavid Brian(Doctor Who Annual 1969)
• "Atoms Infinite" byDavid Brian(Doctor Who Annual 1969)
• "Bringer of Darkness" byWarwick GrayandMartin Geraghty(Doctor Who MagazineSummer Special 1993)

External links

• Victoria WaterfieldonTardis Wiki,theDoctor WhoWiki
• Victoria Waterfield on the BBC'sDoctor Whowebsite