ANNEKE WILLS
’60s doctor who star anneke wills remembers the moment that changed tv history
The First Doctor companion looks back at the first regeneration.
THE TENTH PLANET’ WAS THE linchpin of the whole thing,” says Anneke Wills, recalling the 1966 story that climaxed with Doctor Who’s first, impossibly momentous regeneration. “The whole thing hung on this. If it hadn’t worked, we wouldn’t be talking about it today!”
As original series companion Polly, she was there for William Hartnell’s metamorphosis into Patrick Troughton. With this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special revisiting the First Doctor’s final adventure, SFX asked Anneke for her memories of that remarkable piece of TV history. “It was all happening on ‘The Tenth Planet’,” she laughs. “That cannot be overemphasised!”
so what was the mood like going into william hartnell’s last story?
We knew that it would be the end of Bill, of his tenure. That was a huge thing to get over – “Oh my god, what are we going to do?” You can’t imagine what a precipice it was. For me and Mike [Craze, co-star], the bottom line was, “Are we going to be out of work next week?”
did you get a sense of how he felt about surrendering the role? or was he too private to ever share his feelings about that?
It was difficult by then to get through to him. He was this maddening mixture of being very frail and also very tetchy! So you didn’t go up to him and say, “How do you feel about not doing your lovely role?” You just didn’t. Everybody was very respectful. But by the time we started “The Tenth Planet” he was already collapsing all over the place [Hartnell had arteriosclerosis]. We’d start in the morning and by lunchtime he’d disappeared. Someone in an office somewhere had said, “Quick, get a car, get him home.” So rehearsals were very hairy.
the docudrama an adventure in space and time painted leaving the role as a personal tragedy for him. was that your impression?
It was hard for us to get beyond the grumpiness. I can’t really remember him being desperately sad because he was too busy being cross! That’s how he would cover it. It sounds so awful, because we were quite selfishly hanging on by our coat-tails to our jobs and our lives. Then over there Bill is collapsing… Dear old stick, poor old thing.
when did you Know who’d be REPLACING william hartnell?
Tommy Steele was a name that was floating about during the summer break, which I was quite keen on, I have to say – he was a bit of a dish. He was gorgeous and very popular. He’d have been a sort of Matt Smith! But you and I both know that if it hadn’t been Patrick Troughton becoming the Doctor we wouldn’t be talking today. He was just completely right, and that was because he had very little ego. He was this immense talent – this sweet, charming man with a big heart. And that’s why we all bought into it. If he’d come swaggering in with his cloak saying, “I’m Doctor Who!” we’d all say, “Oh, get lost,” and that’d be the end of it.
how did troughton feel Stepping into the Show after hartnell?
Anxious. responsible. Hugely responsible. The very first thing he did when he walked through the rehearsal room doors to start work on “The Power Of The Daleks” was to take hold of Mike and me and say, “Listen, guys, tell me it like it is, because everybody else is going to bullshit me, but I rely on you.” And Mike would. He’d say, “Well, that’s a bit bloody over the top, mate!” and Patrick listened. So that was a great honour, having somebody like Patrick Troughton latching onto you and saying “Okay, help!”
do you Know what hartnell’S Take on troughton was when they were on Set together?
He kept it very close to his chest. They were sort of gentlemanly together. Polite and gentlemanly. Not huge old buddies with lots of laughs, no. Pat had a lot of respect for Bill, knowing he was not only letting go of Doctor
Who but also massively letting go of his life at that point. I don’t remember any parties or celebrations or anything. We just all went home. Bill honestly wasn’t up for it. He just wanted to creep away into a hole, I think.
were you there when they filmed the regeneration?
Me and Mike were in the dressing room, watching it on the monitor, saying, “Crumbs, they’re taking an awful long time – come on, get on with it, we’ve got the whole of the rest of the story to record!” We weren’t thinking, “Oh my god, this is the moment that the next 50 years of Doctor Who history hangs on…” We were just like, “Shit, we’re going to miss the pub!” The big question was whether the public would accept it. That was the thing. We had no idea.
and now we’re about to See Peter Capaldi Change into jodie Whittaker…
I know! This is going to be so exciting. I was there when we teetered on the edge of a completely different actor. Now we teeter on the edge of a different sex. I think it’s great. It’s time.