Katy Manning

Catherine Ann "Katy" Manning (born 14 October 1946)[2][3] is an English-Australian actress best known for her part as the companion Jo Grant in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.[4] She has also made many theatre appearances, and is now an Australian citizen.[5] In 2009, Manning moved back to the UK to pursue new acting work and lives in London.

Katy Manning
Manning at The Television & Movie Store, Norwich, England, January 2009.
Born
Catherine Ann Manning

(1946-10-14) 14 October 1946
Guildford, Surrey, England
OccupationActress
Known forJo Grant in Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures
Partner(s)Dean Harris (1976–1981)
Barry Crocker (1990–present)[1]
Children2
Websitehttps://katymanning.com

Early life

Manning was born in Guildford, Surrey, the younger daughter of sports columnist J. L. Manning OBE; her elder sister Jane Dressler, a fashion model, lived in Roanake, America. As a result of a car accident she spent a year in hospital at sixteen.[6] Aged 18, she went to the U.S. where she was offered a five-year contract with MGM. Returning to the UK, Manning trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art,[7] then joined a Wolverhampton repertory company, and made her TV debut in the BBC drama Softly, Softly: Taskforce, in the episode 'Standing Orders'.[8] Shortly after, she was seen in two episodes playing Julia Dungarvon, in ITV's Man At The Top.

Career

Doctor Who

She played the part of Jo Grant (1971–73) alongside Jon Pertwee's incarnation of the Doctor. Manning struck up an immediate rapport with her co-stars Pertwee, Nicholas Courtney (The Brigadier), John Levene (Sergeant Benton), Richard Franklin (Captain Mike Yates) and Roger Delgado (the Master). Fans of Doctor Who often refer to these characters as the UNIT family — UNIT, the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, being the fictional United Nations organisation that the Doctor worked for. Manning is the only surviving Doctor Who companion from Jon Pertwee's era.

Manning's connection with Doctor Who continues: she voices Jo Grant in the Companion Chronicles Audio Adventures, and she is also the voice of the Time Lord Iris Wildthyme in several of the Big Finish Productions audio plays. In 2005, Manning also appeared in Doctor Who — Inside The TARDIS with two of the Doctors, Sylvester McCoy and Colin Baker, who spoke of their experiences with the long-running show.[9]

She is also involved with fan events and conventions, and she is the patron of the Doctor Who Club of Australia.[10][11]

In October 2010, Manning reprised her role as Jo Jones (née Grant) in the fourth series of the Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures with Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor. The two-part story, entitled 'Death of the Doctor', was written by former executive producer of the programme Russell T Davies.[12] She meets the Doctor again, and stars with her grandchild (one of twelve, soon to be thirteen) Santiago Jones.

Sophie Aldred, Louise Jameson and Katy Manning at a Doctor Who 50th Anniversary event in 2013

In November 2013 she appeared as herself in the one-off 50th anniversary comedy homage The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot.[13]

Later career

After leaving Doctor Who, Manning presented her own ten-part TV series for the BBC on crafts, entitled Serendipity[14] shown in the daytime schedules. She was reunited with Jon Pertwee in 1975, when she appeared in Whodunnit? on ITV; at the time Pertwee was chairing the panel. In 1977, she appeared topless as a drug addict in the hard-hitting crime drama Target,[15] her last BBC drama role other than as Jo Jones in The Sarah Jane Adventures until Casualty in 2015. Manning wrote the TV series Private Wives and has been involved in other writing and directing projects.[16][17]

In 1980, she toured in Peter Terson's VE Night alongside Ian Cullen and Jane Goddard. In Australia she appeared in the play Run for Your Wife (1987–88), and the production toured the country. Other members of the cast in the production were Jack Smethurst, David McCallum and Eric Sykes. Her film career has included roles in the British comedies Don't Just Lie There, Say Something! (1973) and Eskimo Nell (1975), and the Australian films Melvin, Son of Alvin (1984) and The Quest (1986). She has also appeared in the low-budget film noir When Darkness Falls (2005) directed by Australian documentary filmmaker Rohan Spong.[18]

In 2000 she voiced the main character Gloria in the Australian children's animated television series Gloria's House, as well as Emma in a 2002 animated film from Burbank Animation Studios, Jungle Girl and the Lost Island of Dinosaurs.

In June and July 2007, she appeared as Yvette in the stage show 'Allo 'Allo! alongside Gorden Kaye as René Artois at Twelfth Night Theatre in Brisbane. Guy Siner and Sue Hodge also reprised their original roles from the television series, and the other characters were portrayed by Australian television actors including Steven Tandy and Jason Gann.[19]

In 2011, she appeared as Blodwyn Morgan, a Welsh busybody and clairvoyant, in the touring stage play 'Death by Fatal Murder'.[20] This was a Peter Gordon play, and part of the 'Inspector Pratt' trilogy. She also appeared as Susan Payne in the 2014 supernatural gangster film Evil Never Dies (originally titled The Haunting of Harry Payne) starring Tony Scannell and Graham Cole.

Me and Jezebel at the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe

In 2009 Manning returned to the UK as part of her one-woman show Me and Jezebel. The play is based on a true 1985 story about Bette Davis inviting herself to a fan's house for a night and staying for a month, with Manning playing all the parts.[21] It toured through March and April in England and also played at the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe at The Gilded Balloon Wine Bar in August. The show received a five-star review in the Edinburgh Evening News, which described Manning as "one of Britain's best actresses". Manning also received two other four-star reviews and appeared on STV news promoting the show. She returned to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2014 in the play 'Keeping up with the Joans' with Susan Penhaligon. The play also toured to The Customs House, South Shields & Greenwich Theatre London.

Personal life

Manning was born with myopia,[22] commonly known as nearsightedness or shortsightedness, which caused numerous injuries during the filming of Doctor Who.[23] She has stated, "Once I tried to take the wrong children home from school!"[6]

Manning has twins (a son Jonathan and a daughter Georgina) born in 1979 with partner Dean Harris. The children were born premature and suffered health issues, which caused her to move to Australia[24] where she met her long-term partner Barry Crocker.

In a 2012 Radio Times interview, Manning said she had returned to London three years earlier, although there was no mention of any break-up in their relationship,[6] and she referred to Crocker as her "current partner" in a 2017 interview with the Daily Express:[25]

We've been together 26 years although we don't live together now. When you get older, you get to a point in your relationship that way outweighs all that needy s**t. I'm not a needy woman. I don't rely on other people for anything much. Relationships that last are ones where you accept the changes in each other, and can laugh. Life doesn't get easier but it does get funnier.[6]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1973 Don't Just Lie There, Say Something! Edith
1975 Eskimo Nell Hermione
1984 Melvin, Son of Alvin Estelle
1986 The Quest Mrs. Cannon
2002 Jungle Girl and the Lost Island of the Dinosaurs Emma Voice
2006 When Darkness Falls Miss Harrington
2011 Oakie's Outback Adventures Oakie Voice
2014 Evil Never Dies Susan Payne

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1970 Softly, Softly: Taskforce Peggy
1971 Mr. Tumbleweed Bride
Man at the Top Julia Dungarvon
1971–73 Doctor Who Jo Grant 77 episodes
1973 Going for a Song Herself [26]
A View from Richard Baker [27]
Serendipity (10 shows) Host
Armchair Theatre Anna Episode: "The Golden Road"
1975 Whodunnit? Miss Woods Episode: "Worth Dying For"
1977 Target Joanne
2000 Gloria's House Gloria Voice
2002 All Saints Greta Franck
2010, 2020 The Sarah Jane Adventures Jo Jones (Jo Grant) Episode: "Death of the Doctor"
Special: “Farewell, Sarah Jane”
2013 The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot Herself
2015 Casualty Marjorie Miller Episode: "Sweet Little Lies"

Video games
Year Title Role Notes
2018Doctor Who InfinityJo Grant/Delyth (voice)[28]

References
  1. "Barry Crocker and Priscilla Presley get cosy in LA". Heraldsun.com.au. 16 December 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  2. General Register Office for England and Wales. Birth Indices (Report) (5g ed.). Surrey, England: Parliament of the United Kingdom. p. 1388. Birth: 1946, Dec Qtr, Catherine A Manning, mother's maiden surname Jenkins |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  3. "Katy Manning - TV.com". TV.com. CBS Interactive. 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  4. "BBC – Doctor Who – Classic Series – Companions – Jo Grant". BBC. British Broadcasting Corporation. 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  5. Fitzgerald, Anne (24 September 2004). "24 September 2004". ABC. Tasmania, Australia: Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  6. Mulkern, Patrick (25 April 2012). ""I've been a naughty girl" – Doctor Who companion Katy Manning interviewed". Radio Times. London, England, United Kingdom: BBC Magazines. ISSN 0033-8060. OCLC 240905405. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  7. "Katy Manning Biography - TV.com". TV.com. CBS Interactive. 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  8. "Softly, Softly – Task Force Standing Orders". Radio Times. No. 2409. 17 November 1970. p. 42 – via BBC Genome.
  9. Baker, Jordan (29 July 2005). "The Doctor is in". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, Australia: Fairfax Media. ISSN 0312-6315. OCLC 226369741. Retrieved 29 July 2005.
  10. Davis, Lauren (3 July 2018). "From the Archives: Katy Manning at Lords of Time 3 – Doctor Who Club of Australia". Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  11. Marshall, Scott (Winter 2018). "Wild Time: Katy Manning Back in Australia". Data Extract. Doctor Who Club of Australia (239). Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  12. Marcus (17 September 2010). "Doctor Who News: Sarah Jane – Death of the Doctor Preview". Doctor Who News. News in Time and Space. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  13. "The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot", BBC programmes, retrieved 26 November 2013
  14. "Serendipity". Radio Times. No. 2603. 27 September 1973. p. 32 – via BBC Genome.
  15. "Target". Radio Times. No. 2810. 15 September 1977. p. 65 – via BBC Genome.
  16. Fidler, Richard; Howson, Spencer (21 October 2005). "Actress Katy Manning". ABC. Queensland, Australia: Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  17. Angelsax, Jerry (20 February 2008). "Katy Manning". Cult TV. Ministry of Cineology. Archived from the original on 16 May 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  18. Wolstencroft, Richard (2006). "MUFF Neu 777". Melbourne Underground Film Festival. Richard Wolstencroft. Archived from the original on 22 August 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  19. Milfull, Tim (23 June 2007). "Theatre: ?Allo ?Allo – What Went Wrong Here, Then?". M/C Reviews. M/C – Media and Culture. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  20. Pratt, Steve (5 November 2011). "Katy's still going bonkers". The Northern Echo. p. 25.
  21. Staff (7 August 2009). "Who did Katy Manning do next? – Bette Davis". The Scotsman. Edinburgh, Scotland: Johnston Press. ISSN 0307-5850. OCLC 614655655. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  22. Murphy, George; Gorman, Gareth (2011). "Katy Manning". CulTV. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  23. "Katy Manning (1990)". drwhointerviews.wordpress.com. 29 September 2009.
  24. "Doctor Who Online – Interviews – 5 Questions with... Katy Manning (Jo Grant in The Classic Series)". www.drwho-online.co.uk.
  25. Padman, Tony (9 September 2017). "Where is he now? Doctor Who's Katy Manning". Express.co.uk.
  26. "Going for a Song". Radio Times. No. 2564. 28 December 1972. p. 38 – via BBC Genome.
  27. "A View from Richard Baker". Radio Times. No. 2602. 20 September 1973. p. 32 – via BBC Genome.
  28. "Doctor Who Infinity launches on PC and Mac, new trailer released". GARY COLLINSON. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
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