Remembering the REAL Bill and Heather in unseen photos of Doctor Who's David Bradley and Lesley Manville
Companion Bill Potts and her girlfriend Heather were named after another important couple from Doctor Who history, as brought to life in a 2013 photoshoot for the 50th anniversary drama An Adventure in Space and Time
As Heather and Bill Potts unite to save the Twelfth Doctor in the series ten finale – and as David Bradley returns to the Doctor Who fold in the jaw-dropping cliffhanger leading into this year’s Christmas special – we thought it exactly the time to liberate some rare photos from the Radio Times Archive.
Many never published before, they show David Bradley and Lesley Manville as Doctor Who’s original Bill and Heather – the Hartnells. William (Bill) Hartnell was, of course, the first Doctor Who, and he and his wife provided the inspiration for the names of the Doctor's latest companion and her very unusual girlfriend.
The pictures were taken in 2013 at the start of filming for An Adventure in Space and Time, Mark Gatiss’s drama about the origins of Doctor Who, made for the programme’s 50th anniversary.
The Radio Times team and photographer Gary Moyes were on location with the cast and crew as they braved the chill of a winter morning on Monday 4 February to shoot scenes at Queensmere pond on Wimbledon Common.
The director of An Adventure in Space and Time was Terry McDonough, while the producer was Matt Strevens, who is taking over as Chris Chibnall’s fellow executive producer for the 11th series of Doctor Who.
Photographed by Gary Moyes (4 February 2013). All photos copyright Radio Times Archive.
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