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 politician turned sports columnist J. L. Manning OBE and Amy Manning (née Jenkins); her elder sister was Jane Dressler (née Manning), a fashion model, who moved to Roanake, America. Manning spent her early years in Dulwich Village. Manning became friends with Liza Minnelli, daughter of Judy Garland, and socialised with stars such as James Mason and Dirk Bogarde, and had tea with Noel Coward. Aged sixteen, Manning was involved in a horrific car crash after the driver, her friend Brian Gascoigne (brother of Bamber Gascoigne), fell asleep at the wheel. The car, which had no seatbelts, careered over a roundabout and crashed into a garage. Manning was thrown through the windscreen and through a plate glass window. Both Manning's legs were broken, her back was smashed and her face disfigured. She had to spend over a year recovering in hospital and had to have several skin grafts on her face.[6]

Manning went to the U.S. to stay with her sister to recover, and was offered a five-year contract with MGM by Arthur Mayer himself at one of her sister's house parties, although her father refused to let her do it. Returning to the UK, Manning trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art,[7] then joined a Wolverhampton repertory company. Her first screen credit was in an egg commercial which also starred Jacqueline Bisset. Manning then 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]

After Doctor Who

Straight after leaving Doctor Who in 1973, Manning presented her own ten-part TV series for the BBC on crafts, entitled Serendipity[14] shown in the daytime schedules. She appeared in an episode of Armchair Theatre before she was reunited with Jon Pertwee in 1975, when she appeared in Whodunnit? on ITV; at the time that 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]

After leaving Doctor Who, Manning appeared predominantly on stage. From 1973 to 1976, she appeared opposite Derek Nimmo in Why Not Stay For Breakfast? in the West End, as well as appearing in There's a Girl in My Soup. From 1977 to 1979, she toured in Doctor in the House, a production that also starred Jimmy Edwards, Lionel Blair, Bob Grant and future Doctor Who actor Colin Baker; in 1980, she toured in Peter Terson's VE Night alongside Ian Cullen and Jane Goddard and in 1981, she appeared on stage in Thark alongside Brian Murphy and Reginald Marsh. After moving to Australia in 1982, she appeared in the play Otherwise Engaged opposite Martin Shaw, and then Run for Your Wife in 1987–88; other members of the cast in the production were Jack Smethurst, David McCallum and Eric Sykes. Manning appeared as Rita in Educating Rita from 1989 to 1991 at the Sydney Opera House, the venue she also played Elvira in Blithe Spirit in 1990.

Manning was also offered a role in popular Australian soap Home and Away but she had to turn it down due to busy work commitments. [18]

Manning was the voice of Australia's UKTV television channel from the late 1990s until the 2000s providing voiceovers for the indents. She also hosted her own chat show from 2001 until 2008 called Preview with Katy Manning and had guests including Lenny Henry and Basil Brush.

Her film career has included roles in the British comedies Don't Just Lie There, Say Something! (1974) 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 (2006) directed by Australian documentary filmmaker Rohan Spong; a role for which she would win Best Supporting Actress at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival.[19]

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, amongst other animated films and television series.

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.[20]

In 2011, she appeared as Blodwyn Morgan, a Welsh busybody and clairvoyant, in the touring stage play 'Death by Fatal Murder'.[21] 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.[22] 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,[23] commonly known as nearsightedness or shortsightedness, which caused numerous injuries during the filming of Doctor Who.[24] 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[25] 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:[26]

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
1974 Don't Just Lie There, Say Something! Damina
1975 Eskimo Nell Hermione
1984 Melvin, Son of Alvin Estelle
1986 The Quest Mrs. Cannon
1998 Lust in Space Katy Manning Direct to DVD film
1999 D4: The Trojan Dog Cosmo Mouse Voice
2000 Easter in Bunnyland Bitsy Bunny Voice
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
2012 Run for Your Wife Exercising woman
2014 Evil Never Dies Susan Payne

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1970 Softly, Softly: Taskforce Peggy Episode: "Standing Orders"
1971 Man at the Top Julia Dungarvon 2 episodes
Mr. Tumbleweed Bride
1971–73 Doctor Who Jo Grant 77 episodes
1973 Going for a Song Herself [27]
A View from Richard Baker [28]
Serendipity (10 shows)
Armchair Theatre Anna Episode: "The Golden Road"
1975 Whodunnit? Miss Woods Episode: "Worth Dying For"
1977 Target Joanne Episode: "Big Elephant"
1979 How's Business?
1986 Two in the Bush
1992 The Miraculous Mellops Window Guru 2 episodes
2000-2001 Gloria's House Gloria Voice; all 25 episodes
2002 All Saints Greta Franck Episode: "Pride and Prejudice"
2010, 2020 The Sarah Jane Adventures Jo Jones (Jo Grant) Episode: "Death of the Doctor"
Special: “Farewell, Sarah Jane”
2011 Three Score and Then? Annie
2013 The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot Katy Manning
2015 Casualty Marjorie Miller Episode: "Sweet Little Lies"
2016 Prisoner Zero Professor Darro Voice; 2 episodes
2020 Gentrification Maggie Episode: "Part Six"

Theatre
YearTitleRoleNotes
1973-1976Why Not Stay for Breakfast?Louise Hamilton
1973-1976There's a Girl in My SoupMarion
1973Union Jack (and Bonzo) Rosie Makron
1975French Without TearsDiana Lake
1975The Peter Pan Man
1976So Who Needs Men?Marsha
1977Natural Gas
1977-1979Doctor in the HouseVera
1978 See How They RunPenelope
1978The Monkey WalkMyra
1979Odd Man InJane
1979Duet For ThreePam
1979Wriggling
1979HamletOphelia
1979The Real Inspector Hound
1979Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
1979-1980The Gentle HookStacey Harrison
1980V E Night
1981TharkCherry Buck
1983Otherwise EngagedDavina Saunders
1984The Odd CoupleCecily
1987-1988Run For Your Wife Mary Smith
1988Mother's DayBarbara
1989-1990,1991Educating RitaRitaAt Sydney Opera House
1990How the Other Half Loves
1990Blithe SpiritElviraAt Sydney Opera House
1993Hot TapsMarjorie
1993The Removalists
1994Don't Dress for DinnerSuzette
1997Gone to Bali
1998Noises OffDotty
2000Later than SpringOlivia
2002The Slippery Slope
2002It Runs in the Family
2007'Allo 'AlloYvette Carte-Blanche
2009Me and JezebelBette Davis
2011-2012Death by Fatal MurderBlodwyn Morgan
2012You're Only Young TwiceRose
2013A Murder is AnnouncedLetitia Blacklock
2013Murder in PlayChrista D'amato
2014Keeping up with the JoansKitty
2015Nobody's BusinessSybil

Video games
Year Title Role Notes
2018Doctor Who InfinityJo Grant/Delyth (voice)[29]

Music videos
Year Artist Title Role
2013Six YearsJourney MenElsa
gollark: Wow, that took a while. My bee neuron data finished transferring.
gollark: I'll inform the Council.
gollark: Oh no.
gollark: GIBSO|N| LITERAL MUONS
gollark: TOO BADROTATE APIO FORM

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. http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/doctor-who-actress-katy-manning-11060373.amp
  19. Wolstencroft, Richard (2006). "MUFF Neu 777". Melbourne Underground Film Festival. Richard Wolstencroft. Archived from the original on 22 August 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  20. 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.
  21. Pratt, Steve (5 November 2011). "Katy's still going bonkers". The Northern Echo. p. 25.
  22. 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.
  23. Murphy, George; Gorman, Gareth (2011). "Katy Manning". CulTV. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  24. "Katy Manning (1990)". drwhointerviews.wordpress.com. 29 September 2009.
  25. "Doctor Who Online – Interviews – 5 Questions with... Katy Manning (Jo Grant in The Classic Series)". www.drwho-online.co.uk.
  26. Padman, Tony (9 September 2017). "Where is he now? Doctor Who's Katy Manning". Express.co.uk.
  27. "Going for a Song". Radio Times. No. 2564. 28 December 1972. p. 38 – via BBC Genome.
  28. "A View from Richard Baker". Radio Times. No. 2602. 20 September 1973. p. 32 – via BBC Genome.
  29. "Doctor Who Infinity launches on PC and Mac, new trailer released". GARY COLLINSON. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
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