Lalla Ward

Lalla Ward was a multi-talented artist, writer and actress and was best known for her role as Tom Baker's companion Romana on the beloved British sci-fi series, "Doctor Who" (BBC, 1963-89; 2005- ). Born The Honorable Lady Sarah Ward in 1951 in London, Ward's stage name was the apparent result of her attempts to pronounce her own name and came out "Lalla" instead. Her parents were both writers and worked for the BBC. Her mother, Marjorie Banks was a producer while her aristocratic father, Edward Ward, 7th Viscount Bangor was a BBC war correspondent. Having grown up in a cultured home, Ward was encouraged to pursue the arts. She had always wanted to act, paint and draw whereas formal schooling left her cold. She eventually left school at 14 and took her O-level international exams on her own. That same year, she was profiled on the music talk show, "A Whole Scene Going" (BBC, 1966) talking about her art and poetry. Shortly after, Ward studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama from 1968 to 1971. Within a month of graduation, Ward was cast as the vampire Helga in the movie "Vampire Circus" (1971), from the famed British film studio, Hammer Film Productions. Following this she worked steadily in film and TV including her role in "England Made Me" (1973), "Rosebud" from Oscar-winning director Otto Preminger and "Got It Made," (1974) a debauched tale of sexual politics. She then moved on to more successful ventures, playing the daughter of Louisa Trotter (Gemma Jones) in the popular drama series "The Duchess of Duke Street" (BBC, 1977). Her big break then happened by chance. After a guest appearance as Princess Astra in the wildly popular "Doctor Who" series, she was called back to take on the role of Romana (the Doctor's companion) after the current actress left after one season. She ended up staying on for all of Season 17 and even married her co-star Tom Baker in 1980. While the marriage was short-lived, her legacy was not; it would be the role that defined her career. While she received critical acclaim for her performance as Ophelia in BBC production of "Hamlet" (1980) and appeared in later films, she ended up quitting acting after marrying her second husband, Richard Dawkins, a renowned evolutionary biologist and author in 1992 and returned to her first love of making art. She collaborated with her husband on a number of his works, including illustrating his books, recording audiobooks and went on to become a successful textile artist. Her fans never forgot her, and she made numerous appearances at Doctor Who conventions and TV specials.