Sophie Aldred (born 20 August 1962) portrayed Ace in Doctor Who from Dragonfire to Thin Ice. She also made a cameo appearance as Ace in , and reprised the role in the thirtieth anniversary special The Eight Doctors, the Season 39 story The Freedom Queen, the Season 40 story Time's Collapse and the Season 55 story The Saviour of Gallifrey.
Biography []
Prior to Doctor Who[]
She was born in Greenwich, London and raised in Blackheath. She shares her birthday with her co-star, Sylvester McCoy, who is 19 years her senior, and Anthony Ainley.
Sophie attended Blackheath High School and studied drama at the University of Manchester before embarking on a career in children's theatre.
Work on Doctor Who[]
In 1987, while she was working back chorus on Fiddler on the Roof, she was cast as Ace. The Doctor found Ace serving milkshakes on Iceworld in the story Dragonfire, at the end of which she joined the Doctor on his travels. Several stories (The Curse of Fenric, Survival, Ghost Light, Earth Aid and Thin Ice) explored her character to an extent that previous companion characters had not seen.
After leaving at the conclusion of Thin Ice, Aldred reprised her role in Alixion, The Eight Doctors, The Freedom Queen, Time's Collapse and The Saviour of Gallifrey.
After Doctor Who[]
Before and since Doctor Who, Aldred has had a varied and busy television career, particularly in children's programming, where she has presented educational programmes such as Corners, Melvin and Maureen's Music-a-grams and the long-running BBC series Words and Pictures. She has performed on radio and in the theatre.
Beginning in 2012, Aldred provided the lead voiceover role in the animated series Tree Fu Tom; her co-star for the first series was David Tennant.
Personal Life[]
Sophie Aldred married Vince Henderson on 12 July 1997. They have two sons, Adam and William.
Selected Credits[]
Doctor Who []
As Ace[]
- Dragonfire
- Remembrance of the Daleks
- The Happiness Patrol
- Silver Nemesis
- The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
- Battlefield
- Ghost Light
- The Curse of Fenric
- Survival
- Earth Aid
- Thin Ice
- Alixion
- The Eight Doctors
- The Freedom Queen
- Time's Collapse
- The Saviour of Gallifrey