Nicola Bryant
Nicola Bryant (born 11 October 1962 in Guildford, Surrey, England, UK) played companion Perpugilliam "Peri" Brown from "Planet of Fire" to "Mindwarp." She later reprised the role for "Dimensions in Time" and has since appeared in many Doctor Who video and audio spin-offs.
She played the part from 1984 to 1986, first with Peter Davison, and then with Colin Baker as the Doctor. Bryant's tenure on the show was met with raised eyebrows in some quarters as series producer John Nathan-Turner admitted that his intention was to pump up the sex appeal of the aging series by casting the young actress who was often seen wearing revealing outfits in the show. Her character was American and for a while a publicity-driven fiction was maintained suggesting Bryant was also American. During her final season on Doctor Who, the actress was allowed to dress more conservatively on the show.
After appearing in Doctor Who she has had other television roles, including a part in Blackadder's Christmas Carol. In the early-mid 1990s, she also co-starred with Baker in a series of made-for-video science fiction films entitled The Stranger for BBV, although the first few films in the series were little more than Doctor Who episodes in disguise. She also appeared alongside Baker, Davison, Sylvester McCoy and Jon Pertwee in another BBV production, "The Airzone Solution" which is notable as it includes a love scene between Baker and Bryant.
Bryant has reprised the role of Peri in several of the Big Finish Productions Doctor Who spin-off audio drama. She has appeared with both Peter Davison and Colin Baker in these. She also directed the UNIT audio drama "The Wasting."
According to her official website, Bryant's acting work in recent years has been limited due to a back injury suffered during a fall on stage in the early 2000s, although she continued to work on Big Finish audio productions during her recuperation. In February 2006, she returned to live performances, appearing in a New End Theatre production of Taboos, a play by Carl Djerassi. She also appeared on a DVD documentary regarding the making of the Doctor Who serial "The Two Doctors" which was released in early 2006.
It is sometimes claimed that she was one of several actors considered for the role of Captain Kathryn Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager, although in fact she only auditioned for a guest role in the series.
