Sophie Aldred
Sophie Aldred (born 20 August 1962[1]) portrayed Ace in the original television series from Dragonfire to Survival, and reprised the role for Dimensions in Time and audio stories produced by Big Finish. Aldred also had a part in the 1998 Doctor Who spin-off Mindgame, and played Alice, a close analogue of the TV Ace, in BBV Productions' The Time Travellers audios.
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.
Biography[[edit] | [edit source]]
Sophie attended Blackheath High School and studied drama at the University of Manchester before embarking on a career in children's theatre. 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 (Ghost Light, The Curse of Fenric, and Survival) explored her character to an extent that previous companion characters had not seen.
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. She has also reprised her role as Ace in the charity special Dimensions in Time and continues to perform the role in Doctor Who audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions.
She co-wrote the hardback reference book, Ace! The Inside Story of the End of an Era with Mike Tucker, published by Virgin Publishing in 1996. (ISBN 1-85227-574-X). She also edited a special issue of Doctor Who Magazine (Issue 255).
While recording Short Trips - Volume I, Sophie Aldred met Karen Gillan, who was recording audio for an online interactive game. Sophie introducted herself to Karen as "one of the old girls", saying she played Ace. Karen then gasped, and asked Sophie to take a picture with her. Sophie asked Karen to sign her T-shirt, and joked she would never be able to wash it again. (VOR 17)
Beginning in 2012, Aldred provided the lead voice-over role in the animated series Tree Fu Tom; her co-star for the first series was David Tennant.
Sophie Aldred married Vince Henderson on 12 July 1997. They have two sons, Adam and William Henderson.
In 2013, Sophie and her co-star Sylvester McCoy partnered up for the Doctor Who edition of the game show Pointless Celebrities. She also contributed to the charity reference book Behind the Sofa: Celebrity Memories of Doctor Who and was interviewed for Chicks Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the Women Who Love It.
Acting Credits[[edit] | [edit source]]
As Ace
Television[[edit] | [edit source]]
Doctor Who[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Dragonfire
- Remembrance of the Daleks
- The Happiness Patrol
- Silver Nemesis
- The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
- Battlefield
- Ghost Light
- The Curse of Fenric
- Survival
- The Power of the Doctor
Mini-episodes[[edit] | [edit source]]
Webcasts[[edit] | [edit source]]
Doctor Who[[edit] | [edit source]]
Tales of the TARDIS[[edit] | [edit source]]
The Collection Blu-Ray Trailers[[edit] | [edit source]]
Audio[[edit] | [edit source]]
Doctor Who Main Range[[edit] | [edit source]]
- The Fearmonger
- The Genocide Machine
- The Shadow of the Scourge
- Dust Breeding
- Colditz
- The Rapture
- The Dark Flame
- The Harvest
- Dreamtime
- LIVE 34
- Night Thoughts
- The Settling
- No Man's Land
- Nocturne
- The Dark Husband
- Forty-Five
- The Magic Mousetrap
- Enemy of the Daleks
- The Angel of Scutari
- Project: Destiny
- A Death in the Family
- Lurkers at Sunlight's Edge
- Protect and Survive
- Black and White
- Gods and Monsters
- 1963: The Assassination Games
- Afterlife
- Revenge of the Swarm
- Mask of Tragedy
- Signs and Wonders
- You Are the Doctor and Other Stories
- A Life of Crime
- Fiesta of the Damned
- Shadow Planet / World Apart
- The High Price of Parking
- The Blood Furnace
- The Silurian Candidate
- Red Planets
- The Dispossessed
- The Quantum Possibility Engine
- Muse of Fire
- An Alien Werewolf in London
- Dark Universe
- The Flying Dutchman / Displaced
- The Grey Man of the Mountain
Special Releases[[edit] | [edit source]]
The Lost Stories[[edit] | [edit source]]
The Seventh Doctor Adventures[[edit] | [edit source]]
Novel Adaptations[[edit] | [edit source]]
Tenth Doctor Classic Companions[[edit] | [edit source]]
The Companion Chronicles[[edit] | [edit source]]
Destiny of the Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]
Short Trips[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Police and Shreeves
- Critical Mass
- The Riparian Ripper
- The Shadow Trader
- Dark Convoy
- Washington Burns
- Doctors and Dragons
- Dead Woman Walking
- Inside Story
Bernice Summerfield[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Random Ghosts
- The Lights of Skaro
- The Pyramid of Sutekh
- The Vault of Osiris
- The Eye of Horus
- The Tears of Isis
Gallifrey[[edit] | [edit source]]
Gallifrey: Time War[[edit] | [edit source]]
The Eighth of March[[edit] | [edit source]]
UNIT[[edit] | [edit source]]
Class: The Audio Adventures[[edit] | [edit source]]
Torchwood[[edit] | [edit source]]
Other Roles
Television[[edit] | [edit source]]
Other[[edit] | [edit source]]
Direct-to-DVD[[edit] | [edit source]]
- The Zero Imperative - P.R.O.
- Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans - Mari
- Mindgame - "Human"
- Mindgame Trilogy - "Human"
- White Witch of Devil's End (grateful thanks)
- Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor - Mistress Na
Audio[[edit] | [edit source]]
Doctor Who Main Range[[edit] | [edit source]]
Bernice Summerfield[[edit] | [edit source]]
Iris Wildthyme[[edit] | [edit source]]
Vienna[[edit] | [edit source]]
AUK Studios[[edit] | [edit source]]
The Time Travellers[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Republica - "Ace"
- Island of Lost Souls - "Ace"
- Prosperity Island - "Ace"
- The Left Hand of Darkness - "Ace"
- The Other Side - "Ace"
- Guests for the Night - "Ace"
- Ghosts - Alice
- Only Human - Alice
- Blood Sports - Alice
Audiobook readings[[edit] | [edit source]]
Target Novelisations[[edit] | [edit source]]
BBC Past Doctor Novels[[edit] | [edit source]]
BBC New Series Adventures[[edit] | [edit source]]
BBC Children's Books[[edit] | [edit source]]
Interludes[[edit] | [edit source]]
Puffin eshort[[edit] | [edit source]]
Time Lord Fairy Tales[[edit] | [edit source]]
Twelve Doctors of Christmas[[edit] | [edit source]]
Tales of Terror[[edit] | [edit source]]
Thirteen Doctors, 13 Stories[[edit] | [edit source]]
The Wintertime Paradox[[edit] | [edit source]]
- He's Behind You
- Father of the Daleks
- Inflicting Christmas
- For the Girl Who Has Everything
- Visiting Hours
- We Will Feed You to the Trees
- Christmas with the Plasmavores
- A Girl Called Doubt
- A Perfect Christmas
- Missing Habitas Frond
- A Day to Yourselves
- The Paradox Moon
Origin Stories[[edit] | [edit source]]
Writing credits[[edit] | [edit source]]
Novels[[edit] | [edit source]]
BBC New Series Adventures[[edit] | [edit source]]
- At Childhood's End (with Mike Tucker and Steve Cole)
Short Stories[[edit] | [edit source]]
Origin Stories[[edit] | [edit source]]
Other[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Timewyrm: Genesys (foreword)
- Set Piece (afterword)
Reference Books[[edit] | [edit source]]
Documentaries[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Thirty Years in the TARDIS
- The Doctors: 30 Years of Time Travel and Beyond
- I Was a Doctor Who Monster!
- Lust in Space
- The Story of Doctor Who