Vanessa Bishop

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Bishop as she appeared in 1999 (MM VHS 47)

Vanessa Bishop, also known as Jackie Jenkins, was a writer for Doctor Who Magazine.

Under her own byline Bishop was the main reviewer of Doctor Who merchandise in the Off the Shelf section of Doctor Who Magazine, taking over for previous reviewer Dave Owen.

Bishop also wrote a number of Doctor Who short stories, including A Visit to the Cinema, Playtime, The Straw that Broke the Camel's Back, Timeshare and The Feast of Seven... Eight and Nine.

Jackie Jenkins[[edit] | [edit source]]

Cover of Single White Who Fan: The Life & Times of Jackie Jenkins featuring Bishop modelling as Jenkins

Inspired by the Bridget Jones phenomenon Bishop wrote a slice-of-life column for Doctor Who Magazine under the fictional persona "Jackie Jenkins," a young British woman and obsessive Doctor Who fan whose life was inspired by Bishop's own experiences. From 1997 to 1999 Bishop wrote The Life & Times of Jackie Jenkins which chronicled Jackie's adventures in and around Doctor Who fandom alongside fellow fans Chas, Nigel, and their various friends, family, and love interests, her work on a Doctor Who novel and dreams of getting it published, and other major and minor events in her day-to-day life which she always found some way of relating back to her love of Doctor Who. Each column was illustrated with a photo of Bishop modelling as Jenkins (generally with her face partially obscured by large sunglasses and/or other things in the foreground) and photos of some Who paraphernalia or other props relevant to the column's story.

Jackie's columns were collected in the book Single White Who Fan: The Life & Times of Jackie Jenkins, with a first edition published by Hirst Books in 2010 and a second edition with additional material published in 2017 by Chinbeard Books. The second edition of the book was adapted into a full-cast audio drama of the same name by Spiteful Puppet Entertainment.

In 2009 Bishop revived the Jackie Jenkins persona and contributed under that name to the Doctor Who fandom anthology Chicks Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the Women Who Love It.