Love Letter to Lalla

Lalla Ward stole my heart within the first 10 minutes of Destiny of the Daleks (I remained unmoved throughout The Armageddon Factor). When Tom pulled the hat off her head, a big goofy grin spread across my face. I suppose, really I was in love with Romana II. The whimsical waif who was the calm head and constant companion to the latter-era Fourth Doctor.

City of Death was probably where I (and thousands of others) became truly smitten. Donning a school girl outfit, she is equal cosmic pixie and your best friend/fag hag from high school. In fact there was a girl, Amanda, in my drama class who looked a lot like the Time Lady. She even dressed in a similar fashion. Amanda had a wicked sense of humour and an artsy sensibility. It was a crush-by-association. Unfortunately, although we got along well, I felt more like Matthew Waterhouse in her presence; slightly awkward and never as good of an actor.

Lalla could make certain daft elements of a script sing. Taking on the "Doctor" role in The Horns of Nimon, she brought gravitas to her investigation of Crinoth that made it seem like a different story altogether. And when Christopher Bidmead decided to enlighten us with his Wikipedia entry for consonantal shift in State of Decay she actually sells it with charm and grace.

And while the scripts for Warrior's Gate seem a bit rushed in terms of her departure, there is something kind of nice about the way Romana rises to her decision on the fly. We've had hints that she was loathe to return to her previous sedate life on Gallifrey. I think it just added to the bittersweet quality of her departure. Where she donned an imitation copy of the Doctor's outfit in Destiny, here she get's her own pocket universe to champion.

Moments of Lalla's performance will always stay with me: "Yum, yum, bouillabaisse," in City of Death or that beaming smile she gives in Full Circle when the Doctor restores her to health. The way she carried off schoolgirl and Edwardian bathing outfits.

And in real life, I love the image of her accompanying Douglas Adams to the London premiere of The Empire Strikes Back. Surely any geek's dream date, gay or straight.

Alas Lalla's career never really went anywhere after Doctor Who. A few bit parts and a Shannon- Doherty length marriage to Tom Baker followed. These days she's more well known as the wife of world famous atheist Richard Dawkins. I still intend to get me an audiobook copy of The God Delusion (which she narrates) just so I can fall asleep to her lovely voice telling me to switch the lights out when I'm done with my mortal coil.

Until then, I'll look fondly back on the time when a blond-haired angel who made techno-babble sing made my hormones dance. She truly was the best Romana of all!

Original viewing date: December 17, 1984

Wine: Henry of Pelham Baco Noir, because it also makes me tingle.

Music: "On the Edge of a Dream" by Joe Cocker.