Sophie Aldred (born 20 August 1962[1][2]) 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.
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[]
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.
Sophie Aldred in 2008.
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).
Sophie Aldred and Karen Gillan meet. (VOR 17)
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[]
Television[]
Doctor Who[]
- Dragonfire
- Remembrance of the Daleks
- The Happiness Patrol
- Silver Nemesis
- The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
- Battlefield
- Ghost Light
- The Curse of Fenric
- Survival
Mini-episodes[]
Other[]
Direct-to-DVD[]
- Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans - Mari
- The Zero Imperative - P.R.O.
- Mindgame - "Human"
- Mindgame Trilogy - "Human"
- White Witch of Devil's End (grateful thanks)
- Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor - Mistress Na
Webcasts[]
Doctor Who[]
The Collection Blu-Ray Trailers[]
Audio[]
Doctor Who Main Range[]
- The Fearmonger
- The Genocide Machine
- The Shadow of the Scourge
- Dust Breeding
- Colditz
- The Rapture
- The Dark Flame
- Zagreus - Captain Duck
- 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 - also Concierge
- An Alien Werewolf in London
- Dark Universe
- The Flying Dutchman / Displaced
- The Grey Man of the Mountain
Special Releases[]
The Lost Stories[]
Novel Adaptations[]
The Companion Chronicles[]
Destiny of the Doctor[]
Short Trips[]
- 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[]
- Beyond the Sun - Miranda
- Many Happy Returns - Dave Stone
- Random Ghosts
- The Lights of Skaro
- The Pyramid of Sutekh
- The Vault of Osiris
- The Eye of Horus
- The Tears of Isis
Gallifrey[]
The Eighth of March[]
UNIT[]
Class: The Audio Adventures[]
Iris Wildthyme[]
Torchwood[]
Audiobook readings[]
Target Novelisations[]
BBC Past Doctor Novels[]
BBC New Series Adventures[]
BBC Children's Books[]
Puffin eshort[]
Time Lord Fairy Tales[]
Twelve Doctors of Christmas[]
Tales of Terror[]
Thirteen Doctors, 13 Stories[]
The Wintertime Paradox[]
- 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
Writing Credits[]
Prose[]
Novels[]
- At Childhood's End (with Mike Tucker and Steve Cole)
Short works[]
- Timewyrm: Genesys (foreword)
- Set Piece (afterword)
Reference Books[]
Documentaries[]
- 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
External links[]
Footnotes[]
- ↑ REF: Who-ology: The Official Miscellany
- ↑ Doctor Who Official (20 August 2012). Happy birthday to… (deep breath!) Sophie Aldred, Barnaby Edwards, David Walliams, Andrew Garfield and the Seventh Doctor - Sylvester McCoy!. Twitter. Retrieved on 13 December 2016.
