At this point in my life it’s all that matters.
* * *
I was really pleased with how Invasion of the Bane turned out. Russell T Davies and Gareth Roberts had written a feisty, fun adventure story where, thank goodness, the kids got to do the majority of the running. The special effects were light years ahead of anything we ever had in the 1970s – and I did enjoy being given a ‘sonic lipstick’! After decades of watching the Doctor get himself out of any writer’s cul-de-sac with his handy sonic screwdriver, now Sarah could do the same. (Although I still haven’t got the hang of the rules yet. Every so often Sarah Jane is in a fix and I say, ‘Well, why doesn’t she use the lipstick?’
‘It won’t work on this, Lis!’
‘Why not?’
And I get back, ‘We’re not going to open that can of beans!’)
Working with Samantha Bond, as Mrs Wormwood, was great. If this was a sign of the calibre of things to come, I couldn’t wait until recording on the proper series commenced the following year.
Of course, it was all very well recording a good show: the proof would be in how the BBC treated it and how the viewers themselves reacted. Whereas Doctor Who bestrode the divide between kids’ and adult drama, our show was pitched squarely at the children’s strand. I had a nasty feeling that it might get overlooked again, just like the old Who. And just like K-9 and Company.
But then I saw the TV schedules.
If you’d told me a couple of years ago that I would be starring in a show to be broadcast on BBC1 at 4.50 p.m. on New Year’s Day, I would have called for your tablets. But that’s what happened. After more than thirty years, I finally felt appreciated by the BBC.
* * *
Since my first day onscreen in The Time Warrior, letters and notes from fans have never been in short supply. Suddenly, though, I was sure I’d be struck off the postman’s Christmas card list as he began turning up with satchel after satchel of correspondence from new young Sarah Jane admirers. A lot of people have told me they’ve since gone back and bought the Tom and Sarah DVDs and occasionally I even receive invites to appear on the other side of the world at millionaire’s children’s birthday parties. That’s not something I like to do, but it’s nice to be asked.
The first series proper of The Sarah Jane Adventures went out the following autumn and I have to say we were shocked by the response. Consistently number one in its time slot and well reviewed everywhere. Lovely! Best news of all, the commission for a second series was just around the corner. Not bad for a pensioner, as my daughter kept reminding me.
I couldn’t have done it if it had seemed too much like work, though. Having Russell, Phil and Julie as our executive producers was such an incredible safety net. Their notes on each episode were never short of amazing. Alice Troughton was the perfect director and Matthew Bouche was great as our producer.
That was just the behind-the-scenes talent. We had some mouthwatering guest stars, too – Phyllida Law, Chook Sibtain and Jane Asher, to name only a few – but it was with the regular cast that I really formed relationships. The kids were wonderful and juggled their acting and their educations extremely maturely. Joseph Millson, as Alan Jackson, was always a pleasure to have around, while Juliet Cowan (Chrissie Jackson) was especially lively, and Jimmy Vee and Paul Kasey are the Terry Walshes of their day, popping up in all manner of different costumes.
Even so, as an actor you’re never far away from your worst nightmares. Those little voices sniping away at your confidence seem to get louder whenever you’re not working. The Sarah Jane Adventures was doing well but there were still occasional whispers that ‘it’s only children’s TV’. It never feels nice to be overlooked. But when I got an invite to the premiere of that year’s Doctor Who Christmas Special I knew things at the Beeb had changed. The country’s press would be there. This was their way of making our programme feel part of the main one. Little sister we might be, but important nonetheless.
It was a great event, actually, watching The Voyage of the Damned – the big Kylie and David double-header – on a huge screen at the Science Museum with all the great and the good – and the press – in attendance. No expense was spared, especially on the aftershow party. Angels hung from the ceiling, all the glitterati were milling about desperate for a word with David. Some of them even wanted to talk to me.
I was chatting to someone when I saw this little fella kind of duck behind a pole, occasionally looking out. I thought, Oh, a bit of a stalker there. It happens occasionally.
Every time I glanced over, he ducked furtively back behind the column.
A little later someone came up and said, ‘There’s a big fan of yours over there.’
‘Oh really?’
‘Yes, he’d love to meet you, if that’s all right.’
I went over and it was Nick Park – my stalker!
It’s amazing to think that someone who has won so many Oscars with Wallace & Gromit could be so shy but he was great fun. The whole evening, in fact, was a pleasure from beginning to end.
Our second series, recorded in spring 2008, built on everything we’d achieved in the first. I really loved the opening story. I don’t know whose idea it was but Sam Bond was back – with a Sontaran. I’d been in the very first Sontaran story all those years ago, so it felt like coming full circle, working with Kaagh. I did take a quiet moment to think about dear Kevin Lindsay, though (remember, without him, we’d be saying ‘Sontaran’ in a completely different way).
The biggest change this time round was Anj Mohindra coming in to replace Yasmin’s character. I think Yasmin, who’d played Maria, was worried even then about being typecast – showing more professional nous than I ever had – but it was sad to see her go. Moreover, I had such a good rapport with her ‘dad’, which left a real void. Having said that, Ace Bhatti, who came in as Rani’s father, is a hoot to have around. You’d never guess from the stern character he plays, but that man only stops joking when the cameras roll. The children proved surprisingly resilient to change – they always do, I suppose. Anj was one of the team by the end of her first day. And of course Yasmin made the occasional return appearance.
We also attracted a few bigger names to guest star. Bradley Walsh was in Day of the Clown, Russ Abbot appeared in Secrets of the Stars, and Gary Beadle, as Clyde’s dad, in The Mark of the Berserker. For me, though, none of them compared – no offence, intended – to the special guest who joined us on the season finale, Enemy of the Bane: the one and only Nicholas Courtney!
It was super to see Nick again. He wasn’t in the best of health so we were all delighted when he announced that he could make it. Just as my relationship with Jon had blossomed after Who, I probably got on better with Nick during that shoot than at any time before. He was so happy for me to have my own show and absolutely chuffed to be involved. It wasn’t my decision at all, but try telling him that! (We wanted him to give me away on The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith but sadly he was too ill. I spoke to him about it, though. He was so disappointed not to chalk up an appearance alongside another Doctor!)
I really thought School Reunion would be the final word as far as Sarah’s appearances in Who were concerned. Russell, as usual, had other ideas. David was coming to the end of his third proper season and Russell wanted him to go out with a bang. So for The Stolen Earth and Journey’s End he drafted in Rose, Mickey, Torchwood and good old Sarah Jane Smith for the mother of all end-of-term parties.