Anneke Wills (/ˈænɪkə/; born Anna Katarina Willys, 20 October 1941) is an English actress, best known for her role as the companion Polly in the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.[2]
Anneke Wills | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Wills in 2018 | |
| Born | Anna Katarina Willys 20 October 1941 |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1952–1970, 1998–present |
| Television | Doctor Who (1966–1967) |
| Spouse(s) |
Two further husbands (both divorced) |
| Partner | Anthony Newley (1962–1963) |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | www |
Biography
editWills's father, Alaric Willys, was a captain in the British Army. Her mother, Anna, was Dutch, born in Rotterdam.[3] Anneke is the granddaughter of Richard Raymond Willis VC.[4]
Career
editDeciding she wanted to be an actress she studied drama at the Arts Educational School and RADA in London and quickly became one of the busiest actresses of her generation, early roles included an appearance as Roberta in the second TV version of The Railway Children in 1957.[5] Her other film roles included appearances in Some People (1962) and The Pleasure Girls (1965).[6]
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Her other television credits include appearances in The Avengers[7] and as Evelyn in Strange Report (1969–70).[8]
Doctor Who
editIn 1966, she took the role of Polly in Doctor Who. She appeared in the show until 1967 alongside William Hartnell and then Patrick Troughton.[9] Her favourite story is The Smugglers.[10]
In October 2013, she recorded an abridged version of Who's There?, a biography of Hartnell written by his granddaughter, Jessica Carney.[11]
In November 2013, she appeared in the one-off 50th anniversary comedy homage The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot.[12]
She has been a popular guest at Doctor Who conventions, and has been employed by the BBC and Big Finish to record various audio and DVD projects related to the show.[13][14][15]
In 2021, Wills was approached by Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall about reprising her role as Polly for the Thirteenth Doctor's final episode, "The Power of the Doctor", but was unavailable on the day of filming as she was maintaining her garden at her home in Dartmoor. "I heard it was quite brief so I'm glad I stayed and did my brambles instead," she told the Radio Times.[16]
Writing
editPersonal life
editAt 17, she began a relationship with Anthony Newley while working on the TV series The Strange World of Gurney Slade. Newley fathered Wills's first child, but instructed her to have an abortion. Wills became pregnant for a second time and gave birth to a daughter, Polly, in 1963 but by this time Wills and Newley had separated as Wills discovered he was having an affair with Joan Collins.[19]
During the 1960s Wills spent much of her time at the famous Troubadour Coffee Shop[20] and the Establishment, and was part of the so-called "Chelsea Set".
In 1965, Wills married actor Michael Gough,[9] who adopted her daughter, Polly. The couple had one son, Jasper, and divorced in 1979. In 1970, she gave up acting and moved to Norfolk, dedicating herself to motherhood and gardening. Polly died in a car crash in 1982[9] at the age of 19, having always thought that Gough was her biological father. Anneke left the UK in 1980 and lived in various places for 16 years afterwards, including in Belgium, Laos, Vietnam, and India in the early 1980s, in the US from 1983 to 1986, and in Canada from 1986 to 1996, before returning to the UK in 1996.[21] She remarried twice.[9]
In 2025, Wills was hospitalised with a broken hip after slipping and falling in her garden. "Thank god the farmers heard me calling out for help and, wrapping me in blankets as I lay on the icy ground, we all waited some hours for the ambulance to come," she wrote on Facebook. "I was whisked off to Torbay hospital with a broken hip and shoulder for ten days. I was lovingly cared for by the doctors and nurses [in what] was my first experience of the immense patience and kindness of the NHS care teams. I was humbled and grateful." Following her initial hospitalisation, she was transferred to Mapleton Community Care Centre in Newton Abbot, staying there for four weeks before returning home. "[O]nce again, there were the angels, I will always be grateful to them all. Such friends," she continued.[22]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Child's Play | Alice Nightingale | |
| 1962 | Candidate for Murder | Jacqueline | |
| Some People | Anne | ||
| 1964 | Nothing but the Best | Girl | |
| 1965 | The Pleasure Girls | Angela |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Impostor's Gold | Sybil Hughes | TV film |
| The House with a Secret | Robina | ||
| 1955 | Alibi Children | Molly Wilson | |
| Remember Jane | Jane Eyre | ||
| The Prince and the Pauper | Lady Jane Grey | Episode: "Exchange" | |
| Passage of Arms | Henriette de Chamborde | TV film | |
| The Blakes | Jean Blake | All 4 episodes | |
| 1956 | African Holiday | Megs Wyndham | TV film |
| The Grove Family | Olive Green | Episode: "Olive Green" | |
| 1957 | The Railway Children | Roberta | All 8 episodes |
| 1958 | From Cover to Cover | Girl | Episode: "#1.1" |
| 1959 | Don't Tell Father | Diana | 2 episodes |
| 1960 | BBC Sunday-Night Play | Katrina Hoefler | Episode: "Glorious Morning" |
| Emergency-Ward 10 | Clarissa Wallace | 2 episodes | |
| Probation Officer | Miss Shirley | Episode: "#1.27" | |
| Miss Field | Episode: "#2.3" | ||
| Sheila | Episode: "#2.8" | ||
| No Hiding Place | Glenda Williamson | Episode: "The Final Chase" | |
| The Strange World of Gurney Slade | Girl on Airfield | 2 episodes | |
| 1961 | ITV Television Playhouse | Woman in coffee bar | Episode: "Ben Spray" |
| Peggy | Episode: "Different Drum" | ||
| Golden Girl | Minty | Episode: "Ward of Court" | |
| Winning Widows | Sheila | Episode: "The Young Niece" | |
| Gamble for a Throne | Kaye Chance | 4 episodes | |
| ITV Play of the Week | Kathleen Short | Episode: "The Primitive" | |
| 1962 | The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre | Jacqueline | Episode: "Candidate for Murder" |
| 1963 | The Sentimental Agent | Sarah | Episode: "All That Jazz" |
| No Hiding Place | Dolly Fenson | Episode: "The Smoke Boys" | |
| Our Man at St. Mark's | Dorothy Maxwell | Episode: "Know of Any Reason" | |
| 1963,
1967 |
The Avengers | Pussy Cat/Judy | 2 episodes |
| 1965 | The Likely Lads | Judith Francis | Episode: "Other Side of the Fence" |
| ITV Play of the Week | Chris Durley | Episode: "No Baby, No Baby at All" | |
| 1966 | Thirty-Minute Theatre | Julia | Episode: "Keep on Running" |
| The Wednesday Play | Leda | Episode: "Toddler on the Run" | |
| 1966–1967 | Doctor Who | Polly | 36 episodes |
| 1966 | The Saint | Fran Roeding | Episode: "The Helpful Pirate" |
| 1967 | Beggar My Neighbour | Mona | Episode: "For Better, for Worse" |
| 1969–1970 | Strange Report | Evelyn McLean | All 16 episodes |
| 2013 | An Adventure in Space and Time | Party Guest | TV film |
| The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot | Anneke Wills |
Audio drama
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Bernice Summerfield | Doctor Kitzinger | Big Finish Productions; Story: "Beyond the Sun" |
| 2003-2006 | Doctor Who: The Monthly Range | Nrosha, Louisa Pollard | Big Finish Productions; 4 releases |
| 2009-2019 | Doctor Who: The Companion Chronicles | Polly | Big Finish Productions; 10 releases |
| 2011 | The Five Companions | Big Finish Productions; Special release | |
| 2013 | The Light at the End | ||
| 2014 | Charlotte Pollard | Doctor Kitzinger | Big Finish Productions; Story: "The Fall of the House of Pollard" |
| 2015-2019 | Doctor Who: The Early Adventures | Polly | Big Finish Productions; 6 releases |
| 2016-2022 | Big Finish Short Trips | Narrator | 3 releases |
References
edit- ↑ Wills, Anneke (2007). Self Portrait. Hirst Books. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-9557149-0-0.
- ↑ "Anneke Wills". Archived from the original on 22 June 2018.
- ↑ Wills, Anneke (2007). Self Portrait. Hirst Books. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-9557149-0-0.
- ↑ ’Self Portrait’ Anneke Wills, Autobiography 2007
- ↑ "Children's Television: The Railway Children: 3: The Old Gentleman". The Radio Times (1740): 12. 15 March 1957. Archived from the original on 18 April 2016 – via BBC Genome.
- ↑ Profile, entertainment-focus.com; accessed 29 April 2015.
- ↑ "The Big Issue - Anneke Wills". Retrieved 9 June 2016.
- ↑ "BFI Screenonline: Strange Report (1968-69)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
- 1 2 3 4 "Doctor Who companion Anneke Wills on achieving cultural immortality". Retrieved 9 June 2016.
- ↑ "Doctor Who The Power of the Daleks animation review". Radiotimes.com. 5 November 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- ↑ "Who's There? – Anneke Wills". annekewills.com. 15 October 2013.
- ↑ The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot, bbc.co.uk; accessed 29 April 2015.
- ↑ "The War Machines, Season 3, Doctor Who - The Fourth Dimension - BBC One". BBC.
- ↑ "Anneke Wills and Terrence Hardiman are Charley's Family! - News - Big Finish". www.bigfinish.com.
- ↑ "BBC - The Fourth Dimension". BBC.
- ↑ Mulkern, Patrick (23 October 2022). "Doctor Who's classic companions on their return: "It was a total joy"". Radio Times.
- ↑ Profile, drwhointerviews.wordpress.com; accessed 29 April 2015.
- ↑ "fantom films :: anneke wills". www.fantomfilms.co.uk. Archived from the original on 16 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
- ↑ Wills, Anneke. Self Portrait. Hirst Publishing 2007; ISBN 978-0-9557149-0-0
- ↑ Mentor, Toms (8 August 2011). "Anneke Wills: Gurney Slade, Anthony Newley and me | Features". The Stage. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- ↑ "About Anneke - Anneke Wills". Retrieved 9 June 2016.
- ↑ Harp, Justin (21 April 2025). "'Humbled and Grateful': Doctor Who Star Anneke Wills Offers Health Update After 10-Day Hospitalization". CBR.