Doctor Who was 'family business', says Clacton MP

An MP says Doctor Who was like a "family business" after his sister and father starred alongside the famous timelord, as the show marks 60 years.

Giles Watling grew up watching his sister Deborah appear as the Doctor's companion in the late 1960s, facing some of its most notorious aliens.

Before he became an MP, he too featured in audio adventure episodes.

He said: "It was a ground-breaking programme and that soundtrack of the opening theme tune - it's so iconic."

Mr Watling was an actor before embarking on a political career, becoming the Conservative MP for Clacton at the 2017 general election.

Growing up, he watched his sister and father star alongside the famous travelling timelord.

"I was 10 years old when Doctor Who first came out and it was a ground-breaking programme and that soundtrack of the opening theme tune it's so iconic... but Debbie joining Doctor Who, we just thought it was amazing as a family," he said.

Deborah Watling starred opposite the second doctor, Patrick Troughton, as his companion Victoria Waterfield, between 1967 and 1968.

Her character faced some of the most famous and recognisable sci-fi villains of the series, including the Daleks, the Cybermen and the Abominable Snowman.

In an interview with BBC Essex in 2013, four years before her death, Ms Watling described walking on set for the first time.

She said: "I can remember walking into the rehearsal room being rather nervous, the first time on set, that was really exciting... we rehearsed five days a week and then go into the studio on Saturday."

Mr Watling said his sister "had this energy and power that just took the screen by storm."

His father, the actor Jack Watling, played Prof Edward Travers in two serials in 1967 and 1968 - in which his daughter also starred.

He reprised the role for the Doctor Who spin-off, Downtime, in 1995.

Giles Watling puts the success of the long-running show down to how "ground-breaking" it was at the time.

"Suddenly we had our own home grown sci-fi with this doctor who was completely mysterious and we knew he was an alien," he said.

"It was just such an exciting concept and it lasts - because you can do anything with the programme, you can be anywhere anytime."

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