Anneke Wills
Wills in 2018
Born
Anna Katarina Willys

(1941-10-20) 20 October 1941
Fulmer, Buckinghamshire, England[1]
OccupationActress
Years active1952–1970, 1998–present
TelevisionDoctor Who (1966–1967)
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1965; div. 1979)​
Children2
Websitewww.annekewills.com

Anneke Wills (/ˈænɪkə/; born Anna Katarina Willys, 20 October 1941) is an English actress, best known for her role as the Doctor Who companion Polly in the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.[2]

Biography

Wills'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

Deciding 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]

Anneke Wills in 2016.
Anneke Wills at Bournemouth Comic-Con in 2016.

Her other television credits include appearances in The Avengers[7] and as Evelyn in Strange Report (1969–70).[8]

Doctor Who

In 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]

Writing

The first volume of her autobiography, Self Portrait, was published in 2007[16] by Hirst Books and a second volume, Naked, followed in 2009. Her latest book, Anneke Wills - In Focus, was published in May 2012 by Fantom Films.[17]

Personal life

At 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, Polly, but left her to marry Joan Collins.[18] During the 1960s Wills spent much of her time at the famous Troubadour Coffee Shop[19] and the Establishment, and was part of the so-called "Chelsea Set".

Wills married actor Michael Gough[9] in 1965, 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. Her daughter Polly died in a car crash in 1982[9] at the age of 19, believing that Gough was her biological father. She left the UK in 1980 and lived in various places in the 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.[20] She remarried twice.[9]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1954Child's PlayAlice Nightingale
1962Candidate for MurderJacqueline
1962Some PeopleAnne
1964Nothing but the BestGirl
1965The Pleasure GirlsAngela

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1954Impostor's GoldSybil HughesTV film
1954The House with a SecretRobinaTV film
1955Alibi ChildrenMolly WilsonTV film
1955Remember JaneJane EyreTV film
1955The Prince and the PauperLady Jane GreyEpisode: "Exchange"
1955Passage of ArmsHenriette de ChambordeTV film
1955The BlakesJean BlakeAll 4 episodes
1956African HolidayMegs WyndhamTV film
1956The Grove FamilyOlive GreenEpisode: "Olive Green"
1957The Railway ChildrenRobertaAll 8 episodes
1958From Cover to CoverGirlEpisode: "#1.1"
1959Don't Tell FatherDiana2 episodes
1960BBC Sunday-Night PlayKatrina HoeflerEpisode: "Glorious Morning"
1960Emergency-Ward 10Clarissa Wallace2 episodes
1960Probation OfficerMiss ShirleyEpisode: "#1.27"
1960Miss FieldEpisode: "#2.3"
1960SheilaEpisode: "#2.8"
1960No Hiding PlaceGlenda WilliamsonEpisode: "The Final Chase"
1960The Strange World of Gurney SladeGirl on Airfield2 episodes
1961ITV Television PlayhouseWoman in coffee barEpisode: "Ben Spray"
1961PeggyEpisode: "Different Drum"
1961Golden GirlMintyEpisode: "Ward of Court"
1961Winning WidowsSheilaEpisode: "The Young Niece"
1961Gamble for a ThroneKaye Chance4 episodes
1961ITV Play of the WeekKathleen ShortEpisode: "The Primitive"
1962The Edgar Wallace Mystery TheatreJacquelineEpisode: "Candidate for Murder"
1963The Sentimental AgentSarahEpisode: "All That Jazz"
1963No Hiding PlaceDolly FensonEpisode: "The Smoke Boys"
1963The AvengersPussy CatEpisode: "Dressed to Kill"
1965The Likely LadsJudith FrancisEpisode: "Other Side of the Fence"
1965ITV Play of the WeekChris DurleyEpisode: "No Baby, No Baby at All"
1966Thirty-Minute TheatreJuliaEpisode: "Keep on Running"
1966The Wednesday PlayLedaEpisode: "Toddler on the Run"
1966–1967Doctor WhoPolly36 episodes
1966The SaintFran RoedingEpisode: "The Helpful Pirate"
1967Beggar My NeighbourEpisode: "For Better, for Worse"
1967The AvengersJudyEpisode: "The £50,000 Breakfast"
1969–1970Strange ReportEvelyn McLeanAll 16 episodes
2013An Adventure in Space and TimeParty GuestTV film
2013The Five(ish) Doctors RebootAnneke WillsTV film

Audio drama

Year Title Role Notes
1998Bernice SummerfieldDoctor KitzingerBig Finish Productions; Story: "Beyond the Sun"
2003-2006Doctor Who: The Monthly RangeNrosha, Louisa PollardBig Finish Productions; 4 releases
2009-2019Doctor Who: The Companion ChroniclesPollyBig Finish Productions; 10 releases
2011The Five CompanionsPollyBig Finish Productions; Special release
2013The Light at the EndPollyBig Finish Productions; Special release
2014Charlotte PollardDoctor KitzingerBig Finish Productions; Story: "The Fall of the House of Pollard"
2015-2019Doctor Who: The Early AdventuresPollyBig Finish Productions; 6 releases
2016-2022Big Finish Short TripsNarrator3 releases

References

  1. ↑ Wills, Anneke (2007). Self Portrait. Hirst Books. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-9557149-0-0.
  2. ↑ "Anneke Wills". Archived from the original on 22 June 2018.
  3. ↑ Wills, Anneke (2007). Self Portrait. Hirst Books. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-9557149-0-0.
  4. ↑ ’Self Portrait’ Anneke Wills, Autobiography 2007
  5. ↑ "Children's Television: The Railway Children: 3: The Old Gentleman". The Radio Times (1740): 12. 15 March 1957 – via BBC Genome.
  6. ↑ Profile, entertainment-focus.com; accessed 29 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "The Big Issue - Anneke Wills". Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  8. ↑ "BFI Screenonline: Strange Report (1968-69)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Doctor Who companion Anneke Wills on achieving cultural immortality". Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  10. ↑ "Doctor Who The Power of the Daleks animation review". Radiotimes.com. 5 November 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  11. ↑ "Who's There? – Anneke Wills". annekewills.com.
  12. ↑ The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot, bbc.co.uk; accessed 29 April 2015.
  13. ↑ "The War Machines, Season 3, Doctor Who - The Fourth Dimension - BBC One". BBC.
  14. ↑ "Anneke Wills and Terrence Hardiman are Charley's Family! - News - Big Finish". www.bigfinish.com.
  15. ↑ "BBC One - Doctor Who, Season 4, the Underwater Menace - the Fourth Dimension".
  16. ↑ Profile, drwhointerviews.wordpress.com; accessed 29 April 2015.
  17. ↑ "fantom films :: anneke wills". www.fantomfilms.co.uk. Archived from the original on 16 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  18. ↑ Wills, Anneke. Self Portrait. Hirst Publishing 2007; ISBN 978-0-9557149-0-0
  19. ↑ Mentor, Toms (8 August 2011). "Anneke Wills: Gurney Slade, Anthony Newley and me | Features". The Stage. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  20. ↑ "About Anneke - Anneke Wills". Retrieved 9 June 2016.
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