Iconic Doctor Who companion says her exit was "very badly done"

Classic Doctor Who companion Anneke Wills, who played Polly alongside Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor, has admitted her exit from the show was "very badly done".

Wills played companion Polly from June 1966 to June 1967. She chose to leave the series in solidarity after her co-star Michael Craze (who played Ben) was written out. Frazer Hines, who played Jamie, stayed on with Second Doctor actor Troughton.

Looking back on her time in the TARDIS in an interview with Doctor Who Magazine, Wills said: "Our exit was very badly done. Two weeks in [to The Faceless Ones], Ben and Polly disappeared. 'Right, you're leaving. Frazer will stay and you two are finished.' We were terribly upset. We deserved more. We were shocked and hurt."

Despite her unhappiness with her exit, Wills looks back on her time on Doctor Who with fondness, adding in the interview that it's her "favourite subject".

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Sadly, many of Wills's episodes are missing, after several early instalments were wiped or junked as part of archive practices between 1967 and 1978, when broadcasters routinely cleared programmes because of storage issues, material costs and rights limitations.

Of the missing episodes, 53 are from Troughton's era as the Second Doctor, which ran from 1966 to 1969 and saw him take over from William Hartnell after the very first regeneration.

Patrick Troughton's son Michael recently reflected on the missing episodes, telling Radio Times: "No one's to blame. In those days, tape was so expensive.

"We all did it with VHS – we recorded over over the top of it, and that's what happened. But I suppose I would like to see that first one [The Power of the Daleks], the first ever performance.

"I remember his feedback from that – he phoned up afterwards to tell us how it went and everything. He was really nervous about the first studio [record], with Michael and Anneke. I'd probably love if they found that one single episode, but the whole lot would be brilliant."

Doctor Who Magazine issue 634 is out now.

Dive into our Doctor Who story guide: reviews of every episode since 1963, plus cast & crew listings, production trivia, and exclusive material from the Radio Times archive.

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Authors

Louise Griffin is the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Editor for Radio Times, covering everything from Doctor Who, Star Wars and Marvel to House of the Dragon and Good Omens. She previously worked at Metro as a Senior Entertainment Reporter and has a degree in English Literature.