{"id":38074,"date":"2023-10-14T09:00:36","date_gmt":"2023-10-14T07:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1906193"},"modified":"2023-10-14T10:07:45","modified_gmt":"2023-10-14T08:07:45","slug":"doctor-whos-katy-manning-remembers-closest-friend-jon-pertwee","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/doctor-whos-katy-manning-remembers-closest-friend-jon-pertwee\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctor Who\u2019s Katy Manning remembers \u201cclosest friend\u201d Jon Pertwee"},"content":{"rendered":"

“I adored him.” <\/p>

By Louise Griffin\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Saturday, 14 October 2023 at 07:00 AM<\/p>

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There are few relationships on TV like that of the Doctor and their companion \u2013 and Doctor Who<\/a> legend Katy Manning<\/a> knows that better than most.<\/p>\n

During her time as Jo Grant, she became close friends with her co-stars, but most of all, Third Doctor actor Jon Pertwee<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Looking back at their adventures together with RadioTimes.com<\/a>, Manning remembered how much the pair meant to each other \u2013 and what made Pertwee such a great Doctor.<\/p>\n

She said of her relationship with her co-stars: \u201cFirst of all, it was a gift\u2026 Nicholas Courtney, one of the sweetest, dearest souls you could possibly imagine, and Roger Delgado, we \u2013 Jon and I \u2013 used to go to Roger and [wife] Kismet\u2019s house for dinner.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were such a strong team in the studio, but we also had this friendship outside, which is remarkable when you think you\u2019re together every day, all day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Manning recalled going on holidays with Pertwee and his wife, Ingeborg Rhoesa, adding: \u201cSo you can see that the friendship and the bond that you saw on screen went right out into our private lives, which was, I think, stunning because it doesn\u2019t always happen that way. From Jon, I learned so much. I learned different things from Nicholas, and different things from Roger Delgado. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFrom Jon, I learned so much about the business in the old days to now. He was the one that encouraged me because he was the voice master as far as I was concerned. We used to create all these characters and he said, \u2018One day, you\u2019re going to do all these voices that you do for me.\u2019 I said, \u2018Oh, no, no, no, I just do them for fun.\u2019 So we also had that in common as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d drive along on the location and we\u2019d see all the names of these extraordinary villages around England and we would turn them into characters and make stories out of them. He was a great raconteur, he would often tell you a wonderful story, and he taught me one thing \u2013 never spoil a really good story with the total truth. The essence of the truth is there that makes the story interesting\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Welcome to 60 Days of Doctor Who, RadioTimes.com\u2019s ultimate celebration of all things Who as the show gears up for its 60th anniversary. We\u2019ll be bringing you 60 days of exclusive Doctor Who content, from interviews and newsletter takeovers with the show\u2019s stars to the hottest takes from our team of Doctor Who superfans. Stay tuned!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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$\"David$ <\/div>

BBC Studios<\/figcaption><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/section>

Manning added of Pertwee\u2019s approach on set: \u201cEverybody who\u2019s played the Doctor has brought their own magic, their own creativity. There you go, there\u2019s the two hearts: the heart of the actor and the heart of the Doctor.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Jon had always done so much comedy. I mean, I listened Radio 4 Extra and I\u2019m hearing this man\u2019s wonderful voice in so many different programmes. He had not really done anything that was, for want of a better word, straight acting, if you like, without the comedy, and without all the funny voices and the character. S<\/span>o he took this extremely seriously. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing you do learn when you go into Doctor Who actually, [people ask] \u2018Oh, did you have lots of laughs? Was it lots of money?\u2019 It\u2019s a very serious business. When you\u2019re in the studio, everything had to be done by a certain time and we were using a lot of new techniques and things. So we had to be very focused, and Jon took this very, very seriously.<\/span><\/p>\n

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