On Sunday 25th May 2025, Riverside Studios at Hammersmith hosted an event organised by the Doctor Who Appreciation Society. This was the latest of a number of small-scale themed events known as "Projections in Time". A number of episodes from the classic era are shown, and these are interspersed with Q&A panels comprising people who worked on them - be they actors or behind the scenes personnel.
My first event was based around The Moonbase, and the last one I attended covered some UNIT stories of Season 8. They are run for an afternoon only and, as well as the episodes / panels, there are photo opportunities and autograph sessions.
This latest one was themed around the four surviving female companions of the 1960's - Carole Ann Ford, Maureen O'Brien, Anneke Wills, and Wendy Padbury.
Joining them were a couple of guest artists from their episodes - Virginia Wetherell, who played Diyoni in The Daleks, and Felicity Gibson, who played Kando in The Dominators.
Constance Carling - the Auton secretary in Spearhead From Space - was also on hand for photos and autographs only.
The afternoon kicked off with The Daleks (3) and Galaxy Four (3), after which we had the first panel comprising Ford, O'Brien and Wetherell. Naturally, Ford was asked about the circumstances around her return in the current series as well as her days on the show as a regular cast member. With memories of the episodes fading, these panels often cover a lot of experiences beyond the programme.
This overran and on returning to the auditorium we had an extra piece of business as Margot Hayhoe - AFM / Production Manager on the series for a number of years - was on hand to raffle an original costume design sketch. This was the first idea for Supervisor Lowe in The Invisible Enemy. Margot had known the late designer Raymond Hughes well and had been offered the item by his widow to be sold for charity. It reached £350.
The second session of the day kicked off with The Faceless Ones (3), followed by The Dominators (2).
One big drawback of Studio 1 at Riverside is the steepness of the stairs. The guests at these events, by their very nature, are people who are no longer young and fit, and I've seen before how some struggle to get up and down the steep gradient (made worse by high steps).
Anneke Wills suffered a serious fall in her garden a few months ago, and for the final panel could only participate from her seat at the back of the auditorium, whilst Wendy Padbury and Felicity Gibson made it down to the stage. Luckily I was seated near the back, so it was easy enough to turn slightly to see her speak. Wendy had a few funny stories about her co-stars and criticisms of the director of her featured episode - thinking Morris Barry overly patronising towards her. Wills couldn't recall working for him (which she did on The Moonbase).
The day ended with the autograph panels but, as I have never had any interest in collecting these, I took my leave.
Not everyone likes the big conventions but these small scale events are an ideal opportunity to meet stars of the show and get photographs / autographs without massive queues and in a more informal setting. The themed nature of them means that you can pick and choose which ones to go for, and at just the half day they are relatively inexpensive as well.
No idea what the next event will be - the DWAS usually post on their social media a month or so after the last event. Depending on the episodes selected and the guest list, I certainly plan to attend again.
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