Sympathy for the Sea Devil
Jo Jones and two young explorers discover a Sea Devil nest in a freezing cave system... beneath Bristol city centre? BOB FISCHER investigates the touching new trailer for the Season 9 Blu-ray.
Kat (Julia Haworth), Jo (Katy Manning) and Alex (Izzy Palmer) find some curious eggs in Defenders of the Earth (2023), the trailer for Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 9.
Director Pete McTighe (right) and crew filming the trailer on the beach.
Photo © Phil Robinson.
Pete directs the Sea Devil (Hal Townsend) in Redcliffe Caves.
“l never
complain, I like the cold!” insists Katy Manning. “I’m a winter woman who likes snuggling, cuddling and putting scarves on. So I was happy. At least I wasn’t wearing a miniskirt. And they didn’t have to pour boiling water
over my boots to unstick my feet from the ice.”
It’s an exchange that gives a perfect glimpse into Katy’s character. Indomitable and hilarious, she’s discussing the filming of the decidedly chilly-looking new trailer for the forthcoming Season 9 Blu-ray deep inside Bristol’s Redcliffe Caves – previously the haunt of the Ice Warriors in Empress of Mars (2017).
The former companion to Jon Pertwee’s elegant Third Doctor, Jo is a character whose story continues to expand in the most inspiring fashion. In The Green Death (1973), she left the TARDIS to marry Welsh eco-warrior Cliff Jones (played by Katy’s then real-life fiancé, Stewart Bevan). Then, in 2010, she returned in the spin-off show The Sarah Jane Adventures. Still married to Cliff, Jo Jones had become a mother of seven and grandmother to 12, enjoying life with her husband as a pair of globetrotting environmental activists.
Since then, Jo and Cliff’s on-screen lives have continued in trailers for the ongoing Doctor Who Blu-ray sets. For the 2019 Season 10 release, Katy and Stewart were reunited to battle The Green Death’s giant maggots one more time. In 2020, they were back promoting Season 8, with their suburban home besieged by Autons. The trailers were funny and touching, and a clear testament to the longstanding affection between the two.