Camille Coduri, who played Rose Tyler’s mum, reveals the secrets of Jackie’s wardrobe and shares some fashion tips.

Interview by SIMON GUERRIER

We first met Rose Tyler and her mum Jackie in 2005, at the beginning of the revived Doctor Who. Russell T Davies’ script for the opening episode Rose provided no details about what mother and daughter should wear – so how did their distinctive look come about?

Camille Coduri, who played Jackie, tells us that “Lucinda Wright designed the look. She did the costumes for that whole first series – and won a BAFTA for it.”

In the summer of 2004, as production got under way, Camille met Lucinda for an initial fitting at Angels the costumiers in Hendon. “I walked in and there was a rail of clothes for Jackie that she’d got together,” says Camille. “And I said to her – these were my actual words because I’ll never forget it – ‘Oh, it’s very pink.’ And she just said, ‘Yes.’” Camille laughs. “She didn’t like that. Lucinda was quite strict. So I quickly said, ‘Ooh, I love pink!’

“I could immediately see where we were going with Jackie. She was eclectic in her own way, and always dressed younger than her years. As we tried things on, I was asking Lucinda what Chris [Eccleston] was going to wear as the Doctor – I was dying to know. It all sounded really exciting. But I loved what she got together on the rail. She had most of what I wore in the series already, though we picked up some bits along the way. I loved that pale denim jacket. I just loved all of it.”

Did Camille want more input into what her character wore? “Having done acting for hundreds of years, I’ve learned that it’s not about you. It’s about the designer’s vision and you have to go with that – because they’re brilliant. You can enhance it a bit and add your own things but go with what they do. It doesn’t matter if you’re out of your comfort zone because you’re not you anyway. So I just embraced it. And once Lucinda knew I was into everything, I felt her go, ‘Oh thank God she’s not going to be difficult!’” She laughs again. “She was bang on the money. Jackie’s look was fantastic.”