WARIS & VERITY
MIRIAM’S DOCTORS
One of Miriam’s best friends was at the heart of Doctor Who’s genesis. “I met Waris Hussein at Cambridge. I think he left just a year before me but his sister was in my year at college. I spoke to him last week. We speak regularly. Like me, he’s gay. He’s an Indian who received a British public school education in England so he straddles two cultures. He’s a very sophisticated, highly educated, well-read intellectual. He comes from a very good family. I’ve been to his home in Lucknow in India. He’s enormous fun and an absolutely superb director. One of the best I’ve ever known. We share a lot of the same friends. And I just love him. I didn’t know for many many years that he’d done Doctor Who. Only recently he told me. I was fascinated by that.”
I’m very fond of the Doctor Whos that I know,’ says Miriam. “I worked with Patrick Troughton on radio. Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, too. Most of my Doctor Whos were friends from radio. Tom Baker’s got that amazing voice. I love him. I think he’s very special. I like his sense of humour. He’s so funny and witty. Tom is also outspoken, in a lovely way.
Miriam also recalls Doctor Who’s other pioneer, Verity Lambert. “Verity was a great friend of Waris’. They collaborated. I met Verity many times. I didn’t like her much. I didn’t like her because she never used me when she was in a capacity to do so.” Could you appreciate her as a good producer though? “Oh yes, she was a distinguished producer. Brilliant. And in the days when it was hard for a woman to be a producer. It’s not that much easier now, but it is a bit easier.”
“I met Peter Davison at a convention. I do conventions for Harry Potter and sometimes they’re joined up with Doctor Who.” DWM points out that Miriam can now do both. “I’m very pleased about that. A lot of the conventions are full of old stars. I probably know Colin Baker least of all, but I have met him at conventions.