Born in Birmingham in 1929, Jacqueline Hill lost her parents in early
childhood and spent her adolescence working in a factory. Then, in the
post-war years, a scholarship to RADA helped her escape to a new life in
London – and she never looked back.
Jacqueline is best known for her performance as Barbara Wright, one of
the very first Doctor Who companions. But her career on the small screen
began a decade earlier, in the days following the landmark Coronation
TV broadcast of 1953. Her appearance on a BBC talent show that summer
brought her overnight success, although it soon became clear just how
easily that might slip away.
During the ten years that followed, Jacqueline quietly established
herself as a leading actress of skill and sensitivity alongside the
likes of Sam Wanamaker, Sean Connery, and Maggie Smith. By the time she
led viewers into the TARDIS for the first time, she was a seasoned
professional, familiar with every aspect of a rapidly changing industry.
Jacqueline’s story, told here with the help of new research and
interviews, is one of the resilience and determination in both her
private life and her career. It offers a snapshot of television history,
and shows for the first time how her early experiences prepared her to
take on the role she played so memorably in Doctor Who.
