Ace (Doctor Who)

Ace
Doctor Who character
First appearanceDragonfire (1987)
Last appearanceTales of the TARDIS (2023)
Created by
Portrayed bySophie Aldred
Non-canonical appearancesDimensions in Time (1993)
Duration1987–1989, 1993, 2022–2023
In-universe information
SpeciesHuman
AffiliationSeventh Doctor
Thirteenth Doctor
UNIT
FamilyAudrey Dudman (mother)
RelativesFrank Dudman (grandfather)
Kathleen Dudman (grandmother)
HomeEarth
Home era20th and 21st centuries (born c. 1970,[2] leaves Earth c. 1987[3])

Ace is a fictional character played by Sophie Aldred in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.[4] A 20th-century Earth teenager from the London suburb of Perivale, she is a companion of the Seventh Doctor and was a regular in the series from 1987 to 1989 and returned in 2022. [5] She is considered one of the Doctor's most popular companions.[6]

Ace appeared in ten stories (32 episodes), and was the final companion in the original run of the classic series.[7]

Doctor Who script editor Andrew Cartmel said that the character was written to be a "fighter and not a screamer".[8] In the television series Ace reveals that her real given name is Dorothy. Her family name is never explicitly stated in the series but spin-off media refer to her as both Dorothy Gale and Dorothy McShane.

  1. ^ "Holiday Camp". Doctor Who: The Collection Season 24 (special feature). BBC Studios. 2021.
  2. ^ Ghost Light claims she was 13 in unseen events in 1983.
  3. ^ Ace states in Dragonfire that a time storm sends her to Svartos after she failed her O levels; she states in the same serial that she is 16 years old.
  4. ^ "Doctor Who: Ace visitor in Norwich". BBC. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  5. ^ "The Den of Geek interview: Sophie Aldred". The Den of Geek. Archived from the original on 4 January 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  6. ^ "What Ever Happened to...Ace?". Doctor Who TV. 20 August 2013. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  7. ^ Scott, Cavan; Wright, Mark (2013). Whoology: Doctor Who the Official Miscellany. BBC Books. pp. 146–147. ISBN 9781849906197.
  8. ^ Younger, Andrew (5 January 2015). "Doctor Who: How Ace Set the Template for Modern Companions". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2015.