Fi Phillips

My father and I didn't tend to like the same TV programmes when I was a child. He watched the football. I liked Blue Peter. He enjoyed Fawlty Towers. I preferred Animal Magic. One programme we did agree on was Doctor Who .  Like every child before me, I hid behind the sofa when the Daleks trundled on and peeped out between my fingers at the Cybermen, but there was something exciting and otherworldly about the Doctor and his companions travelling through time in a blue box. On Christmas Day, Doctor Who was the height of viewing for my father and me. This year, I'll be watching it with my husband, our children and my in-laws. I've loved all the Doctors but Jon Pertwee was the one I remember most fondly. Which was your favourite?    

Image via Wikipedia When I was a child, my family would often holiday in Scotland and particularly in the town where my father was brought up. I remember very little of the town itself but there are certain things that remain with me. Firstly, outside a large cafe was a statue of a golden retriever. It was life size and probably made of some kind of resin as it was coloured like the dog it was meant to represent. Over the years, it was 'borrowed' by local drunks on a regular basis, even ending up in the loch now and then. Secondly, our landlady Mrs Mackay would always serve massive breakfasts (fried sausage slices, tatty scones, fried eggs, bacon, sausage, fried bread) and finish it off with toast and jam. As part of the table setting, there was a ceramic jam pot shaped like a beehive with a bee handle and a matching slender spoon. I can remember taking great pleasure in helping myself to the contents and being told not to play with the lid by my mother. Thirdly, my fathe...

Image via Wikipedia I am an avid Doctor Who fan. From my earliest years, I can remember being scared of the Daleks and chortling at the Doctor's antics. My personal favourite (and the Doctor I remember most from my childhood) was Jon Pertwee. He always seemed very glamorous and gallant. The Doctor's companions came and went but one companion whom I was always glad to see was Sarah Jane Smith. She was gutsy and honest and always ready for a fight. She wasn't scared to stand up to the Doctor or that episode's particular villain. Even when the Doctor was no longer in her life, she refused to turn her back on her travels and instead began her own personal crusade to investigate aliens visiting Planet Earth and helping those in danger. She was as much my hero as the errant Doctor. Yesterday it was announced that the actress who played Sarah Jane had passed away. Elisabeth Sladen died, aged 63, from cancer. John Barrowman tweeted about her death, saying "I loved my...