59 Facts About Katy Manning

Catherine Ann Manning was born on 14 October 1946 and is a British actress.

Katy Manning initially played the role regularly from 1971 to 1973 but reprised the role in the Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures in 2010.

Katy Manning is well known for voicing Iris Wildthyme in the audio series Iris Wildthyme for Big Finish Productions since 2005.

Katy Manning has made many theatre appearances, including two one-woman shows and playing Mary Smith in the first run of the play Run for Your Wife and Rita in Educating Rita at the Sydney Opera House.

Since 1990, Katy Manning has been in a relationship with Australian entertainer and singer Barry Crocker and is an Australian citizen.

In 2009, Katy Manning moved back to the UK to pursue new acting work and currently lives in London.

Katy Manning was severely myopic, but teachers failed to understand her condition and she was teased by the other children for having poor eyesight and wearing large glasses.

Katy Manning then attended Miss Dixon and Miss Wolfe's School for Girls where she became best friends with classmate Liza Minnelli, daughter of Judy Garland, and spent a lot of time at Garland and Sidney Luft's home in Chelsea.

Katy Manning socialised with stars such as James Mason and Dirk Bogarde, and had tea with Noel Coward at The Savoy.

Aged sixteen, Katy Manning suffered serious injuries in a car crash after the driver, her boyfriend Brian Gascoigne, fell asleep at the wheel.

Katy Manning was thrown through the windscreen and through a plate glass window ending up on the bonnet of the car, leaving her back and both her legs broken and her face disfigured.

Katy Manning was taken to hospital in the police car as it was thought that she would not survive the time for an ambulance to arrive.

Katy Manning had to spend nearly two years recovering in hospital and had several skin grafts on her face, as well as reconstructive surgery at Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead.

Katy Manning suffered an embolism and had to have both her legs pinned which put an end to her dreams of becoming a dancer.

Katy Manning then made her TV debut in the BBC drama Softly, Softly: Taskforce, in the episode 'Standing Orders'.

Katy Manning was originally given the small role of a French au-pair girl for one episode, however during filming the producers, impressed with her performance, instead gave her a larger role in two episodes.

Katy Manning played the part of Jo Grant from 1971 to 1973 alongside Jon Pertwee's incarnation of the Doctor.

Katy Manning struck up an immediate rapport with her co-stars Pertwee, Nicholas Courtney, John Levene, Richard Franklin and Roger Delgado.

Katy Manning had a particularly close relationship with Pertwee to the extent that he would pick her up every day from outside her house, either in his car or on his motorbike where she would ride pillion, and take her for filming or rehearsals for Doctor Who.

Katy Manning would spend time at Pertwee's villa in Ibiza with his family.

Pertwee was reportedly very sad at her departure due to their close working relationship and cited Katy Manning leaving and the death of Delgado as two major reasons why he left the show a year later.

In recent years, Katy Manning has maintained her connection with Doctor Who.

Katy Manning is the voice of Iris Wildthyme, the Time Lord in several of their audio plays.

Katy Manning has contributed to a large number of documentaries and DVD commentaries detailing her time on Doctor Who.

Katy Manning is involved with fan events and conventions, and she is the patron of the Doctor Who Club of Australia.

In 2022, Katy Manning made a cameo appearance as Jo Grant in the Doctor Who special "The Power of the Doctor".

Katy Manning reprised the role again in the series Tales of the TARDIS.

Straight after leaving Doctor Who in 1973, Katy Manning presented her own ten-part TV series for the BBC on crafts, entitled Serendipity shown in the daytime schedules.

In 1976, Katy Manning aroused controversy when she posed nude with a Dalek for the Girl Illustrated magazine.

Katy Manning responded to critics by saying "you'd need a magnifying glass to see anything".

Katy Manning then starred in the play French Without Tears in 1975 and So Who Needs Men with Peter Denyer and Jeff Rawle in 1976 before joining the Young Vic for a time in 1977 and taking part in many of Shakespeare's works including playing Ophelia in Hamlet.

From 1979 to 1980, Katy Manning toured in the thriller play The Gentle Hook, then in 1980 toured in Peter Terson's VE Night alongside Ian Cullen and Jane Goddard before appearing on stage in Thark alongside Brian Murphy and Reginald Marsh in 1981.

Katy Manning appeared as Rita in Educating Rita from 1989 to 1991 at the Sydney Opera House, the venue at which she played Elvira in Blithe Spirit in 1990.

Katy Manning appeared in the films Melvin, Son of Alvin and Frog Dreaming.

Katy Manning wrote a comedy pilot entitled Two in the Bush in 1986 with her friend and fellow actress Penelope Whiteley.

Katy Manning wrote the TV series Private Wives and has been involved in other writing and directing projects.

Katy Manning was offered a role in popular Australian soap Home and Away but she had to turn it down due to busy work commitments.

Some time between 1994 and 1996, Katy Manning moved to live in Los Angeles where she shared a flat with her best friend Liza Minnelli and had large house parties that had guests including Sean Penn, Shirley MacLaine and Whoopi Goldberg.

Wax's interview was initially to be with Minnelli but Katy Manning appeared with her and spent most of the interview on the floor.

Katy Manning later recorded an audio version of Not a Well Woman for Big Finish Productions in 2011, as part of their Drama Showcase anthology series.

Katy Manning hosted her own chat show from 2001 until 2008 called Preview with Katy Manning and had guests including Lenny Henry, Edgar Wright, Petula Clark and Basil Brush.

In 2002, Katy Manning appeared in an episode of All Saints and starred in a production of the Ray Cooney play It Runs in the Family with Robert Coleby and Judy Cornwell.

In 2003, Katy Manning directed the original run of the musical play Eureka as well as other productions including Banjo Paterson and Shirley Valentine.

Katy Manning starred as Miss Harrington in the film noir When Darkness Falls directed by Australian filmmaker Rohan Spong; a role for which she would win Best Supporting Actress at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival.

In 2009, Katy Manning returned to the UK as part of her one-woman show Me and Jezebel.

The play was based on a true 1985 story about Bette Davis inviting herself to a fan's house for a night and staying for a month, with Katy Manning playing all the parts.

Katy Manning received two other four-star reviews and appeared on STV news promoting the show.

Katy Manning meets the Doctor again, and stars with her grandson Santiago Jones.

In 2011, Katy Manning appeared as Blodwyn Morgan, a Welsh busybody and clairvoyant, in the touring stage play Death by Fatal Murder.

Katy Manning returned to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2014 in the play Keeping Up with the Joans with Susan Penhaligon.

Katy Manning appeared as Susan Payne in the 2014 supernatural gangster film Evil Never Dies starring Tony Scannell and Graham Cole.

Katy Manning starred in the short films Memoria and The Power of One Coin and provided her voice for two Doctor Who video games.

In 2019,2020 and 2023, Katy Manning reprised her role of Jo Jones for three specially filmed scenes to promote three Doctor Who blu-ray box sets for her three seasons on the programme.

Katy Manning starred in a special episode to mark the conclusion of The Sarah Jane Adventures, released via YouTube in 2020 on the anniversary of Elisabeth Sladen's death.

Katy Manning was born with myopia, commonly known as nearsightedness or shortsightedness, which caused numerous injuries during the filming of Doctor Who.

Katy Manning dated Richard Eyre, David Troughton, Derek Fowlds, Stewart Bevan and Rod Stewart's keyboard player Peter Bardens.

Katy Manning once told of how she was dropped off for her first day at drama school in a black Cadillac with her boyfriend Bardens and his Shotgun Express bandmates including Stewart.

Katy Manning has twins born in 1978 with partner Dean Harris.

Katy Manning said of how she would perform on stage during the day and then sleep in the hospital at night.