Author: Jason Tucker

CONsole Room is very happy to announce Frazer Hines as a Guest of Honor at our 2016 convention. Frazer will be joining fellow 1960s companions Anneke Wills and Wendy Padbury, as well as 1980s composer Dominic Glynn, over the weekend of June 3-5, 2016 at the Hilton MSP Airport/Mall of America.

Born in 1944, Frazer had already appeared in dozens of films and TV series before he turned 20. These included popular series such as Doctor Finlay’s Casebook and Z Cars plus working with Charlie Chaplin in A King In New York. In 1964, he appeared in an adaption of Smuggler’s Bay with Patrick Troughton. Just two years later, Frazer was cast as Scot Jamie McCrimmon in the final historical Doctor Who serial of the 1960s, The Highlanders. Originally just a character in this single serial, Frazer made such an impact on cast and crew that a hasty re-write and re-shoot of the final moments of the serial was done to include the Doctor taking young Jamie aboard the TARDIS.

James Robert McCrimmon would go on to be the longest-serving companion of the series, and one of the most beloved. When Hines heard that Troughton planned to leave Doctor Who after three years, he quickly altered has plans and left alongside Troughton and Wendy Padbury to bring the black-and-white era of the series to an end.

Hines was soon back in the public eye with the new series Emmerdale Farm in 1972. Emmerdale is a soap opera set around a West Yorkshire farm. Frazer again proved his staying power by starring in this series for over twenty years and in the process his portrayal of Joe Sugden became one of the top 100 British soap characters of all time.

Frazer returned to Doctor Who in the eighties in both The Five Doctors and The Two Doctors. He would also later play Sir Gordon Fletcher in Outlander — a TV series based on a book inspired by his performance on Doctor Who! He has also had an extensive theatre career, including many Christmas pantomime performances.

Hines originally released his autobiography, Films, Farms and Fillies, in 1996. This was republished in 2011 by Telos Publishing as Hines Sight. In 2013 he also released Fifty Shades of Frazer, a photobook illustrated with over 150 photographs from his life and career.

We are excited to have a majority of the 2nd Doctor era companions joining us this year and we hope all Twin Cities fans will join us for this unique mini-reunion.

CONsole Room is excited to add Wendy Padbury to our Guest of Honor line up for 2016. Wendy joins fellow 60s Doctor Who alum Anneke Wills and composer Dominic Glynn for our convention on June 3-5, 2016.

Wendy began acting at the tender age of 18 when she joined the popular soap opera Crossroads in 1966. Then, in 1968, she was cast as Zoe, the second Doctor’s new companion. Zoe was a young astrophysicist whose intelligence was sometimes supposed to rival the Doctor’s. Joining Pat Troughton and Frazer Hines, Wendy quickly discovered their fondness of on-set practical jokes and even joined in the fun from time to time.

When Troughton announced his decision to leave the series both Hines and Padbury decided to leave at the same time giving the production team a clean slate as the series moved into the 70s and color.

Wendy stayed an active thespian throughout the next two decades moving seamlessly between stage and both big and small screen. On stage she returned to the world of Doctor Who in 1974 for Doctor Who and the Daleks in Seven Keys to Doomsday; again playing the companion, Jenny, this time opposite Trevor Martin. On television she had a long run on Freewheelers, an exciting action-oriented series aimed at teens, and on the silver screen she dabbled in horror with The Blood on Satan’s Claw.

Making several other appears on numerous series, Wendy agreed to appear briefly again as Zoe in the 20^th anniversary special, The Five Doctors. In 1987 she again appeared with Frazer Hines in a few episodes of Emmerdale Farm.

In later years, Wendy decided to become a theatrical agent and even counted amongst her clients old friends like Nicholas Courtney, and even Colin Baker and Mark Strickson. Before retiring Wendy also discovered a new, young talent working at the National Youth Theatre and quickly had him signed with her agency. That actor would go onto very big things indeed; his name – Matt Smith!

After having decided to take a break from conventions in the 2000s, we are both pleased and extremely excited that Wendy re-joined the convention circuit a few years ago, allowing her to join us at CONsole Room 2016!