Sarah Sutton (born 12 December 1961) is a British actress. She played the role of Nyssa in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.
Early life
Sutton was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. Sutton studied ballet as a child and was only 11 when she became the youngest British actress to have played Alice on screen, in a 1973 television film of Alice Through the Looking Glass.
She began acting at the age of nine in A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh.A.A. Milnes Winnie-the-Pooh She made her first appearance as Baby RooBaby Roo just five days after her ninth birthday at the Phoenix TheatreThe Phoenix Theatre in the West End of London, 1970–1972.
Besides her performance as Alice, Sutton appeared in a number of television programmes before Doctor Who, including The Moon Stallion (1978) as Diana Purwell and The Crucible (1980) as Susannah Walcott.
Career Sutton portrayed the character of Nyssa, a Trakenite aristocrat, in Doctor Who. She is exactly one week older than her co–star, fellow companion Matthew Waterhouse. Her first appearance in the role was in the 1981 serial The Keeper of Traken. Initially, Nyssa was intended to appear only in one story, the production team later deciding to keep her as a continuing character. After joining the Fourth Doctor in the subsequent story Logopolis, her final full Doctor Who serial was with the Fifth Doctor, in 1983's Terminus.
Sutton took a break from acting after Doctor Who, focusing for a number of years on raising her daughter. She made a brief appearance in Peter Davison's final Doctor Who serial, The Caves of Androzani (1984), played Sarah Dryden in a 1989 episode of the BBC medical drama series Casualty and Wendy in a 1992 episode of Unnatural Pursuits.
Sutton reprised the role of Nyssa in the 1993 Doctor Who Children in Need special Dimensions in Time, and since 1999 has appeared in multiple spin-off Doctor Who audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions. In November 2013 she appeared in the one-off 50th anniversary comedy homage The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot. In 1997 she starred in a special episode of the BBC's dramatic reconstruction series 999 marking 10 years since the great storm of 1987.
Sutton also appeared in several episodes of MJTV's original audio sci-fi CD series Soldiers of Love as Colonel Franklyn. She also played Sharon in the Take 1 Productions educational video drama TravelWise (2000).
In 2001 Sutton starred as Sarah in Wirrn: Race Memory, a BBV audio reusing concepts from Doctor Who.
In 2006 Sutton played Asaria, a role written specifically for her in the original science fiction audio monologue The Jarillion Mercy.The Jarillion Mercy
Personal life In 1985, Sutton married Michael Bundy, a general practitioner. They have a daughter, Hannah (born 1991).
Filmography Television Year Title Role Notes1973 Menace Belinda Episode: "Boys and Girls Come Out to Play" Play for Today Little Lavina Episode: "Baby Blues" Alice Through the Looking Glass Alice TV film 1975 Late Call Myra Longmore 3 episodes Ten from the Twenties Ina Episode: "Aunt Tatty" Oil Strike North Amanda Fraser Episode: "Time of Hazard" 1976 Westway Sue Harvey 5 episodes 1978 The Moon Stallion Diana Purwell All 6 episodes 1981 The Crucible Susannah Walcott TV film Byron: A Personal Tour Mary Chaworth TV film 1981–1984 Doctor Who Nyssa 48 episodes 1982 Ann Talbot Serial: "Black Orchid" - 2 episodes 1989 Casualty Sarah Dryden Episode: "Charity" 1992 Unnatural Pursits Wendy Episode: "I'm the Author" 1993 Doctor Who Nyssa Episode: "Dimensions in Time" (two charity special mini-episodes)
Radio and CD audio drama Year Title Role Notes 1999–2002 Soldiers of Love Colonel Franklyn MJTV; 7 episodes 2000–2021 Doctor Who: The Monthly Range Nyssa Big Finish Productions; 64 releases 2001 Race Memory Sarah BBV Productions 2006 The Jarillion Mercy Asaria The Jarillion Productions 2008 Doctor Who: The Companion Chronicles Nyssa Story: "The Darkening Eye" 2011 Doctor Who: The Lost Stories Nyssa 3 releases 2011 The Five Companions Nyssa Special release 2013 The Light at the End Nyssa Special release 2014 Dark Shadows: The Devil Cat Emma Simon Big Finish Productions 2014–present Doctor Who: The Fifth Doctor Adventures Nyssa 8 releases 2015–present Big Finish Short Trips Nyssa 6 releases 2016 Cold Fusion Nyssa Novel Adaptation 2018 Star Cops: Mother Earth 2 Mary Ward Big Finish Productions 2020 Timeslip: The Age of the Death Lottery Charlotte Trent Big Finish Productions 2020 Timeslip: The War That Never Was Charlotte Trent Big Finish Productions 2023 Timeslip: A Life Never Lived Charlotte Trent Big Finish Productions 2023 Timeslip: The Time Of The Tipping Point Charlotte Trent Big Finish Productions 2021 The War Master Nyssa Story: "The Orphan" 2022 Tenth Doctor Classic Companions Nyssa Story: "The Stuntman"
References
External links