Anneke Wills (; born Anna Katarina Willys, 20 October 1941) is an English actress, best known for her role as the companion Polly in the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.
Biography Wills's father, Alaric Willys, was a captain in the British Army. Her mother, Anna, was Dutch, born in Rotterdam. Anneke is the granddaughter of Richard Raymond Willis VC.
Career Deciding she wanted to be an actress she studied drama at the Arts Educational School and RADA in London and quickly became one of the busiest actresses of her generation, early roles included an appearance as Roberta in the second TV version of The Railway Children in 1957. Her other film roles included appearances in Some People (1962) and The Pleasure Girls (1965).
Her other television credits include appearances in The Avengers and as Evelyn in Strange Report (1969–70).
Doctor Who In 1966, she took the role of Polly in Doctor Who. She appeared in the show until 1967 alongside William Hartnell and then Patrick Troughton. Her favourite story is The Smugglers.
In October 2013, she recorded an abridged version of Who's There?, a biography of Hartnell written by his granddaughter, Jessica Carney.
In November 2013, she appeared in the one-off 50th anniversary comedy homage The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot.The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot, bbc.co.uk; accessed 29 April 2015.
She has been a popular guest at Doctor Who conventions, and has been employed by the BBC and Big Finish to record various audio and DVD projects related to the show.
In 2021, Wills was approached by Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall about reprising her role as Polly for the Thirteenth Doctor's final episode, "The Power of the Doctor", but was unavailable on the day of filming as she was maintaining her garden at her home in Dartmoor. "I heard it was quite brief so I'm glad I stayed and did my brambles instead," she told the Radio Times.
Writing The first volume of her autobiography, Self Portrait, was published in 2007Profile, drwhointerviews.wordpress.com; accessed 29 April 2015. by Hirst Books and a second volume, Naked, followed in 2009. Her latest book, Anneke Wills - In Focus, was published in May 2012 by Fantom Films.
Personal life At 17, she began a relationship with Anthony Newley while working on the TV series The Strange World of Gurney Slade. Newley fathered Wills's first child, but instructed her to have an abortion. Wills became pregnant for a second time and gave birth to a daughter, Polly, in 1963 but by this time Wills and Newley had separated as Wills discovered he was having an affair with Joan Collins.Wills, Anneke. Self Portrait. Hirst Publishing 2007;
During the 1960s Wills spent much of her time at the famous Troubadour Coffee Shop and the Establishment, and was part of the so-called "Chelsea Set".
In 1965, Wills married actor Michael Gough, who adopted her daughter, Polly. The couple had one son, Jasper, and divorced in 1979. In 1970, she gave up acting and moved to Norfolk, dedicating herself to motherhood and gardening. Polly died in a car crash in 1982 at the age of 19, having always thought that Gough was her biological father. Anneke left the UK in 1980 and lived in various places for 16 years afterwards, including in Belgium, Laos, Vietnam, and India in the early 1980s, in the US from 1983 to 1986, and in Canada from 1986 to 1996, before returning to the UK in 1996. She remarried twice.
In 2025, Wills was hospitalised with a broken hip after slipping and falling in her garden. "Thank god the farmers heard me calling out for help and, wrapping me in blankets as I lay on the icy ground, we all waited some hours for the ambulance to come," she wrote on Facebook. "I was whisked off to Torbay hospital with a broken hip and shoulder for ten days. I was lovingly cared for by the doctors and nurses [in what] was my first experience of the immense patience and kindness of the NHS care teams. I was humbled and grateful." Following her initial hospitalisation, she was transferred to Mapleton Community Care Centre in Newton Abbot, staying there for four weeks before returning home. "[O]nce again, there were the angels, I will always be grateful to them all. Such friends," she continued.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1954 Child's Play Alice Nightingale 1962 Candidate for Murder Jacqueline Credited as Annika Wills Some People Anne 1964 Nothing but the Best Girl 1965 The Pleasure Girls Angela
Television Year Title Role Notes1954 Impostor's Gold Sybil Hughes TV film The House with a Secret Robina 1955 Alibi Children Molly Wilson Remember Jane Jane Eyre The Prince and the Pauper Lady Jane Grey Episode: "Exchange" Passage of Arms Henriette de Chamborde TV film The Blakes Jean Blake All 4 episodes1956 African Holiday Megs Wyndham TV film The Grove Family Olive Green Episode: "Olive Green"1957 The Railway Children Roberta All 8 episodes1958 From Cover to Cover Girl Episode: "#1.1"1959 Don't Tell Father Diana 2 episodes1960 BBC Sunday-Night Play Katrina Hoefler Episode: "Glorious Morning" Emergency-Ward 10 Clarissa Wallace 2 episodesProbation Officer Miss Shirley Episode: "#1.27" Miss Field Episode: "#2.3" Sheila Episode: "#2.8" No Hiding Place Glenda Williamson Episode: "The Final Chase" The Strange World of Gurney Slade Girl on Airfield 2 episodes1961 ITV Television Playhouse Woman in coffee bar Episode: "Ben Spray" Peggy Episode: "Different Drum" Golden Girl Minty Episode: "Ward of Court" Winning Widows Sheila Episode: "The Young Niece" Gamble for a Throne Kaye Chance 4 episodes ITV Play of the Week Kathleen Short Episode: "The Primitive"1962 The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre Jacqueline Episode: "Candidate for Murder"1963 The Sentimental Agent Sarah Episode: "All That Jazz" No Hiding Place Dolly Fenson Episode: "The Smoke Boys" Our Man at St. Mark's Dorothy Maxwell Episode: "Know of Any Reason"1963, 1967 The Avengers Pussy Cat/Judy 2 episodes1965 The Likely Lads Judith Francis Episode: "Other Side of the Fence" ITV Play of the Week Chris Durley Episode: "No Baby, No Baby at All"1966 Thirty-Minute Theatre Julia Episode: "Keep on Running" The Wednesday Play Leda Episode: "Toddler on the Run"1966–1967 Doctor Who Polly 36 episodes1966 The Saint Fran Roeding Episode: "The Helpful Pirate"1967 Beggar My Neighbour Mona Episode: "For Better, for Worse"1969–1970 Strange Report Evelyn McLean All 16 episodes2013 An Adventure in Space and Time Party Guest TV film The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot Herself
Audio drama Year Title Role Notes 1998 Bernice Summerfield Doctor Kitzinger Big Finish Productions; Story: "Beyond the Sun" 2003-2006 Doctor Who: The Monthly Range Nrosha, Louisa Pollard Big Finish Productions; 4 releases 2009-2019 Doctor Who: The Companion Chronicles Polly Big Finish Productions; 10 releases 2011 The Five Companions Big Finish Productions; Special release 2013 The Light at the End 2014 Charlotte Pollard Doctor Kitzinger Big Finish Productions; Story: "The Fall of the House of Pollard" 2015-2019 Doctor Who: The Early Adventures Polly Big Finish Productions; 6 releases 2016-2022 Big Finish Short Trips Narrator 3 releases
References
External links
Official website Details of Anneke Wills - In Focus