is a fictional character played by of the
First and
Second Doctor s and a regular in the programme from
1966 to
1967 .
Polly first appeared in the First Doctor serial, ''
The War Machines '', where she was working as a secretary to Professor Brett. Brett developed the
Artificial Intelligence known as WOTAN, and Polly met
The Doctor and
Dodo when they came to investigate it. Polly befriended Dodo and took her to a
London nightclub called the Inferno, where they met
Ben Jackson and tried to cheer up the merchant seaman. When Polly was accosted by another patron in the Inferno, Ben came to her rescue. Eventually, Ben and Polly aided
The Doctor in his fight against WOTAN when the computer tried to take over the world. They were bearers of Dodo's decision to stay in
1966 to the Doctor, and accidentally got carried away in the
TARDIS when they tried to return Dodo's key to the
Time Machine .
Polly, in contrast to Dodo, was a more sophisticated and hip young woman of the
1960s — vivacious, attractive, and alternately shy and aggressive. She and Ben were an odd couple, but she was receptive to Ben's protective urges, and he in turn found her elegant and
Posh , giving her the nickname "Duchess". Polly was present with Ben when the First Doctor
Regenerated into the Second, and continued to travel with the Second Doctor.
Eventually, the TARDIS found its way back to
1966 London (in ''
The Faceless Ones '') on the very day Ben and Polly had left (although about a year had passed for them). They decided to remain behind to resume their lives without disruption as the Doctor and
Jamie travelled on.
Polly was never given a last name in the series. According to production notes, she was meant to be Polly Wright, but this was not used in case it would be confused with previous companion
Barbara Wright . In ''The Faceless Ones'', a double of Polly is named Michelle Lauppi, an apparent mishearing of which led to unofficial reference works giving her last name as "Lopez". Anneke Wills suggested the name "Bettingham-Smith", after one of her friends. In the
Spin-off novel ''Invasion of the Cat-People'' by
Gary Russell , Wright was given as Polly's last name. The
Canonicity of the spin-offs novels is unclear.
What happened to Polly after her return to
Earth is not known. The Doctor seemed to think that Ben would become an
Admiral and that Polly would look after Ben, but it is unclear if it was a prediction or simply wishing them well.
In the
Spin-off short story ''Mondas Passing'' by Paul Grice (in the anthology ''Short Trips'') which takes place in
1986 , it was revealed that Ben and Polly eventually went their separate ways and married other people. By
1999 , Polly was running a record company, was divorced and had an estranged son named Mikey, in the short story ''That Time I Nearly Destroyed The World Whilst Looking For a Dress'' by Joseph Lidster (in the
Big Finish Productions anthology ''Short Trips: Past Tense''). She and Ben met again at the end of that story and admitted their love for each other. Once again, the canoncity of spin-off media has yet to be officially determined.
Anneke Wills has played various other characters in the ''Doctor Who'' audio plays produced by Big Finish, most notably ''
Zagreus '' and ''
The Next Life '' in the role of Lady Louisa Pollard, mother of the
Eighth Doctor companion
Charley Pollard .
