Lalla Ward
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The Honourable Lalla Ward |
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Lalla Ward pictured in 2014
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| Born |
Sarah Jill Ward 28 June 1951 London, England, UK |
| Nationality | English |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Occupation | Actress, author |
| Years active | 1972–present (actress) 1985–1988 (author) |
| Spouse(s) |
Tom Baker (1980–1982) Richard Dawkins (1992–2016, separated) |
Lalla Ward (born Sarah Jill Ward; 28 June 1951) is an English actress and author. She is known for her role as Romana in the BBC television series Doctor Who.
Ward's stage name, "Lalla", comes from her attempts as a toddler to pronounce her own name. She left school at age 14 because she "loathed every single minute of it", and took her O-levels on her own. Ward studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama from 1968 to 1971. After spending a few years painting, she auditioned at London drama schools "as a sort of dare" to herself:
It was a 'see if you can do it' sort of thing, because it was the thing I hated most—just like somebody who's scared of heights might go rock climbing, or, I don't know, go potholing if they're claustrophobic.
She began her acting career in the Hammer horror film Vampire Circus (1972), and played Lottie, the teenage daughter of Louisa Trotter (Gemma Jones) in The Duchess of Duke Street, the popular BBC drama series of the 1970s. She appeared in films such as England Made Me (1973), Matushka (1973), Rosebud (1975), and Crossed Swords (aka The Prince and the Pauper) (1977). She also acted in a film called Got It Made in 1974 which was later recut with sex scenes featuring other actresses and reissued as Sweet Virgin.Club International magazine ran nude pictures from the film, claiming they were of her and Ward successfully sued the magazine. Her television work included The Upper Crusts (1973) as the daughter of Margaret Leighton and Charles Gray, Van der Valk (1973), The Protectors (1973), Quiller (1975), Who Pays the Ferryman? (1977), The Professionals (1978) and Hazell (1979). In 1980, she played Ophelia to Sir Derek Jacobi's Hamlet in the BBC television production.
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