Sophie Aldred
Aldred at (Re)Generation 2 in 2016
Born	(1962-08-20)20 August 1962 (age 63) Greenwich,London, England
Alma mater	University of Manchester
Occupation(s)	Actress, television presenter, author
Years active	1987–present
Known for	Ace inDoctor Who
Spouse	Vince Henderson ​ (m. 1997)​
Children	2
Website	sophiealdred.com

Sophie Aldred (born 20 August 1962) is an English actress, television presenter, and author. She has worked extensively in children's television as a presenter and voice artist. She played theSeventh Doctor's companion,Ace, in the television seriesDoctor Who during the late 1980s, becoming the finalcompanion inthe series' first run.

Aldred was born on 20 August 1962 inGreenwich,London, but grew up in nearbyBlackheath. She sang in the church choir of St James',Kidbrooke, and attendedBlackheath High School from 1973 until 1980. She then enrolled as a drama student at theUniversity of Manchester.^[1] She graduated in 1983 and embarked on a career in children's theatre. She also sang inworking men's clubs aroundManchester.^[2]

In 1987, Aldred was cast as Ace inDoctor Who, initially forDragonfire, the final story of thetwenty-fourth season.^[3] Her tenure on the show spanned the last nine stories of the programme's original run, which ended in 1989.^[4]

In January 1992, she guest-starred inMore than a Messiah, one of the videos in the seriesThe Stranger, starringColin Baker, also formerly ofDoctor Who.

Both before and sinceDoctor Who, Aldred has had a varied and busytelevision career, particularly inchildren's programming, where she has presented educational programmes under the name "Sophie Socket" such asCorners,Melvin and Maureen's Music-a-grams^[2] (which ran from 1992 to '96),Tiny and Crew (which she presented, 1995–96), theBBC seriesWords and Pictures (1992, 1996-2001), and also theCITV paranormal showIt's a Mystery in 1996. She also played the character Minnie The Mini Magician from series 8 onwards in CITV'sZZZap! between 1999 and 2001.

Aldred has presented and sung in several BBC Schools Radio series, includingSinging Together,Music Workshop,Time and Tune andMusic Box. She has also performed on radio and in the theatre. She has also reprised her role as Ace in the 1993 thirtieth-anniversary charity specialDimensions in Time and, since 2000, theDoctor Who audio plays produced byBig Finish Productions. Following the start of rumours in 1994 and 1995, avidDoctor Who fans expressed hope that Aldred would reprise her role in the project that would become the1996Doctor Who television movie, but she did not appear, and her character's fate was not mentioned.

Throughout the 2000s she has worked extensively as avoice-over artist fortelevision advertisements,^[4] and has also provided voices for animated series such asBob the Builder,Sergeant Stripes, the UK dubbed version of the CGI animated version of the Australian TV seriesBananas in Pyjamas,El Nombre,Peter Rabbit,Noddy in Toyland,The Magic Key andDennis & Gnasher.^[5]

She co-wrote withMike Tucker the hardcover nonfiction bookAce, The Inside Story of the End of An Era, published byVirgin Publishing in 1996. (ISBN 1-85227-574-X).

Aldred provided voices for the 2009 seriesDennis and Gnasher, including that of title characterDennis the Menace.^[6]

She was also a former presenter of the 1996CITV Saturday morning magazine programmeWOW!.

Since 2012 Aldred has provided the voice of Tom inTree Fu Tom, aCBeebies series. The series' other main voice actor,David Tennant (who voices Twigs), previously played the tenth incarnation of the Doctor inDoctor Who. In November 2013 she appeared in the one-off fiftieth-anniversary comedy homageThe Five(ish) Doctors Reboot.^[7] In 2018, Aldred reprised the role of Ace in an audio drama set during the first season ofClass.

In 2019, Aldred reprised the role of Ace in a special announcement trailer for theDoctor Who Season 26Blu-ray box set.^[8] That same year, she also appeared as Mistress Na in the direct-to-DVD filmSil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor; a role for which she won Best Supporting Actress at the Accolade Competition in 2020.

In 2020, Aldred released the novelDoctor Who: At Childhood's End, where an older Ace (now a philanthropist) meets theThirteenth Doctor and her companions while investigating an alien satellite.^[9]

Aldred reprised the role of Ace in the October 2022Doctor Who BBC Centenary special "The Power of the Doctor" alongsideJanet Fielding asTegan Jovanka – who was also acompanion ofthe Doctor duringthe series' original run and in the episode she reunites withSylvester McCoy as theSeventh Doctor.^[10]

In a 2023 interview atSupanovaGold Coast, Aldred expressed her enthusiasm for returning toDoctor Who alongsideNcuti Gatwa’s Doctor, saying, "Yeah, where’s the contract? I'll sign it!"^[11]

She also reprised the role in the seriesTales of the TARDIS.^[12]

Aldred was in a relationship with fellow Manchester University studentTim Booth of the bandJames in the mid-1980s.^[13] In 1988, she metDaniel Peacock during the filming ofDoctor Who and the pair were in a relationship for a couple of years. In 1990, She met comedianLes Dennis whilst the pair starred in Hull New Theatre's production of the pantomime Cinderella. A relationship began whilst Dennis was married to his first wife, which he documented in his autobiography.^[14] She married television presenter and actorVince Henderson on 12 July 1997. They have two sons.^[15] Aldred is allergic tocats and is avegan.^[16][17]

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• Official website
• Sophie Aldred atIMDb 
• Sophie Aldred atRotten Tomatoes
• Sophie Aldred discography atDiscogs
• BBC Norfolk interview: Sophie Aldred – Feb '08

• 1962 births
• 20th-century English actresses
• 21st-century English actresses
• Living people
• Actors from the Royal Borough of Greenwich
• Actresses from London
• Alumni of the University of Manchester
• Alumni of the Victoria University of Manchester
• BBC television presenters
• English children's television presenters
• English radio actresses
• English stage actresses
• English television actresses
• English voice actresses
• English women television presenters
• People educated at Blackheath High School
• People from Greenwich
• Writers of Doctor Who novels

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