How Bonnie Langford Convinced Bradley Walsh to Join the Ranks of Doctor Who Companions

Fourteen different actors have “officially” played Doctor Who’s famous Time Lord, even more if you count some of the ancillary figures like Jo Martin’s Fugitive Doctor, John Hurt’s War Doctor, or David Bradley, who took over the role of the First Doctor in the series’ modern era. (And technically, David Tennant did it twice.) While that may seem like a lot, it’s really not when you consider the fact that the show’s been running for well over 60 years at this point. But when it comes to the Doctor’s constant partners in adventure, the number’s much higher.

Depending on the criteria you use to judge what a “companion” means in the world of the show, anywhere from 50-70 people have travelled with the Doctor over the course of the series’s run. Many made multiple appearances, often across time periods and eras, and their legacy lived on well after they were gone, both within the world of the show and outside of it. And sometimes, the people who have played them end up shaping the show’s direction even years later.

Bonnie Langford played classic companion Melanie Bush, who appeared opposite both Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy’s Doctors in the 1980s. But it turns out that Langford is not just a former companion herself; she played a pivotal role in the casting of another many years later. She apparently helped convince Bradley Walsh to join the show.

Speaking with the Radio Times, Langford recalled encouraging the actor and popular TV presenter to say yes to the opportunity. 

“I went and met him for lunch,” she said. “And he said, ‘I’ve been asked to do Doctor Who, I don’t know if I should.’ I said, ‘Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.’ And he did! In the end, we ended up doing a scene together, and I was just so pleased.”

Walsh played Graham O’Brien opposite Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor for two seasons before departing the show in the 2021 special “Revolution of the Daleks”. He later returned for 2022 special “The Power of the Doctor,” the finale installment that served as a swan song for both Whittaker and then-outgoing showrunner Chris Chibnall. 

The episode saw Langford and Walsh’s characters cross paths during a (hilariously long overdue)  gathering of a support group for former companions, which featured appearances by multiple former Who stars, including William Russell (Ian Chesterton), Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Janet Fielding (Tegan Jovanka), and Sophie Aldred (Ace). 

But although we haven’t seen Walsh onscreen since, Langford has returned for multiple guest spots in recent seasons. Mel, now a UNIT employee, first popped up again during the 60th anniversary specials with David Tennant, and most recently appeared in the two-part season 15 finale “Wish World” and “The Reality War”.

According to Langford, she was “delighted” when she first received the call from Chibnall asking her to reprise her role, and gave substantial consideration to the idea of the person that the Mel would have grown into over the years.

“At that point I thought, ‘Well, I wonder what Mel would be,'” she said. “A lot calmer. A lot calmer, and much more into her computers, yet very discreet about the work that she does. She had such a loyalty to the Doctor. It was really great that I had been able to still be in touch with [Mel], to think, ‘I wonder where she’s been and what she’s done, and how she has kept her connection with the Doctor.'”

But mostly, she says, she’s glad she got to reestablish the character for a new generation of fans and tone down some of her more “irritating” tendencies.

“I’m really honoured that he thought Mel was worth bringing back, and that she got totally and utterly involved with the bi-generation,” Langford said. “It was a thrill. I was very taken with the fact that I was able to correct all those mistakes that I felt I had made first time round and, for Mel’s sake, that she was able to return as a much more rounded character with vulnerabilities.”