WHAT KATY DID NEXT

IT'S BETTER THE SEA DEVIL YOU KNOW FOR RETURNING DOCTOR WHO STAR KATY MANNING

- ROBBIE DUNLOP

MOMENTS BEFORE JODIE WHITTAKER regenerated into David Tennant (what?!) in the Doctor Who BBC centenary special, fans were treated to a very special, and quite unexpected, coda. "It was the one secret that didn't get out," smiles Katy Manning. "Nobody knew." The Doctor's loveable UNIT lab assistant and, latterly, globetrotting environmentalist Jo Jones (neé Grant) was back, and this was no happy accident. Fandom partied like it was 1973.

"You learn to keep secrets in this business," Manning tells SFX. "There are all these different [Big Finish] audios that I did a long time ago and I'm unable to talk about them. It's hard. I did one with Sir Derek Jacobi and I don't think it came out till 18 months later. A lot of people then said, 'So that's what you were doing! You have to forget you ever did it."

When it came to "The Power Of The Doctor", the highly publicised return of Jo's fellow time travellers Tegan (Janet Fielding) and Ace (Sophie Aldred) was a convenient diversion. "I would say how wonderful and excited I was for the girls and how terrific it all was - but I couldn't say anything about my role. People kept saying, 'Are you coming back?" I went, 'No!""

The whole universe (and her dog) are now privy to the support group that Jo attends alongside her fellow TARDIS travellers, spanning the series' very first episode to the current day. "It was an absolute joy to meet Bradley Walsh and John Bishop," Manning says.

But her "absolute touching moment" was with William Russell, who played Ian. "I've done conventions and get on really well with William and his wife. I loved him in Sir Lancelot when I was a tiny little person. It was just so touching to see him smiling. He's 98 now, and he's marvellous.