Matthew Waterhouse
Encyclopedia
Matthew Waterhouse is an English actor
and writer best known for his role as Adric
in the BBC
science fiction
television series Doctor Who
.
but brought up in Haywards Heath
, West Sussex
. The son of a solicitor, he was educated at St. Wilfrid’s Primary School, West Sussex and Shoreham Grammar School (now Shoreham College
). After leaving the series, he began a stage career mainly because he was influenced by his older brother, Paul, to do so.
of Tom Baker
and Peter Davison
's Doctors
from 1980 to 1982. Waterhouse was the youngest actor to play a companion (Sarah Sutton
was the youngest female actor and second youngest to play a companion), and had only appeared in one television drama prior to being appointed in the role. He played the schoolboy Briarley in the BBC2 adaptation of To Serve Them All My Days
with John Duttine.
Waterhouse returned to the sphere of Doctor Who
and took part in the audio commentaries for the DVD
releases of Earthshock
and The Visitation
released in 2003 and 2004 respectively. He also provided commentary for The Keeper of Traken
, released in 2007 as part of the New Beginnings box set. Though released separately, all commentaries were recorded in the same week, as noted by Waterhouse in his commentary for The Keeper of Traken. More recently, in late 2008, he made an audio commentary, jointly with Peter Davison
, Janet Fielding
and Sarah Sutton
for the DVD
releases of Four to Doomsday
and Black Orchid
. He also talks about his complete tenure on the show in the featurette "The Boy With the Golden Star" dedicated to Adric on the Warriors' Gate
DVD.
(BBC, 1980) with Dave Lee Travis. He also guested on Peter Davison's This Is Your Life
(Thames TV, 1982) and Children in Need
(BBC, 1985) with a range of Doctor Who
actors. Waterhouse's only film appearance was in 1984's arthouse sci-fi thriller The Killing Edge, directed by Lindsay Shoentoff. Waterhouse, in a minor role, played a knife man.
In 1996 he made the science fiction pilot drama Ghostlands for MJTV Productions, and played the character Tom, alongside actors Sylvester McCoy
and Jacqueline Pearce
.
Waterhouse has appeared in a wide range of theatre productions in the UK, and has appeared in the Shakespeare productions A Midsummer Night's Dream
(as Puck
), Twelfth Night (as Fabian), Macbeth
(as Fleance) and Hamlet
(as the title role). He also appeared in theatre productions of I Am David, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
, Brighton Beach Memoirs (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Peter Pan (directed by actor Clive Swift
) and Torch Song Trilogy
.
In 2006, Waterhouse self-published his debut novel, Fates, Flowers: A Comedy of New York (ThisPress). The book was republished in June 2010 by Hirst Books, along with two other books set for release later in 2010 -- Vanitas: A Comedy of New York and the memoir Blue Box Boy.
Waterhouse also wrote and appeared in his own one-man show Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Chipping Norton and UK Tour) which was directed by actor Murray Melvin
(Bilis Manger in the Doctor Who
spin-off drama Torchwood
in 2007).
In February 2011, it was announced that he was guest-starring in the Dark Shadows
audio drama The Creeping Fog.
. He lives with his American partner.
and David Walliams
for a character in their sketch show Little Britain
. Waterhouse in the programme is an unsuccessful inventor of bizarre and ridiculous new versions of things such as board game
s and breakfast cereal
s. Little Britain has also featured two other characters named after Doctor Who companion actors, Michael Craze
and Mark Strickson
, while the actual programme is narrated by Tom Baker
.
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and writer best known for his role as Adric
Adric
Adric is a fictional character played by Matthew Waterhouse in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was a young native of the planet Alzarius, which exists in the parallel universe of E-Space. A companion of the Fourth and Fifth Doctors, he was a regular in the...
in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
.
Early life
Waterhouse was born in HertfordHertford
Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. Forming a civil parish, the 2001 census put the population of Hertford at about 24,180. Recent estimates are that it is now around 28,000...
but brought up in Haywards Heath
Haywards Heath
-Climate:Haywards Heath experiences an oceanic climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.-Rail:Haywards Heath railway station is a major station on the Brighton Main Line...
, West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
. The son of a solicitor, he was educated at St. Wilfrid’s Primary School, West Sussex and Shoreham Grammar School (now Shoreham College
Shoreham College
Shoreham College is an independent day school for boys and girls aged 3 to 16 that is located in Shoreham-by-Sea on the Sussex coast between Brighton and Worthing...
). After leaving the series, he began a stage career mainly because he was influenced by his older brother, Paul, to do so.
Doctor Who
Waterhouse was a great fan of Doctor Who in his younger days. Adric was a companionCompanion (Doctor Who)
In the long-running BBC television science fiction programme Doctor Who and related works, the term "companion" refers to a character who travels with, and shares the adventures of the Doctor. In most Doctor Who stories, the primary companion acts as both deuteragonist and audience surrogate...
of Tom Baker
Tom Baker
Thomas Stewart "Tom" Baker is a British actor. He is best known for playing the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who, a role he played from 1974 to 1981.-Early life:...
and Peter Davison
Peter Davison
Peter Davison is a British actor, best known for his roles as Tristan Farnon in the television version of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small and the fifth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, which he played from 1982 to 1984.-Early life:Davison was born Peter Moffett in Streatham,...
's Doctors
Doctor (Doctor Who)
The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
from 1980 to 1982. Waterhouse was the youngest actor to play a companion (Sarah Sutton
Sarah Sutton
Sarah Sutton is a British actress best known for her role as Nyssa in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. Nyssa was a companion of Tom Baker and Peter Davison's Doctors from 1981 to 1983...
was the youngest female actor and second youngest to play a companion), and had only appeared in one television drama prior to being appointed in the role. He played the schoolboy Briarley in the BBC2 adaptation of To Serve Them All My Days
To Serve Them All My Days (TV series)
To Serve Them All My Days is a British television adaptation of the 1972 novel by R. F. Delderfield. 13 episodes 50 minute in length were first shown by the BBC in 1980 and 1981....
with John Duttine.
Waterhouse returned to the sphere of Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
and took part in the audio commentaries for the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
releases of Earthshock
Earthshock
Earthshock is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts from 8 March to 16 March 1982...
and The Visitation
The Visitation
The Visitation is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts from 15–23 February 1982.-Synopsis:...
released in 2003 and 2004 respectively. He also provided commentary for The Keeper of Traken
The Keeper of Traken
-Cast notes:Denis Carey, who plays the Keeper, also played Professor Chronotis in the uncompleted Fourth Doctor serial Shada, and the Old Man in the Sixth Doctor story Timelash....
, released in 2007 as part of the New Beginnings box set. Though released separately, all commentaries were recorded in the same week, as noted by Waterhouse in his commentary for The Keeper of Traken. More recently, in late 2008, he made an audio commentary, jointly with Peter Davison
Peter Davison
Peter Davison is a British actor, best known for his roles as Tristan Farnon in the television version of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small and the fifth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, which he played from 1982 to 1984.-Early life:Davison was born Peter Moffett in Streatham,...
, Janet Fielding
Janet Fielding
Janet Fielding is an Australian actress, known for her role in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who as Tegan Jovanka, a companion of the Fourth Doctor, played by Tom Baker, and the Fifth Doctor, played by Peter Davison. She was born in Brisbane...
and Sarah Sutton
Sarah Sutton
Sarah Sutton is a British actress best known for her role as Nyssa in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. Nyssa was a companion of Tom Baker and Peter Davison's Doctors from 1981 to 1983...
for the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
releases of Four to Doomsday
Four to Doomsday
*The working title for this story was Days Of Wrath.*Although Castrovalva was the first story aired which featured Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor, this story was the first in the season to be produced....
and Black Orchid
Black Orchid (Doctor Who)
Black Orchid is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two parts on 1 March and 2 March 1982...
. He also talks about his complete tenure on the show in the featurette "The Boy With the Golden Star" dedicated to Adric on the Warriors' Gate
Warriors' Gate
Warriors' Gate is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was written by the English author Stephen Gallagher and first broadcast in four weekly parts from 3 January to 24 January 1981...
DVD.
Other work
Waterhouse guested on a number of shows after it was announced that he would be playing Adric. This included Saturday Night At The Mill (BBC Pebble Mill, 1980) and Top of the PopsTop of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
(BBC, 1980) with Dave Lee Travis. He also guested on Peter Davison's This Is Your Life
This Is Your Life
This Is Your Life is an American television documentary series broadcast on NBC, originally hosted by its producer, Ralph Edwards from 1952 to 1961. In the show, the host surprises a guest, and proceeds to take them through their life in front of an audience including friends and family.Edwards...
(Thames TV, 1982) and Children in Need
Children in Need
Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
(BBC, 1985) with a range of Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
actors. Waterhouse's only film appearance was in 1984's arthouse sci-fi thriller The Killing Edge, directed by Lindsay Shoentoff. Waterhouse, in a minor role, played a knife man.
In 1996 he made the science fiction pilot drama Ghostlands for MJTV Productions, and played the character Tom, alongside actors Sylvester McCoy
Sylvester McCoy
Sylvester McCoy is a Scottish actor. As a comic act and busker he appeared regularly on stage and on BBC Children's television in the 1970s and 80s, but is best known for playing the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who from 1987 to...
and Jacqueline Pearce
Jacqueline Pearce
Jacqueline Pearce is a British actress.-Career:Jacqueline Pearce trained at the British stage school RADA and at Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio in Los Angeles....
.
Waterhouse has appeared in a wide range of theatre productions in the UK, and has appeared in the Shakespeare productions A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
(as Puck
Puck (Shakespeare)
Puck, also known as Robin Goodfellow, is a character in William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream that was based on the ancient figure in English mythology, also called Puck. Puck is a clever and mischievous elf and personifies the trickster or the wise knave...
), Twelfth Night (as Fabian), Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
(as Fleance) and Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
(as the title role). He also appeared in theatre productions of I Am David, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis. Published in 1950 and set circa 1940, it is the first-published book of The Chronicles of Narnia and is the best known book of the series. Although it was written and published first, it is second in the series'...
, Brighton Beach Memoirs (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Peter Pan (directed by actor Clive Swift
Clive Swift
Clive Walter Swift is an English character comedy actor and songwriter. He is best known for his role as character Richard Bucket in the British television series Keeping Up Appearances. He is less known for his role as character Roy in the British television series The Old Guys...
) and Torch Song Trilogy
Torch Song Trilogy
Torch Song Trilogy is a collection of three plays by Harvey Fierstein rendered in three acts: International Stud, Fugue in a Nursery, and Widows and Children First! The story centers on Arnold Beckoff, a torch song-singing Jewish drag queen living in New York City in the late 1970 and 1980s...
.
In 2006, Waterhouse self-published his debut novel, Fates, Flowers: A Comedy of New York (ThisPress). The book was republished in June 2010 by Hirst Books, along with two other books set for release later in 2010 -- Vanitas: A Comedy of New York and the memoir Blue Box Boy.
Waterhouse also wrote and appeared in his own one-man show Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Chipping Norton and UK Tour) which was directed by actor Murray Melvin
Murray Melvin
Murray Melvin is an English stage and film actor.The son of Hugh Victor Melvin and Maisie Winifred Driscoll, he is best known for having created the role of Geoffrey in the Shelagh Delaney play, A Taste of Honey, a role which he recreated opposite Rita Tushingham in the 1961 film of the same name...
(Bilis Manger in the Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
spin-off drama Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
in 2007).
In February 2011, it was announced that he was guest-starring in the Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows is a gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements...
audio drama The Creeping Fog.
Personal life
Waterhouse has lived in Connecticut in the United States since July 1998, but occasionally returns to the UK for conventions, signings, performances and recording audio commentary for the Doctor Who DVDs. As mentioned in his memoir Blue Box Boy he is openly gayGay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
. He lives with his American partner.
Trivia
Waterhouse's name was used by comedians Matt LucasMatt Lucas
Matthew Richard "Matt" Lucas is an English comedian, screenwriter and actor best known for his acclaimed work with David Walliams in the television show Little Britain; as well as for his portrayals of the scorekeeping baby George Dawes in the comedy panel game Shooting Stars, Tweedledee and...
and David Walliams
David Walliams
David Edward Walliams is an English comedian, writer and actor, known for his partnership with Matt Lucas on the TV sketch show Little Britain and its predecessor Rock Profile...
for a character in their sketch show Little Britain
Little Britain
Little Britain is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas...
. Waterhouse in the programme is an unsuccessful inventor of bizarre and ridiculous new versions of things such as board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
s and breakfast cereal
Breakfast cereal
A breakfast cereal is a food made from processed grains that is often, but not always, eaten with the first meal of the day. It is often eaten cold, usually mixed with milk , water, or yogurt, and sometimes fruit but sometimes eaten dry. Some cereals, such as oatmeal, may be served hot as porridge...
s. Little Britain has also featured two other characters named after Doctor Who companion actors, Michael Craze
Michael Craze
Michael Craze was a British actor noted for his role of Ben Jackson, a companion of the Doctor, in the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. He played the part from 1966 to 1967 alongside both William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton.Craze was born in Cornwall...
and Mark Strickson
Mark Strickson
Mark Strickson is a British TV producer and actor best known for his acting role as the character of Vislor Turlough on the television series Doctor Who.Strickson was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England...
, while the actual programme is narrated by Tom Baker
Tom Baker
Thomas Stewart "Tom" Baker is a British actor. He is best known for playing the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who, a role he played from 1974 to 1981.-Early life:...
.