Sophie Aldred

Sophie Aldred (born 20 August 1962) portrayed Ace in Doctor Who from Dragonfire to Thin Ice. She also made a cameo appearance as Ace in War World.

Prior to Doctor Who
She was born in Greenwich, London and raised in Blackheath. She shares her birthday with her co-star, Sylvester McCoy, who is 19 years her senior, and Anthony Ainley.

Sophie attended Blackheath High School and studied drama at the University of Manchester before embarking on a career in children's theatre.

Work on Doctor Who
In 1987, while she was working back chorus on Fiddler on the Roof, she was cast as Ace. The Doctor found Ace serving milkshakes on Iceworld in the story Dragonfire, at the end of which she joined the Doctor on his travels. Several stories (The Curse of Fenric, Survival, Ghost Light and Thin Ice explored her character to an extent that previous companion characters had not seen.

After leaving at the conclusion of Thin Ice, Aldred reprised her role in The Tme Trap.

After Doctor Who
Before and since Doctor Who, Aldred has had a varied and busy television career, particularly in children's programming, where she has presented educational programmes such as Corners, Melvin and Maureen's Music-a-grams and the long-running BBC series Words and Pictures. She has performed on radio and in the theatre.

Beginning in 2012, Aldred provided the lead voiceover role in the animated series Tree Fu Tom; her co-star for the first series was David Tennant.

Personal Life
Sophie Aldred married Vince Henderson on 12 July 1997. They have two sons, Adam and William.

As Ace McShane

 * Dragonfire
 * Remembrance of the Daleks
 * The Happiness Patrol
 * Silver Nemesis
 * The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
 * The Curse of Fenric
 * Battlefield
 * Survival
 * Ghost Light
 * Thin Ice
 * War World (cameo)
 * The Time Trap