Ace (her real name was Dorothy, but she hated it) was born in Perivale, London. She was a streetwise kid who was one of the descendants of the Vikings whose genetic structure was influenced by the ancient evil known as Fenric.

Fenric created a timestorm in Ace's bedroom, taking her to Svartos. There she would encounter the Doctor (7G), and eventually lead him to Earth in 1943, where Fenric would attempt to escape (7M).

She is moodier and less at peace with herself than previous Companions, though perhaps this is a welcome change from the unendingly cheerful Mel. Her lack of self-confidence, though, does not keep her from defending and standing up for herself, successfully and repeatedly.

Ace had been in trouble with the police, and was clearly disinterested in her family, especially her mother. Her feelings began to alter when she met her mother as a baby and Ace began growing from a troubled teenager into a confident young woman.

Some of her qualities can be caricatured: her fondness for explosives, her continually calling the Doctor "Professor", her dealings with traditional Doctor Who villains, defeating the Daleks with a baseball bat (7H) and Cybermen with a bow-and-arrow (7K).

Sophie Aldred was born on August 20, 1962 in Greenwich, and grew up in the southeastern London area of Blackheath. She went on to attend the Northern College of Music and eventually earned an honors degree in drama at Manchester University.

Her first professional experience was as a singer in working men's clubs, which she did in order to obtain an Equity card (required for any television or stage performer). She went on to work extensively in children's theater, as well as appearing in a fringe show, "Underground Man", at a pub theater in London, which garnered her an agent.

When she heard that she had landed the part of Ace in Doctor Who (her first television role), she was singing in the chorus for a Manchester stage production of "Fiddler on the Roof" with Topol, along with Topol and Doctor Who veteran John Scott Martin.

At the same time as appearing in "Doctor Who", she presented a series for young children called "Corners" and later "Melvin and Maureen's Music-a-grams", which combined her acting and music talents, showing off her considerable musical and singing skills. She is a trained soprano with a 3-1/2 octave range and a gorgeous voice.

She has appeared in a number of theater productions including a tour of "Daisy Pulls it Off" in which she played the lead.

In 1995 she worked for the Children's Channel on satellite and also "Love Call Live" for Anglia television with David 'Kid' Jensen. In 1996, she co-authored with effects designer Mike Tucker a book looking at her time in Doctor Who called "Ace!"

She has gone on to make numerous other television appearances: twelve different characters in "Knock Knock", a reporter in "Knowhow", a singer in "The Box", a storyteller in "Jackanory", a presenter in "Jack in the Box", and a presenter/singer in "Words and Pictures".

In the early 90's she broke out of the mold in two roles. The first was a brief but striking appearance as "naughty girl" Suzie in the popular BBC soap opera "EastEnders". The second, in the summer of 1993, was as the buxom Marjorie Pinchwife in the musical "Lust", which was also her London West End debut.

Official Website: http://www.sophiealdred.com/

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