Doctor Who's Bonnie Langford was "never told" key detail about her iconic companion

When Bonnie Langford returned to Doctor Who after years away, fans were delighted to learn more about her backstory and where she'd been since we saw her last.

The 60th anniversary special The Giggle saw Langford's character Mel reunite with the Doctor (at that time, played by David Tennant, and offered tidbits about what her life had looked like since they last met, including the fate of old Sabalom Glitz, who Mel travelled the stars with.

But one moment had fans keen to hear more, as Mel admitted: "I had to face up to the one thing I'd been running away from – I've got nothing. My family are all gone."

Sitting down with Radio Times for an in-depth interview, Langford admitted she has "absolutely no idea" what happened to Mel's family – and showrunner Russell T Davies has never told her.

Referring to that particular line, she recalled: "There was a lovely scene that I got to do with David Tennant, which was something about, ‘Well, you know, you know what happened? I lost all my family,’ and I'm thinking, 'He never told me!' And sometimes that's best.

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Allons-y!

"Do we need to know the details? Let's leave that for a later date. That's the great thing about Who, is that you can you can travel in time so much that you are not restricted or limited by having to make something chronological or to connect the dots.

"Sometimes we don't know about everything, and that might be a good thing... it leaves so much room for the imagination."

When Mel was first introduced, joining the show in 1986, she'd already been travelling with the Doctor (then played by Colin Baker) for some time, as opposed to other companions, whose introductory adventures have played out on screen.

But while Langford doesn't know every part of Mel's backstory, she's been able to weigh in on parts of it.

Reflecting on her return in 2022 for The Power of the Doctor, she explained: "It was very last minute. I got a call from the costume people saying, 'What do you think she would wear?'

"And because I had been still connected with Mel, and because of the Big Finish audios, I felt I was able to say, 'Oh, I think she would be a bit like this.'"

Langford added: "It's interesting because, at that point, I thought, 'Well, I wonder what Mel would be [like now].' A lot calmer! And very much more into her computers at that point, and yet very discreet about the work that she does."

"[Mel] had such a loyalty to the Doctor," she continued. "So at that point, it was really great that I had been able to still be in touch with her, and able to think, 'Well, I wonder where she's been and what she's done, and how she has kept her connection with the Doctor.'

"So then when I came to do it in the new TV series, it felt really comfortable to be with her."

Bonnie Langford's full interview will be available on RadioTimes.com on 18th November.

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