Doctor Who legend Carole Ann Ford reveals her "emotional" reaction when watching David Bradley’s William Hartnell

For many Doctor Who fans, watching the 50th anniversary docudrama An Adventure in Space and Time was emotional - but no one's experience could compare to Carole Ann Ford's.

Ford played Susan, Doctor Who's first ever companion, who assisted the debut Doctor actor William Hartnell in his adventures across the galaxy from 1963-1964, with some of their earliest experiences on set being dramatised for the modern special. In the docudrama, David Bradley playing Hartnell and Claudia Grant played Ford.

While Ford, who made a cameo in the special, admitted the experience of seeing herself played as a character felt "extremely creepy", on the whole, she loved An Adventure in Space and Time.

Recalling how she felt when she watched the film, created by Mark Gatiss, she exclusively told RadioTimes.com: "I loved it. I've seen it a few times. Now, every time I see it, I burst into tears. I find it very emotional, looking at Bill as he was, and everybody else who’s no longer with us.

"Mark did a fabulous job with his research. He took me out to lunch so we could have a good old chat about it, which was fabulous. I loved it. He's a wonderful man - he really digs deep into what he's doing. I know he researches everything. He certainly researched that really, very well."

Meanwhile, during the in-depth chat about her time on Doctor Who, Ford also reflected on her close friendship with her old co-stars, including the late Hartnell.

"I thought he was adorable!" she said. "He was very charming, very sweet, very considerate, and took it all very seriously, which I approved of. I don't like people messing about and giggling – they've got to take the work seriously."

She added: "The part was so important to him. It was everything to him. And because of that, he was a real perfectionist with it."

Meanwhile, she remembers Jaqueline Hill, who played Barbara Wright as "a lovely, kind, thoughtful lady, who was a great actress."

As for William Russell? "My first impression was 'Cor!', and then I suggested to them that maybe Susan could have a sort of crush on him...I thought I was being reasonable, but, no way not allowed, that. No fun and games on the TARDIS!"

Carole Ann Ford's full interview will be available on RadioTimes.com soon.

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