Janet Fielding (born Janet Mahoney, 9 September 1953) 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. As 'Janet Claire Fielding' she made her UK TV debut in the Hammer House of Horror episode Charlie Boy, which aired in October 1980 as she was announced as the new Doctor Who companion.
Fielding played the part between 1981 and 1984. She made a guest appearance on Jim'll Fix It in a Doctor Who related sketch alongside Colin Baker's Doctor in 1985 (A Fix with Sontarans).
In 1982, Fielding married Daily Mirror foreign editor Nicholas Davies. They divorced in 1991. In 1984, she had a role in the ITV children's drama Murphy's Mob, followed in 1985 with a part in Hold The Back Page.
In 1991, Fielding gave up acting to take up an administrative position with Women in Film and Television UK. While she maintained the position for only three and a half years, she has continued to work with the group since, managing the Skillset study on successful women in television in 2009. After leaving her position with the group, Fielding worked as a theatrical agent, at one point representing Paul McGann when he took the role of the Eighth Doctor.
She returned to acting and the role of Tegan for Big Finish Productions audio plays including The Gathering (2006), Cobwebs and The Cradle of the Snake (2010) alongside Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor. She has shown reluctance at reprising the role in the past, but has confirmed that she will be appearing as Tegan in further audio stories in the future. Fielding has also provided audio commentaries for several DVD releases of Tegan's Doctor Who stories. She also appeared in DVD extras for Frontier in Space and Planet of the Daleks, stories in which she did not appear, where she provided forthright critique on the portrayal of female characters in the serials.
Fielding has also worked as the head of finance for a charity
Although she has avoided fan conventions in the past, Fielding appeared at the Supanova Pop Culture convention at the Gold Coast in Australia during April 2012.
In September 2012 it was revealed that Janet is fighting cancer.
Famous quotes containing the word fielding:
“Then did they strive with emulation who should repeat most wise maxims importing the necessity of suspicion in the choice of our friends—such as “mistrust is the mother of security,” with many more to the same effect.... But notwithstanding the esteem which they professed for suspicion, yet did they think proper to veil it under the name of caution.”
—Sarah Fielding (1710–1768)