Katy Manning, a Dalek and a cup of cold sick

Naked Katy Manning in boots with a Dalek from Dr Who

What makes an old magazine worth money? This 1977 issue of Australian magazine Girl Illustrated, which has just sold for £120 on Ebay, combines a naked minor celebrity – Dr Who girl Katy Manning wearing a pair of knee-high boots – a Dalek and a scandal at the BBC! The cover flash reads: Exclusive! TV’s Katy strips. I’ll let the seller describe it:

Girl Illustrated (vol 8 no 10), featuring Dr Who girl Katy Manning.  This copy is in very good condition, slight crease on front and back cover, all internal pages practically mint, crisp, unmarked. The pictures of Katy include 6 poses, including a centrefold. Katy Manning was persuaded by the Australian men’s magazine to do the feature, much to the shock and anger of BBC management at the time. They had managed to get hold of a Dalek and the darling young Katy in the buff (and in one shot with only a pair of knee length boots) made a perfect match for the most dangerous machine/creature in the universe. She commented that news of her photo shoot went down ‘like a cup of cold sick’ with the BBC Managers. Needless to say, she never worked on BBC children’s programmes again…

Manning played the companion, Jo Grant, to Jon Pertwee’s Doctor in the 1970s.

The BBC’s Radio Times magazine did do an interview with Katy Manning in 2012 and it turns out that Kylie Minogue had also wrapped herself round a Dalek.

A-Z of men’s magazines

WATCH OUT for my book on British Magazine Design from the V&A

Tags: celebrities, centrefold, Dalek, Dr Who, Girl Illustrated, Jo Grant, Jon Pertwee, katy manning, Katy strips, magazines, men's magazines, naked, photo shoot