Show Notes
We would like to apologise for the delay in transmission of episode twelve of Sophie Aldred’s Ace Odyssey. Due to what engineers are describing as “an entirely avoidable wormhole incident,” the episode was accidentally redirected to the 2nd of June, 1953. The Bi-Galactic Broadcasting Company would like to assure all listeners that normal service has now resumed, whatever “normal” currently means!
Set aside whatever temporal maintenance you are currently attempting (successfully or otherwise), ensure all nearby clocks are proceeding in the correct direction, and make yourself comfortable as we once again step aboard the venerable Nosferatu 2.5, a ship of such considerable age and personality that several of its systems now appear to operate according to folklore, emotional memory, and whatever wiring Mrs C last threatened with a spatula. With Sophie Aldred at the helm, our voyage continues through nostalgia, narrative instability, and those curious moments where performance and reality become almost impossible to separate.
This week, the Time Scoop stays silent but, nevertheless, we find ourselves in the presence of none other than Bonnie Langford, actor, singer, dancer, and one of the most enduringly beloved figures in the wider Doctor Who universe. A performer whose career began astonishingly young and has spanned theatre, television, music, and live entertainment with seemingly inexhaustible energy, Bonnie has become synonymous with versatility, resilience, and reinvention. From West End stages to prime-time television, from Cats to Chicago, and from companion Melanie Bush’s first adventures to her triumphant modern return, Bonnie’s journey through performance has been one of remarkable longevity and constant evolution. Once Hobbes has reluctantly grumbled about noises “indicative of narrative misbehaviour,” Bonnie joins Sophie upon the Sofa of Infinite Understanding for a conversation rich in memory, laughter, survival, and the peculiar alchemy of growing up in public whilst somehow remaining gloriously yourself.
No excursion aboard the Nosferatu 2.5, however, would be complete without another immersion into the strange and shimmering tides of the Ffantaface, that endlessly shifting archive where fandom, identity, and imagination collide. Presiding over proceedings, naturally, is Mrs C, the Cockney goldfish, whose telepathic commentary remains gloriously direct and only occasionally actionable under intergalactic law. This week’s guide through the Ffantaface is Jordan Winn: filmmaker, advocate, and passionate voice for autism awareness, whose work combines creativity, honesty, and a deep affection for Doctor Who and the communities it inspires. Through filmmaking, online outreach, and thoughtful discussion around neurodiversity and representation, Jordan explores the power of storytelling not merely as entertainment, but as connection. A way of understanding ourselves and one another a little better. Together, Jordan and Sophie discuss creativity, fandom, perspective, and the importance of spaces where difference is not merely accepted, but celebrated. And somewhere, deep within the shifting corridors of the ship… the door begins to open!
You can find us all over your social media. Bluesky/Instagram/X: @aceodyssey63 Facebook: Sophie Aldred's Ace Odyssey
Jordan's Instagram: @jordanactorw
For listeners who want even more adventure, you can step inside the Ace Odyssey Patreon Community- *Episodes released early *Two exclusive podcasts every month *Online meet-ups and interactive events *Direct involvement in the evolving universe of the show www.patreon.com/aceodyssey
Sophie Aldred's Ace Odyssey stars Sophie Aldred with James Showers as Hobbes. Special Guests- Bonnie Langford and Jordan Winn
Music, Sound Effects, Sound Design and Post Production by Michael Livesley www.michaellivesley.co.uk Programme Assistant Liz Whitmore Written, Produced and Directed by Paul Carmichael
Sophie Aldred’s Ace Odyssey is an Eh? Aye! Pro
More from Sophie Aldred's Ace Odyssey
Something has come aboard the Nosferatu 2.5, and it has taken an interest in Sophie. When Lisa Bowerman arrives by Time Scoop, she seems to be carrying more than a little temporal residue. An intelligence is reaching out through her, and it knows something about Sophie that perhaps Sophie herself does not yet understand. But who, or what, is it? And what happens when something that has been calling from a distance finally finds its way aboard?
There are libraries full of books. There are libraries full of knowledge. And then, apparently, there are libraries aboard the Nosferatu 2.5 where the books have started becoming rather selective about who gets to exist in them.
Some stories are about monsters, some are about impossible planets, and some are about the rather more dangerous territory of memory, belonging and the places we still think of as home.
Welcome aboard the Nosferatu 2.5 for a rather special journey through the wider world of Sophie Aldred’s Ace Odyssey for August Bank Holiday weekend!