Early career . left to right:
Debra Berger,
Brigitte Ariel,
Kim Cattrall and
Isabelle Huppert. Ward's stage name, "Lalla", originates from her attempts as a toddler to pronounce her own name. She left school at age 14 because she "loathed every single minute of it" and took her
O-levels on her own. Ward studied at the
Central School of Speech and Drama from 1968 to 1971. She appeared in the films
England Made Me (1973),
Matushka (1973),
Rosebud (1975), and
Crossed Swords (or
The Prince and the Pauper) (1977). In 1974, she acted in a film called
Got It Made, directed by
James Kenelm Clarke.
Club International magazine ran a set of nude pictures, claiming they were of her but actually featuring images from the 1978 film
Sweet Virgin, and Ward successfully sued the magazine. Her television work included
The Upper Crusts (1973) as the daughter of
Margaret Leighton and
Charles Gray,
Van der Valk (1973),
The Protectors (1973),
Quiller (1975),
Who Pays the Ferryman? (1977), as Jill Haydon, daughter of the
underworld crime boss William Henry (Bill) Hayden in an episode of the British drama
The Professionals, the episode entitled
When the Heat Cools Off (1978) and
Hazell (1979). In 1980, she played
Ophelia to
Derek Jacobi's
Hamlet in the BBC television production.
Doctor Who She was the second actress to play the Time Lady
Romana in
Doctor Who. After a guest appearance as Princess Astra in the
Doctor Who story
The Armageddon Factor in 1979, Ward was chosen to replace
Mary Tamm, who had decided against continuing in the role. She appeared in all of
Season 17's stories and then her character was written out in the fifth story of
Season 18 entitled ''
Warriors' Gate''. After
Doctor Who, she appeared in the TV movie
Schoolgirl Chums (1982), and ''The Jeweller's Shop
and The Rehearsal'' on stage. Ward decided to end her acting career after marrying
Richard Dawkins.
Books Ward has recorded audio books, including
Steven Pinker's
The Language Instinct and
Shada by
Gareth Roberts and
Douglas Adams. She co-narrated
The Selfish Gene, ''
The Ancestor's Tale, The God Delusion, The Blind Watchmaker and The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution with her then-husband. In the 1980s. She also wrote two books on knitting and one on embroidery. Ward is a keen chef, and she contributed a recipe to The Doctor Who Cookbook'' which was edited by
Gary Downie. She also provided illustrations for
Climbing Mount Improbable and
Astrology for dogs (and owners) by William Fairchild (1980).
Textiles and ceramics Ward is a textile artist and ceramicist. Her subjects are rare and endangered animals. She refers to her technique of creating fabric pictures as
thread drawing, considering this a more accurate term for her work than the commonly used
thread painting. In 2009, at the suggestion of the Gerald Durrell Foundation, she prepared an exhibition of textiles and ceramics on the theme of Galapagos wildlife. The auction raised £24,000 for the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust's campaign for the Floreana mockingbird and other wildlife of Galapagos. She has shown three exhibitions at the National Theatre, London. Her 2010 textiles exhibition,
Stranded, was inspired by the evolution of animals on islands. In 2011,
Migration featured works which combined textiles and ceramics, the subjects seeming to move across both media. The theme of
Vanishing Act, 2013, was camouflage. As with previous shows, Ward made available detailed instructions explaining her techniques. She also used one glass case to recreate her workspace, including such sources of inspiration as music, quotes, and a photo of her dog. ==Charity work==