Daily Inspiration Quote by Lalla Ward

Costume, in Lalla Ward's hands, isn’t decoration; it’s dialogue. When she says she “had an awful lot to say” in what she wore as Romana, she’s pointing to a truth about TV acting that scripts rarely admit: on-screen authority is negotiated as much through silhouette and texture as through lines. Romana, especially in Doctor Who’s late-70s/early-80s era, is a character built on competence and composure, and Ward’s wardrobe became a way to broadcast that without begging the camera for permission.

The intent feels practical and quietly defiant. Ward wasn’t just inhabiting a role; she was shaping its meaning in a production culture where women were often styled into legibility: the “girlfriend,” the “assistant,” the “eye candy.” Romana’s looks - sharply tailored, occasionally eccentric, almost allergic to damsel coding - signal intellect and autonomy. That’s the subtext: if the show wouldn’t always articulate Romana’s status as the Doctor’s equal, the clothes could. Fashion becomes a workaround for the limits of dialogue and direction.

There’s also a very actorly power move embedded here. Ward frames costume as part of performance authorship, not a department that happens to her. In a genre series with a massive, devoted audience, those choices don’t stay private; they become canon, cosplay, shorthand. The line captures how pop television lets actors smuggle intention into the frame: you can’t rewrite the plot, but you can insist, stitch by stitch, on who your character is allowed to be.