This is neatly explained by the brief reference to the "timestorm," an event that she believes she caused by trying to extract nitro-glycerine from gelignite. It is not until later in the series "The Curse Of Fenric" that we find out exactly how this happened.
This was central to her character as she is a wolf of Fenric through her grandmother, Kathleen Dudman. The last act Ace performs in Curse of Fenric is to save Kathleen and her baby Audrey (Ace's mother) and thus give herself a destiny.
The timestorm was created by Fenric to bring her into contact with the Doctor. When asked by Fenric whether he knew about Fenric's manipulation of Ace, he replies: "Before the cybermen since iceworld." This is why there is such a great deal of emphasis on chess boards throughout the time that Ace is with the Doctor. At the end of Curse Of Fenric the Doctor replays his old chess battle.
When the BBC stopped making Dr Who, Ace and the Doctor were still travelling together. One of the key questions now is what will happen to Ace now that the new film is being made? The time line in the novelisation of The Curse Of Fenric explains why in the extended version of Silver Nemesis there is a portrait of her on the walls of Windsor Castle. For those of you who haven't read it, it explains that Ace travels back through time to marry one of Sorins ancestors. Sorin is a wolf of Fenric through his English grandmother. There is speculation that this grandmother is Ace.
ED: Is Ace Sorin's grandmother? The Fenric/Doctor plotline gets more and more complex with each rumour. "Kinda" creepy if you think about it... Wheel turns...
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