varos

doctor who

• home
• design
• doctorwho
  • audios
  • australia
  • books
  • databank
    • the doctors
    • the companions
    • the master
    • 900-year diary
  • episodes
  • this week
  • webguide
• site documents

databank

the companions

Information on the long-suffering compatriots of the Doctor, the companions.

contents

• Susan
• Ian Chesterton
• Barbara Wright
• Vicki
• Steven Taylor
• Katarina
• Sara Kingdom
• Dodo Chaplet
• Ben Jackson
• Polly
• Jamie McCrimmon
• Victoria Waterfield
• Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
• Zoe Heriot
• Sergeant Benton
• Liz Shaw
• Jo Grant
• Captain Yates
• Sarah Jane Smith
• Harry Sullivan
• Leela
• K9
• Romana I
• Romana II
• Adric
• Nyssa
• Tegan Jovanka
• Turlough
• Peri Brown
• Mel Bush
• Ace
• Grace Holloway

susan

Played by: Carole Ann Ford
Years Played: 1963-1964
Appeared in: An Unearthly Child to The Dalek Invasion of Earth and also The Five Doctors

Susan was the first companion we saw, she was with the first Doctor in the TARDIS as it first landed on Earth. Although Susan called the Doctor no one know who exactly her parents were, but what is known is that she came from the same planet as the Doctor. Her intellect, memory and psychic powers were not of this world. But she also displayed a rebellious streak typical of human teenagers. She had many journeys with the Doctor, many implied, culminating in the story The Dalek Invasion of Earth when she left after falling in love with freedom fighter David Campbell. Susan was reunited with her 'grandfather' in the 20th Anniversary story, The Five Doctors

ian chesterton

Played by: William Russell
Years Played: 1963-1965
Appeared in: An Unearthly Child to The Chase

Science master at Coal Hill School, Ian was intrigued to discover that one of his pupils, Susan, knew more about science than he would ever know. He was so intrigued that he followed her home and met the Doctor. After two exciting, hair-raising years with the Doctor, he and Barbara decided to return to Earth in an abandoned Dalek time capsule in The Chase.

barbara wright

Played by: Jacqueline Hill
Years Played: 1963-1965
Appeared in: An Unearthly Child to The Chase

Barbara taught history and English at Coal Hill school when Susan was a pupil. She was very friendly with Ian Chesterton, and went with him to visit the Doctor, and got whisked off into Time and Space. Always concerned about history, she tried to stop the Aztec practice of human sacrifices in the story, The Aztecs but was prevented by the Doctor. She and Ian left the Doctor and returned to Earth in The Chase.

vicki

Played by: Maureen O'Brien
Years Played: 1965
Appeared in: The Rescue to The Myth Makers

An earthling on a spacecraft heading for the planet Astra. Vicki was one of two survivors when it crashed on the planet Dido. In the crew of the TARDIS she found the home and security she had lost, and the Doctor, missing Susan, took a liking to the impish 18-year old. When the TARDIS arrived in ancient Troy, (The Myth Makers) she was hailed as a prophet, and under the name that the Trojans gave her - Cressida - decided to stay behind with Trojan Prince Troilus.

steven taylor

Played by: Peter Purves
Years Played: 1965-1966
Appeared in: The Chase to The Savages

Steven was a spaceship pilot, stranded on the planet Mechanus some time in the future, and lived for two years as the only human being among a race of robots, the Mechanoids (The Chase). After the Doctor and Vicki said goodbye to Ian and Barbara, Steven stowed away in the TARDIS and left with them. Strong-willed and argumentative, Steven often challenged the Doctor. It was for those qualities that the Elders invited him to stay as their leader at the end of The Savages.

katarina

Played by: Adrienne Hill
Years Played: 1966
Appeared in: The Myth Makers to The Daleks' Masterplan

She was a Trojan slave girl to the Prophet of Doom, Cassandra, at the time of the siege of Troy. She met the Doctor when he helped carry the wounded Steven back to the TARDIS, (The Myth Makers) and became involved in his next adventure, The Daleks' Masterplan, preventing the Daleks from gaining control of all Time and Space, a struggle which cost Katarina her life.

sara kingdom

Played by: Jean Marsh
Years Played: 1966
Appeared in: The Daleks' Masterplan

Top space agent in the year 4000AD, Sara is sent by the corrupted Mavic Chen, Guardian of the Solar System, to kill the Doctor and Steven, who have discovered the Daleks' plan to destroy the Earth (The Daleks' Masterplan) The Doctor finally convinces her that she has been deceived by her masters, and she joins him in the struggle against the Daleks, although she dies in the process.

dodo chaplet

Played by: Jackie Lane
Years Played: 1966
Appeared in: The Massacre to The War Machines

Dodo - Dorothea - Chaplet, rushed into the TARDIS one day in 1966 when it landed in Wimbledon Common, thinking it was an ordinary Police Box. The Doctor let her stay, partly because she might have been a descendant of a woman he and Steven met during the events of The Massacre, and partly because she reminded him of Susan, not just in looks but in the intense curiosity which often led her into dangerous situations. At the end of The War Machines she decided her future lay on Earth, and left.

ben jackson

Played by: Michael Craze
Years Played: 1966-1967
Appeared in: The War Machines to The Faceless Ones

Ben was a Cockney merchant seaman who was tough, resourceful and independently-minded. He was in awe of the first Doctor, but with the gentler, somewhat vaguer second Doctor, he could rely much more on his own initiative. He and Polly were about as different as they could possibly have been, but when they decide to stay on Earth, it seemed as though their future was together (The Faceless Ones)

polly

Played by: Anneke Wills
Years Played: 1966-1967
Appeared in: The War Machines to The Faceless Ones

The product of a faintly debby background and London in the 'Swinging Sixties', she was working as an assistant to computer expert Professor Brett (The War Machines), when she first met Ben in a trendy nightclub, The Inferno, and became involved with the Doctor. Although she and Ben came from diametrically opposite backgrounds, they became inseparable, and when the Doctor returned them to Earth, it looked as though their future was together.

jamie mccrimmon

Played by: Frazer Hines
Years Played: 1966-1969
Appeared in: The Highlanders to The War Games and also The Two Doctors

A piper from the Clan McCrimmon, Jamie was one of the few who survived the battle of Culloden in 1745, when the English Redcoats massacred the Scottish Clans, who were united behind Bonnie Prince Charlie. The Doctor, Ben and Polly found him and whisked him away in the TARDIS. Jamie's courage and loyalty were never in doubt, but he wasn't very bright, although he simply accepted all the miracles of modern science simply because they were there. He was saddened by Victoria's decision to stay on Earth, though his friendship with Zoe was a great consolation. He was finally returned to his own era with his memory wiped clean, when the Doctor was put on trial by the Time Lords (The War Games). He appeared as a phantom to confuse the second Doctor in The Five Doctors and also was with the second Doctor when he encountered the sixth Doctor and Peri in The Two Doctors

victoria waterfield

Played by: Deborah Watling
Years Played: 1967-1968
Appeared in: The Evil of the Daleks to Fury from the Deep

Victoria met the Doctor and Jamie when the Daleks held her hostage in order to force her father, Professor Waterfield, to lure the Doctor back through time (The Evil of the Daleks) When her father was killed by the Daleks, Victoria decided to join the TARDIS crew, though she never overcame her terror of alien creatures, and when a nice ordinary family offered her a home on a gas exploration rig, she decided to stay (Fury from the Deep)

brigadier lethbridge-stewart

Played by: Nicholas Courtney
Years Played: 1968-1989
Appeared in: various stories from The Web of Fear to Battlefield

Born into an old army family, young Lethbridge-Stewart showed such qualities of initiative and leadership that he was rapidly promoted to the rank of Colonel in Military Intelligence. During the Yeti invasion of the London Underground (The Web of Fear), he took charge of the investigative team, and when it was decided to set up the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (UNIT) to deal with threats from other worlds, he was promoted to Brigadier and put in charge of the British operation. He was a soldier through and through and his solution to every problem was a military one. After adventures with the third and fourth Doctors, the Brigadier had retired in 1977 and in 1983 met up with the fifth Doctor during his stint as a Maths teacher at Brendan College (Mawdryn Undead), later in that same year, he was kidnapped by Borusa in The Five Doctors and helped the second Doctor in the Death Zone, he later met the seventh Doctor in 1989 during the threat from Morgaine. (Battlefield)

zoe heriot

Played by: Wendy Padbury
Years Played: 1968-1969
Appeared in: The Wheel in Space to The War Games

Zoe was the product of the education system of the future, and although still in her teens, she had a mind like a computer and was a brilliant astrophysicist. Having met the Doctor and Jamie on the Wheel in Space where she was working, she was intrigued by their tales of space travel and stowed away on the TARDIS. She left the Doctor only when the Time Lords sent her back to her own era with her memory wiped. She like Jamie, appeared as a phantom to confuse the second Doctor in The Five Doctors

sergeant benton

Played by: John Levene
Years Played: 1969-1975
Appeared in: various stories from The Invasion to The Android Invasion

Benton was the Brigadier's right hand man, always there to assist the Brigadier in almost every situation they encountered. Somewhat down-to-earth and practical, he took the third Doctor seriously, taking for granted the things he made and did. He was briefly turned into a baby by TOMTIT (The Time Monster). He left UNIT after being promoted to Regimental Sergeant Major (The Android Invasion) and became a used-car salesman.

liz shaw

Played by: Caroline John
Years Played: 1970
Appeared in: Spearhead from Space to Inferno

Liz Shaw was a brilliant scientist whose thesis on translating the human nervous system into electronic terms - cybernetics - attracted the attention of the Brigadier, and the Doctor. Although the Doctor and Liz got on well initially, she soon realised that his scientific knowledge was so far ahead of hers that she would be relegated to little more than a laboratory assistant, so she left to continue her own academic work.

jo grant

Played by: Katy Manning
Years Played: 1971-1973
Appeared in: Terror of the Autons to The Green Death

Having trained as a spy, Jo was foisted on the Brigadier by her uncle at the United Nations. He in turn passed her on to the Doctor as his new assistant, and her very eager, accident-prone manner meant their relationship didn't get off to the best possible start! (Terror of the Autons) In the end, the Doctor became very fond of his scatty, mini-skirted dolly-bird assistant and was genuinely sad to lose her when she left him to marry scientist and explorer Cliff Jones (The Green Death)

captain yates

Played by: Richard Franklin
Years Played: 1971-1973
Appeared in: various stories from Terror of the Autons to Planet of the Spiders

Yates was the Brigadier's second in command, usually coordinating the men in the field, while the Brigadier was at headquarters, he showed good initiative and leadership skills. But for all the skills that he had, he was almost brainwashed by BOSS (The Green Death) and possibly because of this, betrayed UNIT during Operation Golden Age (Invasion of the Dinosaurs), he redeemed himself however, by assisting the Doctor during the attack by the giant spiders of Metebelis 3 (Planet of the Spiders)

sarah jane smith

Played by: Elisabeth Sladen
Years Played: 1973-1976
Appeared in: The Time Warrior to The Hand of Fear and also The Five Doctors

Sarah Jane met the Doctor and the Brigadier when she passed herself off as her aunt, Lavinia Smith, and eventually stowed away on the TARDIS. Sarah Jane was a great believer in the equality of the sexes, though she was always glad of the Doctor's presence when there were monsters around. Her adventures were ended in The Hand of Fear when the Doctor was summoned by his fellow Time Lords to Gallifrey, and since he felt it was too dangerous to take her with him, he returned her to Earth. The Doctor never forgot her, and left her a present, K9 Mk III who helped her uncover a witches' coven in the aborted spin off, K9 and Company - A Girl's Best Friend. She too was kidnapped by Borusa and helped the third Doctor in the Death Zone.

harry sullivan

Played by: Ian Marter
Years Played: 1974-1975
Appeared in: various stories from Robot to The Android Invasion

Harry, the stiff-upper-lip naval surgeon-lieutenant, joined the Doctor during the first adventure of his fourth incarnation (Robot). He was already working for UNIT as their Medical Officer, but encounters with Wirrn parasites, Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans and Vogons satisfied his taste for adventure and after Terror of the Zygons, he decided to remain on Earth, although he returned a few stories later in The Android Invasion

leela

Played by: Louise Jameson
Years Played: 1977-1978
Appeared in: The Face of Evil to The Invasion of Time

Leela was unlike any other companion the Doctor had ever had before: a ruthless, savage warrior who would kill without a second's hesitation. When the people on her home planet decided to settle their differences and live in peace (The Face of Evil), Leela had concluded that life with the Doctor would be more exciting. The fourth Doctor attempted to 'civilise' her but Leela somehow resisted the Doctor's attempts. In the end, Leela fell in love with one of the Chancellery Guards on Gallifrey and decided to stay (The Invasion of Time)

k9

Played by: John Leeson & David Brierley
Years Played: 1977-1981
Appeared in: The Invisible Enemy to Warriors' Gate

Invented by Professor Marius, the electronic dog with the super-computer brain was the first mechanical companion. Ever faithful to the Doctor, ever alert and on call via the Doctor's dog whistle, K9 could stun enemies, cut through walls and even play chess! The first version, Mk I chose to remain with Leela on Gallifrey (The Invasion of Time). The Doctor made a new version, Mk II and helped the Doctor and Romana recover the Key to Time, and then went with Romana II when she left to help the Tharils in E-Space (Warriors' Gate). A Mk III K9 was given to Sarah Jane Smith by the Doctor to make up for their abrupt parting.

romana i

Played by: Mary Tamm
Years Played: 1978
Appeared in: The Ribos Operation to The Armageddon Factor

Romanadvoratrelundar, to give her her full name, was a Time Lord, fresh out of the Academy and knowing it all, who was given to the Doctor as his assistant by the White Guardian. At first she was rather contemptuous of the Doctor's seemingly bumbling ways, but soon learned there is a vast difference between theory and practice. At the start of Destiny of the Daleks, she regenerated, simply because she felt like it...

romana ii

Played by: Lalla Ward
Years Played: 1979-1981
Appeared in: Destiny of the Daleks to Warriors' Gate

In her second incarnation, Romana chose the body of Princess Astra from a previous adventure (The Armageddon Factor). She was very young at heart, loving to dress up in all sorts of different costumes, and not afraid of mucking in and getting her hands dirty. She and the fourth Doctor made an ideal team. She eventually decided to remain in E-Space with K9 Mk II, partly to avoid returning to Gallifrey and partly to help the Tharils free themselves (Warriors' Gate)

adric

Played by: Matthew Waterhouse
Years Played: 1981-1982
Appeared in: Full Circle to Earthshock

Adric was an outsider, even on his own planet, Alzarius, (Full Circle) and saw the TARDIS crew as the family he had lost, though his spiky, awkward personality meant that relationships were never easy. He was a brilliant mathematician, but often lacked the commonsense and judgement which exposed his companions to danger. He died heroically, saving the Earth from the Cybermen (Earthshock)

nyssa

Played by: Sarah Sutton
Years Played: 1981-1983
Appeared in: The Keeper of Traken to Terminus

The daughter of Consul Tremas of Traken, Nyssa joined the Doctor when the Master murdered her father, took over his body (The Keeper of Traken) and finally destroyed her planet (Logopolis). She was very clever - bioelectronics was her forte - but her abiding belief in the goodness of all things blinded her to the more subtle forms of evil. She was also gentle, quiet and rather serious, which meant that she sometimes failed to see the funny side. She left the TARDIS crew when she decided to stay on the planet Terminus, and help find a cure for Lazar's disease (Terminus)

tegan jovanka

Played by: Janet Fielding
Years Played: 1981-1984
Appeared in: Logopolis to Resurrection of the Daleks

Tegan, an Australian, was on her way to her first job as an air hostess at Heathrow, when her car broke down and she stopped at a Police Box to ring for help (Logopolis). Extremely self-assured, thinks she knows it all, and constantly changing her mind about staying with the Doctor or returning to Earth. At the end of Resurrection of the Daleks she becomes sickened with all the violence and remains on Earth.

turlough

Played by: Mark Strickson
Years Played: 1983-1984
Appeared in: Mawdryn Undead to Planet of Fire

Turlough, an exiled Ensign-Commander from Trion after a rival faction took control of his world, was enlisted by the Black Guardian during his exile on Earth to kill the Doctor (Mawdryn Undead). But the more time he spent with the Doctor, and realised that he was good, the harder it became to kill him. Eventually Turlough threw in his lot with the Black Guardian and sided with the Doctor and Tegan. He tries to win his way with charm, a trait which is considered 'sneaky' by Tegan. Turlough eventually left the Doctor and returned to his home planet after he discovered that his exile had been rescinded. (Planet of Fire)

peri brown

Played by: Nicola Bryant
Years Played: 1984-1986
Appeared in: Planet of Fire to Mindwarp

Perpugilliam (Peri) Brown was an American botany student, who met the fifth Doctor and Turlough on a Greek island, after her step-father found a Trion artefact (Planet of Fire). She was infected by spectrox and almost died, if not for the fifth Doctor giving her the only antidote (The Caves of Androzani). Strong-willed and somewhat stubborn, she never entirely allowed the Doctor to get his own way. She was captured and almost killed when the mind scientist Crozier put Kiv's mind into her body. (Mindwarp) She was rescued by King Yrcanos and went back to his home planet, Krontep as his queen.

mel bush

Played by: Bonnie Langford
Years Played: 1986-1987
Appeared in: Terror of the Vervoids to Dragonfire

A strong-willed (and lunged) redhead fitness fanatic and computer programmer with a near-photographic memory, Melanie Bush lived in Pease Pottage. We first see her with the sixth Doctor on the Hyperion III, en route from Mogar to Earth (Terror of the Vervoids). She at many times tried to get the burly sixth Doctor onto a diet and fitness regime and constantly insisted that he drink carrot juice. She left the Doctor on Iceworld, accompanying Glitz in an attempt to mend his ways. (Dragonfire)

ace

Played by: Sophie Aldred
Years Played: 1987-1989
Appeared in: Dragonfire to Survival

Like Leela before her, Ace tended to use violence as a means of solving problems, but instead of using a knife, she used cans of a homemade explosive, Nitro9. She met the seventh Doctor and Ace on Iceworld (Dragonfire), where she worked as a waitress after a freak timestorm brought her there. Ace saw the Doctor as a way out of her present existence. We don't exactly know the circumstances of how she and the Doctor parted company, as the Last story, Survival she remains with the Doctor. She does, however leave the Doctor prior to Enemy Within.

grace holloway

Played by: Daphne Ashbrook
Years Played: 1996
Appeared in: Doctor Who

Because of her single appearance, we don't really know a lot about Grace, and because she apparently doesn't leave with the Doctor, we probably won't know much about her. What we do know is that she is a heart surgeon, a lover of classical music, especially Pucini. She elects to stay behind on Earth at the end of Enemy Within.

site design and content © 2003–2018 jason fraser