Companion (Doctor Who)

In the long-running BBC television science fiction programme Doctor Who and related works, the term "companion" refers to a character who travels or shares adventures with the Doctor. In most Doctor Who stories, the primary companion acts as an audience surrogate. They provide the lens through which the viewer is introduced to the series. The companion character often furthers the story by asking questions (often to help the audience understand too) and getting into trouble; also by helping, rescuing, or challenging the Doctor. This designation is applied to a character by the show's producers and appears in the BBC's promotional material and off-screen fictional terminology. The Doctor also refers to the show's other leads as their "friends" or "assistants"; the British press have also used the latter term.

History

In the earliest episodes of Doctor Who, the dramatic structure of the programme's cast was rather different from the hero-and-sidekick pattern that emerged later. Initially, the character of the Doctor was unclear, with uncertain motives and abilities.^[1] The protagonists were schoolteachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, who provided the audience's point of view in stories set in Earth's history and on alien worlds. Ian in particular served the role of the action hero. The fourth character was the Doctor's granddaughter, Susan, who (though initially presented as an "unearthly child") was intended^[2] as an identification figure for younger viewers.

Carole Ann Ford, who played Susan Foreman, became unhappy with the lack of development for her character^[3] and chose to leave in its second series. The character of Susan was married off to a freedom fighter and left behind to rebuild a Dalek-ravaged Earth. Doctor Who's producers replaced Susan with another young female character, Vicki. Similarly, when Ian and Barbara left, the "action hero" position was filled by astronaut Steven Taylor. This grouping of the Doctor, a young heroic male, and an attractive young, sometimes vulnerable, female became the programme's pattern throughout the 1960s.

When the programme changed to colour in 1970, its format changed: the Doctor was now Earth-bound and acquired a supporting cast by his affiliation with the paramilitary organisation United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (UNIT). The Third Doctor, more active and physical than his predecessors, made the role of the "action hero" male companion redundant. In the 1970 season, the Doctor was assisted by scientist Liz Shaw and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, along with other UNIT personnel (such as Sergeant Benton). The intellectual Shaw was replaced by Jo Grant in the following season, and as the programme returned to occasional adventures in outer space, the format shifted once more: while UNIT continued to provide a regular "home base" for Earth-bound stories, in stories on other planets, the Doctor and Jo became a two-person team with a close, personal bond. This pattern, the Doctor with a single female companion, became a template from which subsequent episodes of Doctor Who rarely diverged.

The character of Harry Sullivan was created by the production team when it was expected that the Fourth Doctor would be played by an older actor who would have trouble with the activity expressed by his predecessor. The role went to 40-year-old Tom Baker, and the part of Harry, no longer required for the action role, was dropped after one season.^[4]

In the Fourth Doctor's final season, he acquired three companions (Adric, Tegan, and Nyssa), and this situation continued under the Fifth Doctor for much of his first season. Adric was written out by the method, unusual within the series, of being "killed off" in the serial Earthshock. By the time of the Sixth Doctor, a single companion had become standard again.

When the series returned in 2005 a single female companion remained the standard format, though intermittent and short-term companions also featured. More consistent exceptions occurred between series 5 and 7, when the Eleventh Doctor travelled with Amy Pond and Rory Williams, and series 10, where the Twelfth Doctor appeared alongside Bill Potts and Nardole. In conjunction with the introduction of the first female Doctor, the Thirteenth Doctor's era features multiple companions (both male and female) throughout.

Definition

Although the term "companion" is designated to specific characters by the show's producers and appears in the BBC's promotional material and off-screen fictional terminology, there is no formal definition that constitutes such a designation. The definition of who is and is not a companion becomes less clear in the newer series.^[5] For instance, Stephen Brook in The Guardian newspaper's Organgrinder blog discounted Michelle Ryan as a likely next companion but said that "what constitutes a Doctor Who companion is no longer clear".^[5] During the Doctor's latest incarnations, his primary companions, such as Rose Tyler and Martha Jones, have fulfilled a distinct dramatic role, more significant than other, less prominent TARDIS travellers such as Adam, Jack, and Mickey. The British press referred to Martha as the "first ethnic minority companion in the 43-year television history of Doctor Who"^[6] despite the presence of Mickey Smith in the previous series—including several episodes in which he travelled in the TARDIS with the Doctor.

The opening credits do little to clarify the situation. In the first two series of the renewed programme, the only supporting actor to receive a title credit is Billie Piper, although short-term companions Bruno Langley (Adam Mitchell), John Barrowman (Jack Harkness) and Noel Clarke (Mickey Smith) all appear. In the third series, Barrowman receives a title credit for his return to the show alongside permanent cast member Freema Agyeman, and in series four Agyeman is restored to the opening titles for her return arc as Martha Jones. Series four also gives Agyeman, Piper, Barrowman, and Elisabeth Sladen title billing for their reappearances in the final two-parter. Clarke also reprises his role in the series four finale; although listed as a companion alongside the other actors on the BBC Doctor Who website,^[7] Clarke is not credited in this way. In "The End of Time", John Simm receives title billing for his antagonist role as the Master, ahead of Bernard Cribbins as companion Wilfred Mott. In subsequent years, Claire Skinner, Nick Frost and Mark Gatiss have received title credits in special episodes for roles that are not considered companions, as does Piper for her non-companion return in "The Day of the Doctor".

Companions in the new series also have a more flexible tenure than their classical predecessors. Several companion characters have returned to the series after leaving the Doctor's company, most notably in the Series Four finale "The Stolen Earth"/"Journey's End" (2008), which features a record eight past, present and future companions: Donna is joined by a returning Rose, Martha, Jack, Sarah Jane, and Mickey, while past companion K9 and future companion Wilfred Mott make appearances. This tendency, plus the increase in "one-off" companions like Astrid Peth and Jackson Lake, has further obscured the matter of who is and is not a companion.^[5]

Role

The Doctor's companions have assumed a variety of roles—involuntary passengers, assistants (particularly Liz Shaw), friends, and fellow adventurers; and, of course, he regularly gains new companions and loses old ones. Sometimes they return home, and sometimes they find new causes—or loves—on worlds they have visited. A few companions have died during their travels with the Doctor, such as the 12th Doctor's companion Bill Potts. Some have taken trips in the TARDIS by accident like Rose's mother, Jackie Tyler.

Most companions travel in the TARDIS with the Doctor for more than one adventure. Sometimes a guest character takes a role in the story similar to that of a companion, such as photographer Isobel Watkins, who plays a significant role in The Invasion (1968), or Lynda in "Bad Wolf" and "The Parting of the Ways" (2005). In the revived era, some guest characters have gained companion status such as Mickey Smith, River Song, Wilfred Mott, and Craig Owens.

Despite the fact that the majority of the Doctor's companions are young, attractive females, the production team for the 1963–89 series maintained a long-standing taboo against any overt romantic involvement in the TARDIS: for example, Peter Davison, as the Fifth Doctor, was not allowed to put his arm around either Sarah Sutton (Nyssa) or Janet Fielding (Tegan Jovanka).^[8] However, that has not prevented fans from speculating about possible romantic involvements, most notably between the Fourth Doctor and the Time Lady Romana (whose actors, Tom Baker and Lalla Ward, shared a romance and brief marriage). The taboo was controversially^[9] broken in the 1996 television movie when the Eighth Doctor was shown kissing companion Grace Holloway. The 2005 series played with this idea by having various characters think that the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler were a couple, which they vehemently denied. Since the series revival, the Doctor has kissed many of his companions, including Rose and Jack, although each instance was not necessarily in a romantic context (see also "The Doctor and romance"). In series 2–3 of the revival, David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and Rose have significant sexual tension. Rose mentions sharing a mortgage with him if he were to ever be trapped with her in "The Satan Pit". At the end of series 2, in "Doomsday", Rose and the Doctor are forcibly separated. The Doctor "burns up a sun to say goodbye" and responds to Rose saying "I love you" with a cut-off sentence that is almost certainly "I love you too". Donna Noble vehemently denied a sexual interest in the Doctor when he invited her to join him and explained, "I just want a mate," which she misheard as "I just want to mate."^[10] Rose and Martha each developed romantic feelings toward the Doctor. On the opposite side of the same coin, Amy reacted to the stress of her adventures by very aggressively trying to seduce the Doctor on the eve of her own wedding, despite being in love with her fiancé Rory; the Doctor forcibly pushed her off of himself, though she did not immediately cease her pursuit.^[11] The Eleventh Doctor romantically kissed Amy and Rory's daughter, sporadic companion River Song,^[12] jokingly proposed marriage to her,^[13] and soon married her.^[14]

Previous companions have reappeared in the series. Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart reunited with later incarnations of the Doctor in Mawdryn Undead and Battlefield. He and Sergeant Benton began as returning characters in the first place, having appeared with the Second Doctor in The Web of Fear and again in The Invasion, prior to starting their full-time association with the Third and Fourth Doctors. Tegan Jovanka was the first full-time companion to part from the Doctor and subsequently return to full-time companionship, although the break in her tenure had been pre-planned.

Most reappearances of companions in the original series, however, were for anniversary specials such as The Five Doctors and Dimensions in Time, both of which also featured multiple Doctors. One former companion, Sarah Jane Smith, together with the robotic dog K-9, appeared in four and two episodes, respectively, of the revived series^[15] more than twenty years after their last appearances in the 20th anniversary story The Five Doctors (1983). The character of Sarah Jane also headed up a Doctor Who spin-off, The Sarah Jane Adventures, with K-9 until Sladen's death. Another companion, Captain Jack Harkness, is the lead character in the spin-off BBC science fiction programme Torchwood. Not only have these former companions continued to make appearances on Doctor Who, they have sometimes been accompanied by some of their own companions from the spin-offs when doing so, including Jack's colleagues Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones, and Sarah Jane's 'family' Mr Smith, Luke Smith and K-9 Mark IV. Other former companions from both the classic era and revived series have also returned as guest stars in the spin-offs, including Martha Jones on Torchwood, and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Jo Grant on The Sarah Jane Adventures. K-9 Mark I has also been spun off into its own series, albeit with an independent continuity.

When Doctor Who returned to television in 2005, the companion characters played a slightly different role, partly due to a strong focus on the character of Rose Tyler and characters connected to her. For example, although Adam Mitchell was a companion by the standard definition, he appeared in only two episodes and was arguably a less significant part of the 2005 series than Rose's sometime boyfriend Mickey Smith, who was not technically a companion but appeared in five episodes (or six, including a brief appearance as a child in "Father's Day"). Mickey later gained full-fledged companion status when he travelled in the TARDIS in the 2006 episode "School Reunion". In that episode, Sarah Jane Smith referred to Rose as the Doctor's "assistant", a term to which the latter took offence. This exchange might be regarded as indicating the new series' shift in approach to the companion role. Adam was also far less significant than Rose's mother, Jackie Tyler, who was a frequently recurring character who travelled in the TARDIS, yet is not considered a companion.

As of the end of the sixth series, Sarah Jane Smith is the only classic era companion to have travelled again with the Doctor in the revived series, and one of two to have done so in the revived era. She declined his invitation in "School Reunion", but subsequently met up with the Doctor aboard a Dalek ship in "Journey's End" and travelled with him, several other companions, and Jackie Tyler in the TARDIS as they towed the Earth back to the solar system. Sarah Jane, her predecessor Jo Jones (née Grant), and their own respective companions subsequently momentarily travelled in the TARDIS with the Eleventh Doctor in The Sarah Jane Adventures serial, Death of the Doctor. The Eleventh Doctor attempted to have Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart travel with him again only to learn of the Brigadier's death months earlier.

Families and childhoods

In the classic era, companions' friends and families were rarely depicted, and almost all were kept unaware of the true nature of the Doctor and the TARDIS. Exceptions include the very brief portrayals of Susan's future husband David Campbell;^[16] Dodo Chaplet's ancestor Anne Chaplet;^[17] Victoria Waterfield's father Edward;^[18] Jo Grant's future husband Prof. Clifford Jones;^[19] the companions' various co-workers at UNIT; Leela's father Sole^[20] and future husband or lover Andred;^[21] Tegan Jovanka's aunt Vanessa,^[22] maternal grandfather Andrew Verney,^[23] and cousin Colin Frazer;^[24] Nyssa's father Tremas and step-mother Kassia;^[25] Vislor Turlough's former maths teacher Lethbridge-Stewart;^[26] Peri Brown's step-father Prof. Howard Foster,^[27] and future husband King Yrcanos;^[28] Ace McShane's maternal grandmother Kathleen Dudman,^[29] infant mother Audrey Dudman,^[30] and a photograph of her maternal grandfather Frank Dudman;^[30] and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart's second wife Doris.^[31] Classic era spin-off media additionally introduced Sarah Jane Smith's aunt Lavinia Smith (who had been an unseen character in the original series) and foster brother Brendan Richards,^[32] and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart's daughter Kate (who would later become a recurring guest in the revived series)^[33] and grandson Gordon.^[34]

Conversely, families and friends of most companions in the revived era are extensively and continually depicted, and their adventures with the Doctor are generally not kept secret. The revived era has also featured a number of companions related to other companions by blood or marriage (Donna Noble's grandfather Wilfred Mott; Amy Pond's fiancé (later husband) Rory Williams, and the couple's daughter River Song; former companions Mickey Smith and Martha Jones who married subsequent to their companionship; Graham O'Brien and step-grandson Ryan Sinclair).^[35] No such relationships occurred among companions in the classic era, although original companions Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright are reported in the revived era to have married subsequent to their companionship, and Ben Jackson and Polly are likewise reported to be together.^[36] The families of some classic-era companions too have been depicted in the revived era, such as Jo Grant (now known as Jo Jones)'s grandson Santiago Jones;^[37] and Sarah Jane Smith's parents,^[38] adopted son Luke Smith, adopted daughter Sky Smith, and alternate timeline fiancé Peter Dalton;^[39] and Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart's daughter Kate Stewart.^[33]

Another change in the revived era is the depiction of many companions' pre-Doctor lives, particularly their childhoods; no companion was so depicted in the classic era, aside from John Benton being temporarily 'de-aged' by The Master.^[40] Companions Rose Tyler,^[41] Mickey Smith,^[30] Adelaide Brooke,^[42] Amy Pond,^[43] Rory Williams,^[13] River Song^[44] and Clara Oswald^[45] have all been portrayed in their youths by juvenile actors on Doctor Who; the pre-companionship lives of the Pond-Williams-Song family being particularly well-documented. Companions Jack Harkness^[46] and Sarah Jane Smith^[47] have also been depicted in their youths on their respective spin-off series. In addition to having been de-aged once in the classic era, John Benton was the first companion whose childhood was chronicled.^[48]

Loss of a companion

A recurring theme of the new series is the toll the loss of companions takes on the Doctor. While they would more or less easily deal with their companions' departures in the classic series, the new series shows the Doctor having a harder time recovering when a companion leaves them, especially when they do so under tragic circumstances and if the Doctor develops a strong emotional tie beyond friendship. After losing Donna Noble, the Tenth Doctor refused to travel with a companion until after his regeneration, unable to cope with them leaving anymore, thus resulting in one-off companions (Jackson Lake, Christina de Souza, Adeleide Brooke and Wilfred Mott). Later, the loss of Amy and Rory Williams – his parents-in-law by way of his marriage to River Song – drives the Eleventh Doctor into a deep depression, and he retreats to Victorian London where he refuses to get involved in the world's affairs anymore.^[49] Additionally, "Let's Kill Hitler" spotlights the Doctor's continuing guilt in relation to several past companions. Series 9 (2015) dealt with the Twelfth Doctor's growing fear over the potential of losing Clara Oswald.^{[nb 1]} Her death in "Face the Raven" leads the Doctor to undertake extreme measures to undo her fate, as depicted in the Series 9 finale "Hell Bent". The impact of the death of his wife, River Song, is a subplot of both "The Husbands of River Song" and "The Return of Doctor Mysterio".

List of companions on television

The "last serial" column only includes the last serial in which they appeared in a companion role and excludes minor roles, cameos, flashbacks, and so forth. Also, the table refers solely to adventures with the respective Doctor. Some companions who appear with two or more Doctors appear in separate tables.

First Doctor

Companion	Actor	Seasons	First serial	Last serial
Susan Foreman	Carole Ann Ford	1–2, The Five Doctors	An Unearthly Child^[nb 2]	The Five Doctors^[nb 3]
Barbara Wright	Jacqueline Hill	1–2	An Unearthly Child	The Chase
Ian Chesterton	William Russell	1–2	An Unearthly Child	The Chase^[nb 4]
Vicki	Maureen O'Brien	2–3	The Rescue	The Myth Makers
Steven Taylor	Peter Purves	2–3	The Chase	The Savages
Katarina	Adrienne Hill	3	The Myth Makers	The Daleks' Master Plan
Sara Kingdom^[a]	Jean Marsh	3	The Daleks' Master Plan
Dodo Chaplet	Jackie Lane	3	The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve	The War Machines
Polly	Anneke Wills	3–4	The War Machines	The Tenth Planet^[nb 5]
Ben Jackson	Michael Craze	3–4	The War Machines	The Tenth Planet^[nb 5]

Second Doctor

Companion	Actor	Seasons	First serial	Last serial
Polly	Anneke Wills	4	The Power of the Daleks	The Faceless Ones
Ben Jackson	Michael Craze	4	The Power of the Daleks	The Faceless Ones
Jamie McCrimmon	Frazer Hines^[nb 6]	4–6, 22	The Highlanders	The Two Doctors^[nb 7]^[nb 8]
Victoria Waterfield	Deborah Watling	4–5	The Evil of the Daleks	Fury from the Deep
Zoe Heriot	Wendy Padbury	5–6	The Wheel in Space	The War Games^[nb 8]
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart	Nicholas Courtney	1983 Special	The Five Doctors^[nb 9]

Third Doctor

Companion	Actor	Seasons	First serial	Last serial
Liz Shaw	Caroline John	7	Spearhead from Space	Inferno^[nb 8]
Jo Grant	Katy Manning	8–10	Terror of the Autons	The Green Death^[nb 10]^[nb 4]
Sarah Jane Smith	Elisabeth Sladen	11, 1983 Special	The Time Warrior	The Five Doctors^[nb 11]

UNIT

The following three characters, all associated with UNIT during the Third Doctor's exile to Earth, are sometimes considered his companions despite appearing irregularly during his tenure.^[57][58]

Character	Actor	Seasons	First appearance	Last appearance
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart	Nicholas Courtney	7–11	Spearhead from Space^[nb 12]	Planet of the Spiders^[nb 13]
Sergeant John Benton	John Levene^[nb 14]	7–11	The Ambassadors of Death^[nb 15]	Planet of the Spiders^[nb 16]
Captain Mike Yates	Richard Franklin	8–11	Terror of the Autons	Planet of the Spiders^[nb 8]

Fourth Doctor

Companion	Actor	Seasons	First serial	Last serial
Sarah Jane Smith	Elisabeth Sladen	12–14	Robot	The Hand of Fear
Harry Sullivan	Ian Marter	12–13	Robot	Terror of the Zygons^[nb 17]
Leela	Louise Jameson	14–15	The Face of Evil	The Invasion of Time
K9	John Leeson / David Brierly (voices)	15–18	The Invisible Enemy	Warriors' Gate^[nb 18]
Romana I	Mary Tamm	16	The Ribos Operation	The Armageddon Factor
Romana II	Lalla Ward	17–18, 1983 Special	Destiny of the Daleks	The Five Doctors^[nb 19]
Adric	Matthew Waterhouse	18	Full Circle	Logopolis^[nb 20]
Nyssa	Sarah Sutton	18	Logopolis^[nb 21]^[nb 20]
Tegan Jovanka	Janet Fielding	18	Logopolis^[nb 20]

Fifth Doctor

Companion	Actor	Seasons	First serial	Last serial
Adric	Matthew Waterhouse	19	Castrovalva	Earthshock^[59]^[nb 22]^[nb 23]
Nyssa	Sarah Sutton	19–20	Castrovalva	Terminus^[60]^[nb 23]
Tegan Jovanka	Janet Fielding	19–21	Castrovalva	Resurrection of the Daleks^[61]^[nb 23]
Vislor Turlough	Mark Strickson	20–21	Mawdryn Undead	Planet of Fire^[62]^[nb 23]
Kamelion^[63]^[64]^[65]	Gerald Flood (voice)	20–21	The King's Demons^[nb 24]	Planet of Fire^[66]^[nb 23]
Peri Brown	Nicola Bryant	21	Planet of Fire	The Caves of Androzani^[nb 25]

Sixth Doctor

Companion	Actor	Seasons	First serial	Last serial
Peri Brown	Nicola Bryant	21–23	The Twin Dilemma	Mindwarp
Mel Bush	Bonnie Langford	23	Terror of the Vervoids^[nb 26]	The Ultimate Foe^[nb 27]

Seventh Doctor

Companion	Actor	Seasons	First serial	Last serial
Mel Bush	Bonnie Langford	24	Time and the Rani	Dragonfire^[nb 4]
Ace	Sophie Aldred	24–26	Dragonfire	Survival

Eighth Doctor

Companion	Actor	Story
Grace Holloway	Daphne Ashbrook	Doctor Who

Ninth Doctor

Companion	Actor	Series	First episode	Last episode
Rose Tyler	Billie Piper^[nb 28]	1	"Rose"	"The Parting of the Ways"^[nb 29]
Adam Mitchell^[67]	Bruno Langley	1	"Dalek"	"The Long Game"
Captain Jack Harkness^[68]	John Barrowman	1	"The Empty Child"	"The Parting of the Ways"

Tenth Doctor

Companion	Actor	Series	First episode	Last episode
Rose Tyler	Billie Piper	2, 4	"The Christmas Invasion"	"Journey's End"^[nb 30]
Mickey Smith	Noel Clarke	2, 4	"School Reunion"^[69]^[nb 31]	"Journey's End"^[70]^[nb 32]
Donna Noble	Catherine Tate	2006 Special, 4	"The Runaway Bride"^[nb 33]	"Journey's End"^[nb 34]
Martha Jones	Freema Agyeman	3, 4	"Smith and Jones"	"Journey's End"^[71]^[nb 35]
Captain Jack Harkness	John Barrowman	3, 4	"Utopia"	"Journey's End"^[nb 36]
Astrid Peth^[72]^[73]^[74]	Kylie Minogue	2007 Special	"Voyage of the Damned"
Sarah Jane Smith^[75]	Elisabeth Sladen	4	"The Stolen Earth"^[nb 37]	"Journey's End"^[nb 38]
Jackson Lake^[76]	David Morrissey	2008–2010 Specials	"The Next Doctor"
Rosita Farisi^[77]	Velile Tshabalala	2008–2010 Specials	"The Next Doctor"
Lady Christina de Souza^[78]	Michelle Ryan	2008–2010 Specials	"Planet of the Dead"
Adelaide Brooke^[79]^[80]	Lindsay Duncan^[nb 39]	2008–2010 Specials	"The Waters of Mars"
Wilfred Mott^[81]	Bernard Cribbins	2008–2010 Specials	"The End of Time"^[nb 40]

Eleventh Doctor

Companion	Actor	Series	First episode	Last episode
Amy Pond	Karen Gillan^[nb 41]	5–7	"The Eleventh Hour"	"The Angels Take Manhattan"^[nb 42]^[nb 43]
Rory Williams	Arthur Darvill^[nb 44]	5–7	"The Vampires of Venice"^[nb 45]	"The Angels Take Manhattan"^[nb 46]^[nb 42]
River Song^[82]	Alex Kingston^[nb 47]	6	"The Impossible Astronaut"^[nb 48]	"The Wedding of River Song"^[nb 49]
Craig Owens^[83]	James Corden	6	"Closing Time"^[nb 50]
Clara Oswald	Jenna Coleman^[nb 51]	7–2013 Specials	"The Snowmen"^[nb 52]	"The Time of the Doctor"^[nb 53]

Twelfth Doctor

Companion	Actor	Series	First episode	Last episode
Clara Oswald	Jenna Coleman	8–9	"Deep Breath"	"Hell Bent"^[nb 54]
River Song^[84]	Alex Kingston	2015 Special	"The Husbands of River Song"
Nardole^[85]	Matt Lucas	2016 Special–10	"The Return of Doctor Mysterio"^[nb 55]	"The Doctor Falls"^[nb 56]
Bill Potts	Pearl Mackie	10–2017 Special	"The Pilot"	"Twice Upon a Time"

Thirteenth Doctor

Companion	Actor	Series	First episode	Last episode
Graham O'Brien	Bradley Walsh	11–2021 Special	"The Woman Who Fell to Earth"	"Revolution of the Daleks"^[nb 57]
Ryan Sinclair	Tosin Cole	11–2021 Special	"The Woman Who Fell to Earth"	"Revolution of the Daleks"
Yasmin Khan	Mandip Gill	11–2022 Specials	"The Woman Who Fell to Earth"	"The Power of the Doctor"
Captain Jack Harkness	John Barrowman	2021 Special	"Revolution of the Daleks"^[nb 58]
Dan Lewis	John Bishop	13–2022 Specials^[86]	"The Halloween Apocalypse"	"The Power of the Doctor"^[87]
Ace	Sophie Aldred	2022 Specials	"The Power of the Doctor"
Tegan Jovanka	Janet Fielding	2022 Specials	"The Power of the Doctor"

Fourteenth Doctor

Companion	Actor	Series	First episode	Last episode
Donna Noble^[88]	Catherine Tate	2023 specials	"The Star Beast"^[89]	"The Giggle"

Fifteenth Doctor

Companion	Actor	Series	First episode	Last episode
Ruby Sunday^[90]	Millie Gibson	14–	"The Church on Ruby Road"	—

List of companions from other media

The Doctor Who spin-off media have seen the creation of new characters acting as new companions to the Doctor. Most of them have been created to feature as companions for the Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Doctor, in the new products presenting themselves as a prosecution of their adventures beyond the TV series, but there also are new companions for other Doctors. None of them have been featured on television, except for the mention of some Big Finish Productions original characters in the minisode The Night of the Doctor; however, some of them have passed from one media to another.

First Doctor

Companion	Actor	Series	First story	Last story
John and Gillian	—	TV Comic strips	The Klepton Parasites (1964)	The Experimenters (1966)
Oliver Harper	Tom Allen	Big Finish Productions audios	The Perpetual Bond (2011)	The First Wave (2011)

Second Doctor

Companion	Actor	Series	First story	Last story
John and Gillian	—	TV Comic strips	The Extortioners (1966–67)	Invasion of the Quarks (1968)

Third Doctor

Companion	Actor	Series	First story	Last story
Jeremy Fitzoliver	Richard Pearce	BBC Radio dramas	The Paradise of Death (1993)	The Ghosts of N-Space (1996)

Fourth Doctor

Companion	Actor	Series	First story	Last story
Sharon Davies	Rhianne Starbuck	Doctor Who Magazine strips	Doctor Who and the Star Beast (1980)	Dreamers of Death (1981)
Fenella Wibbsey	Susan Jameson	BBC audiobooks	The Stuff of Nightmares (2009)	Survivors in Space (2011)
Ann Kelso	Jane Slavin	Big Finish Productions audios	The Sinestran Kill (2019)	The Perfect Prisoners (2019)

Fifth Doctor

Companion	Actor	Series	First story	Last story
Gus Goodman	—	Doctor Who Magazine strips	Lunar Lagoon (1983)	The Moderator (1984)
Erimem	Caroline Morris	Big Finish Productions audios	The Eye of the Scorpion (2001)	The Bride of Peladon (2008)
Thomas Brewster	John Pickard		The Haunting of Thomas Brewster (2008)	A Perfect World (2008)
Abby	Ciara Janson		The Judgement of Isskar (2009)	The People Made of Smoke (2021)^[nb 59]
Hannah Bartholomew	Francesca Hunt		Moonflesh (2014)	Masquerade (2014)
Brooke	Joanna Horton		The Lady in the Lake (2018)	The Furies (2018)
Marc	George Watkins		Tartarus (2019)	Nightmare of the Daleks (2021)

Sixth Doctor

Companion	Actor	Series	First story	Last story
Frobisher	Robert Jezek	Doctor Who Magazine strips	The Shape Shifter (1984)	The World Shapers (1987)^[nb 60]
Grant Markham	—	Virgin Missing Adventures	Time of Your Life (1995)	Killing Ground (1996)
Evelyn Smythe	Maggie Stables	Big Finish Productions audios	The Marian Conspiracy (2000)	Thicker than Water (2005)^[nb 61]
Charley Pollard^[nb 62]	India Fisher		The Condemned (2007)	Blue Forgotten Planet (2009)
Thomas Brewster	John Pickard		The Crimes of Thomas Brewster (2011)	Industrial Evolution (2011)
Flip Jackson	Lisa Greenwood		The Curse of Davros (2012)^[nb 63]	TBC
Constance Clarke	Miranda Raison		Criss-Cross (2015)	TBC
Hebe Harrison	Ruth Madeley		The Rotting Deep (2022)	TBC

Seventh Doctor

Companion	Actor	Series	First story	Last story
Frobisher	Robert Jezek	Doctor Who Magazine strips	A Cold Day in Hell! (1987–88)
Olla	—		A Cold Day in Hell! (1987–88)	Redemption! (1988)
Bernice Summerfield	Lisa Bowerman	Virgin New Adventures	Love and War (1992)	Happy Endings (1996)^[nb 64]
Roz Forrester	Yasmin Bannerman		Original Sin (1995)	So Vile a Sin (1997)
Chris Cwej	Travis Oliver			Lungbarrow (1997)
Hex Schofield	Philip Olivier	Big Finish Productions audios	The Harvest (2004)	Signs and Wonders (2014)
Elizabeth Klein	Tracey Childs		A Thousand Tiny Wings (2010)^[nb 65]	Daleks Among Us (2013)^[nb 66]
Lysandra Aristedes	Amy Pemberton		Project: Destiny (2010)	Gods and Monsters (2012)
Raine Creevy	Beth Chalmers		Crime of the Century (2011)^[nb 67]	UNIT: Dominion (2012)^[nb 68]
Sally Morgan	Maggie O'Neill		House of Blue Fire (2011)	Afterlife (2013)^[nb 69]
Will Arrowsmith	Christian Edwards		Persuasion (2013)	Daleks Among Us (2013)
Naomi Cross	Eleanor Crooks		London Orbital (2022)	TBC

Eighth Doctor

Companion	Actor	Series	First story	Last story
Stacy Townsend	—	Radio Times strips	Dreadnought (1996)	Coda (1997)
Ssard	—
Izzy Sinclair	Jemima Rooper	Doctor Who Magazine strips	Endgame (1996)	Oblivion (2002–03)
Fey Truscott-Sade	—		Tooth and Claw (1997)	Wormwood (1998)
Destrii	—		Ophidius (2001)	The Flood (2004–05)
Bernice Summerfield	Lisa Bowerman	Virgin New Adventures	The Dying Days (1997)^[nb 70]
Sam Jones	—	Eighth Doctor Adventures	The Eight Doctors (1997)	Interference – Book Two (1999)
Fitz Kreiner	Matt Di Angelo		The Taint (1999)	The Gallifrey Chronicles (2005)
Compassion	Jackie Skarvellis		Interference – Book One (1999)	The Ancestor Cell (2000)^[nb 71]
Anji Kapoor	—		Escape Velocity (2001)	Timeless (2003)^[nb 72]
Trix MacMillan	—		Time Zero (2002)	The Gallifrey Chronicles (2005)
Charley Pollard^[nb 62]	India Fisher	Big Finish Productions audios	Storm Warning (2001)	The Girl Who Never Was (2007)
C'rizz^[nb 62]	Conrad Westmaas		The Creed of the Kromon (2004)	Absolution (2007)
Lucie Miller^[nb 62]	Sheridan Smith		Blood of the Daleks (2007)	To the Death (2011)^[nb 73]
Mary Shelley	Julie Cox		The Company of Friends (2009)	Army of Death (2011)
Tamsin Drew^[nb 62]	Niky Wardley		Situation Vacant (2010)	To the Death (2011)^[nb 74]
Molly O'Sullivan^[nb 62]	Ruth Bradley, Sorcha Cusack		The Great War (2012)	Rule of the Eminence (2014)^[nb 75]
Liv Chenka	Nicola Walker		The Traitor (2014)^[nb 76]	TBC
Helen Sinclair	Hattie Morahan		The Red Lady (2015)	TBC
Josie Day	—	Titan Comics	The Pictures of Josephine Day (2015)	A Matter of Life and Death (2016)
Bliss	Rakhee Thakrar	Big Finish Productions audios	The Starship of Theseus (2017)	Restoration of the Daleks (2020)
Tania Bell	Rebecca Root		Lost Property (2020)	Best Year Ever (2022)
Andy Davidson	Tom Price		Must-See TV (2020)	Best Year Ever (2022)
Alex Campbell	Sonny McGann		Meanwhile, Elsewhere (2023)^[nb 77]	TBC

War Doctor

Companion	Actor	Series	First story	Last story
Cinder	—	New Series Adventures	Engines of War (2014)
Cardinal Ollistra	Jacqueline Pearce	Big Finish Productions audios	The Innocent (2015)	The Enigma Dimension (2017)
Case	Ajjaz Awad		Consequences (2021)	TBC

Ninth Doctor

Companion	Actor	Series	First story	Last story
Tara Mishra	—	Titan Comics	Official Secrets (2016)	The Bidding War (2017)
Nova	Camilla Beeput	Big Finish Productions audios	Sphere of Freedom (2021)	Food Fight (2021)

Tenth Doctor

Companion	Actor	Series	First story	Last story
Majenta Pryce	—	Doctor Who Magazine strips	Thinktwice (2008)^[nb 78]	The Crimson Hand (2009–10)
Heather McCrimmon	—	Doctor Who Adventures strips	The Chromosome Connection (2009)	Dead-line (2010)^[nb 79]
Wolfgang Ryter	—		Flight of the Giurgeax (2009)	Bad Wolfie (2009)^[nb 80]
Matthew Finnegan	—	IDW Publishing comics	Silver Scream (2009)	Final Sacrifice (2010)
Emily Winter	—
Gabby Gonzalez	—	Titan Comics	Revolutions of Terror (2014)	The Good Companion (2018)
Cindy Wu	—		Arena of Fear (2014)^[nb 81]
Anubis	—		Breakfast at Tyranny's (2017)^[nb 82]
Anya Kingdom	Jane Slavin	Big Finish Productions audios	Buying Time (2021)	The Triumph of Davros (2021)
Mark Seven	Joe Sims

Eleventh Doctor

Companion	Actor	Series	First story	Last story
Kevin	—	IDW Publishing comics	When Worlds Collide (2011)	Space Squid (2011)
Decky Flamboon	—	Doctor Who Adventures strips	Meteorite Meeting (2012)	The Tail of Decky Flamboon (2013)
Alice Obiefune	—	Titan Comics	After Life (2014)	Without a Paddle (2018)
John Jones	—		What He Wants... (2014)	The Scream (2017)
ARC	—		Whodunnit (2014)	The Comfort of the Good (2015)
Abslom Daak	—		The Then and the Now (2015)	Physician, Heal Thyself (2016)
The Squire	—		The Then and the Now (2015)	Gently Pulls the Strings (2016)
The Sapling	—		The Scream (2018)	Hungry Thirsty Roots (2018)
Valarie Lockwood	Safiyya Ingar	Big Finish Productions audios	The Inheritance (2022)	TBC

Twelfth Doctor

Companion	Actor	Series	First story	Last story
Hattie Munroe	—	Titan Comics	"The Twist" (2016)	"Beneath the Waves" (2017)
Jess Collins	—	Doctor Who Magazine strips	"The Pestilent Heart" (2016)	"Doorway to Hell" (2017)
Maxwell Collins	—		"Moving In" (2016)
Jata	—	Doctor Who Adventures strips	"From the Horse's Mouth" (2016)	"Killer App" (2017)
Alex Yow	—	Big Finish Productions audios	"The Lost Angel"	"The Lost Flame"
Brandon Yow	—
Keira Sanstrom	Bhavnisha Parmar		"Flight to Calandra" (2021)	"The Weight of History" (2021)

Fugitive Doctor

Companion	Actor	Series	First story	Last story
Taslo	—	Titan Comics	Origins (2022)

Deaths of companions

A few of the companions have died during the course of the series. In The Daleks' Master Plan, Katarina sacrificed herself by opening her airlock to save the others from the mad fugitive Kirksen, and was blown into the vacuum of space. In the same serial, Sara Kingdom was rapidly aged to dust by a Time Destructor. While Adric attempted to divert a spaceship from crashing into Earth, a Cyberman destroyed the controls; they hurtled through time and crashed into the planet, creating the Chicxulub crater and causing the K-Pg extinction event (this fulfilled Silurians' prophecy and facilitated the evolution of mammals).^[91] The android Kamelion, after coming under the Master's control, convinced the Doctor to destroy him, and the Doctor complied.^[92] Astrid Peth sacrificed herself to kill Max Capricorn, saving the lives of millions aboard the interstellar space liner RMS Titanic and in the greater London area.^[93] Before River Song's formal companionship began, she sacrificed herself in order to save those trapped in the Library's computer servers' simulations.^[94] The Doctor uploaded her "data ghost" into the library servers, from which she later is able to communicate across time and space with Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint, Strax, and Clara Oswald in "The Name of the Doctor". Adelaide Brooke killed herself after the Doctor altered the timeline by rescuing her; this ensured that her descendants would explore the galaxy and the wider universe as originally destined.^[42] Rory Williams is touched by a Weeping Angel in 2012 and sent back in time.^[95] With the encouragement of her daughter, River Song, and against the Doctor's pleas, Amy Pond allows herself to be touched by the same Angel in the hope of being reunited with her husband in the past. She is successful, and they grow old together in New York City, die, and are buried in Queens on the spot from which they will later be sent back in time in 2012.^[95] In fighting the Ice Governess in the final hour of Christmas Eve 1892, a Victorian era incarnation of Clara Oswald falls off of the cloud on which the TARDIS was parked, plummeting to the ground.^[96] Another incarnation of Clara Oswald (named Oswin Oswald) dies in "Asylum of the Daleks"; the character disabling the planet's shielding thus enabling the Doctor, Amy Pond and Rory Williams to escape.^[97]

Not all companion deaths have been permanent however. Jack Harkness resurrects after each death, having been made immortal by Rose Tyler in "The Parting of the Ways". Rory Williams suffered several deaths, each of which was negated by alternate timelines, paradoxes, resurrection by advanced alien medicine, or the rebooting of the universe. Clara Oswald dies in "Face the Raven", but in a subsequent episode ("Hell Bent") her time stream is frozen at the moment of death by the Time Lords so that they can interrogate her about the Hybrid; the Doctor takes advantage of this to save her life, but she remains technically neither alive nor dead, does not age or have a pulse. After her departure as a companion of the Twelfth Doctor, she teams with the immortal Ashildr and travels in a stolen TARDIS.

Other companions died in alternate timelines or alternate lives. Brigade Leader Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, Section Leader Liz Shaw, and Platoon Leader John Benton all died in the destruction of their universe's Earth.^[98] Sarah Jane Smith, her son Luke Smith, Maria Jackson and Clyde Langer perished while trying to stop the Plasmavore and the Judoon in Royal Hope Hospital on the Moon in the parallel universe of "Turn Left". In the same story, Martha Jones suffocated after giving up her oxygen to classmate/co-worker Oliver Morgenstern while on the Moon. Teenaged Sarah Jane Smith also died after falling from a pier in place of her friend, Andrea Yates; Maria Jackson convinces the adult Yates to correct the timeline, restoring Sarah Jane to life.^[99] After surviving decades in an alien hospice that is deadly to humans, Amy Pond compels Rory Williams to lock her out of the TARDIS in order to protect her younger self and allow the latter to have the life with Rory that the former missed.^[100] Amy and Rory jointly jumped off of a high-rise in New York on a hunch that doing so would create a paradox and deliver themselves from that timeline.^[95]

Several other companions have died subsequent to their companionships. Sir Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart's death months earlier was revealed in "The Wedding of River Song", and he was later remembered fondly by his daughter and the Eleventh Doctor.^[101] When the series was relaunched in 2005, the Doctor believed himself to be the only Time Lord to have survived the Last Great Time War, indicating that he believes that Susan Foreman and Romana were killed, and that Leela, who settled on Gallifrey,^[21] was lost when that planet was destroyed in the Last Great Time War. However, the fiftieth anniversary episode "The Day of the Doctor" reveals that the planet still exists in a separate pocket universe, leaving their fates uncertain. In 2050, Sarah Jane Smith is implied to be dead by Rani Chandra in "The Mad Woman in the Attic"; this is later to have been confirmed to have occurred before 2023 in "The Giggle". Vicki left the First Doctor circa 1250 BCE and passed into legend as Cressida.^[102]

List of companion deaths

During the course of the show's history, there have been a few occasions when companions have died while on adventures with the Doctor. They are:

• Katarina, killed in episode 4 of The Daleks' Master Plan when she opens the airlock of a spaceship after being taken hostage by a convict.
• Sara Kingdom, is killed in episode 12 of The Daleks' Master Plan when she undergoes extreme aging as a side-effect of the First Doctor's activation of a "Time Destructor" device.^[103]
• Adric dies at the end of Episode 4 of Earthshock, while trying to prevent the explosion of a bomb-laden space freighter in Earth's atmosphere.
• Kamelion, an android companion, is destroyed by the Fifth Doctor in Episode 4 of Planet of Fire as an act of mercy after Kamelion is taken over by the Master and asks the Doctor to destroy him.
• K-9 Mark III sacrifices himself in "School Reunion" in order to save the Doctor and his friends from a group of aliens. The subsequent K-9 Mark IV that the Doctor leaves with Sarah Jane tells her that the Mark III's files have been transferred to the new machine.
• Astrid Peth sacrifices herself in order to kill Max Capricorn by driving him into a reactor core at the end of "Voyage of the Damned". The Tenth Doctor partially resurrects her and sends her atoms flying into space.
• Adelaide Brooke kills herself in "The Waters of Mars" to preserve a fixed point in time.
• In "The Angels Take Manhattan", Rory Williams and Amy Pond are displaced in time by a Weeping Angel; Amy allows the Angel to send her back so she can be with Rory. A gravestone reveals they died, Amy at the age of 87 and Rory age 82.
• Clara Oswald is killed by a Quantum Shade in "Face the Raven". In "Hell Bent", the Doctor uses Time Lord technology to "extract" Clara from the moment before her death, but it remains a fixed event to which she must eventually return.
• Bill Potts is killed by a technician on a Mondasian colony ship in "World Enough and Time". Bill is then taken to the bottom deck of the ship by half-converted Cybermen and is given a life support implant in her chest. She is later converted to a Cyberman by The Master. In "The Doctor Falls", Bill fights the Cyber-programming and retains herself and her personality in order to help cope with the trauma of the conversion process. She ends up assisting the Doctor with destroying all of the Cybermen including herself and is turned into a Sentient Oil Creature by Heather. The two start traveling the universe together. Bill's memories were kept intact by The Testimony Foundation "Twice Upon a Time".

Only Adric, Amy, Rory, Clara, and Bill were ongoing, "long-term" companions of the Doctor. All others listed either appeared for the first time and died in the same storyline (Sara, Astrid, Adelaide), or died in their second on-screen appearance in a Doctor Who storyline (Katarina, Kamelion, K-9 Mark III).

Others are implied or stated to have died years after parting company with the Doctor.

• The Eleventh Doctor learns of the death of the Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in "The Wedding of River Song" via phone call, coinciding with the death of the actor who portrayed him, Nicholas Courtney.

Mitigated

• In The Trial of a Time Lord, Peri Brown is killed by King Yrcanos in Mindwarp, after her brain has been replaced by that of Kiv, a member of the Mentor race. However, in The Ultimate Foe it is revealed that Peri had not been killed and had instead become Yrcanos's consort.
• Grace Holloway is killed by the Master but revived by the TARDIS's link to the Eye of Harmony during the 1996 television movie.
• Jack Harkness is killed by Daleks but is brought back to life and given immortality by Rose Tyler in "The Parting of the Ways". He has since died numerous times in both Doctor Who and Torchwood, always returning to life soon afterwards. In "Last of the Time Lords" it is implied that Harkness becomes the Face of Boe, who dies peacefully in "Gridlock" after living for billions of years.
• River Song sacrifices herself in "Forest of the Dead" to save the Doctor's life, but he is able to upload a digital copy of her consciousness to the data core. River continues to appear in the series at earlier points in her life, and her post-death consciousness reappears in "The Name of the Doctor".
• Sarah Jane Smith dies as a teenager in an alternate timeline in Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?.
• Rory is also killed by the Silurian Restac at the conclusion of "Cold Blood", sacrificing himself to protect the Doctor. He is subsequently consumed by a crack in time, which wipes him from existence. He reappears in "The Pandorica Opens" as an Auton duplicate, created from Amy Pond's memories, and is restored to his old life along with the rest of the universe in "The Big Bang".
• Rory is shown dying of old age in "The Angels Take Manhattan", in front of himself, Amy, the Eleventh Doctor and his daughter River Song. He and Amy negate the timeline by jumping off a roof, thereby preventing him from being sent further back in time to die of old age downstairs. This kills both him and Amy, but both are resurrected, as the timeline where they died is negated.
• An older version of Amy Pond is killed by a handbot in "The Girl Who Waited" as it gives her medicine it doesn't know will kill her, but her existence is erased when the Doctor and Rory are able to convince her to help them rescue the younger Amy, allowing them to erase the timeline where the older Amy existed.
• Bill Potts is shot and killed by the colony ship's last crewmember in order to halt the advance of the Cybermen in "World Enough and Time" However, she is converted into an original Mondasian Cyberman, and during "The Doctor Falls", Bill is restored to her human form and transformed into a water-like creature by her former love interest Heather, promising to wander the universe with her, an offer she willingly accepts.

Parallel world

• The parallel world from "Turn Left" sees the off-screen deaths of Martha Jones, Sarah Jane Smith, Luke Smith, Maria Jackson, Clyde Langer, Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones of that world, and the onscreen death of Donna Noble.

Spin-off media

A number of TV companions have died in spin-off media. Several spin-off-exclusive characters have also died but this list is only concerned with TV companions:

• Liz Shaw dies in the 1997 Virgin New Adventures novel Eternity Weeps by Jim Mortimore, the victim of an extraterrestrial terraforming virus contracted while part of a UNIT team investigating an alien artefact on the Moon. This is later contradicted by the Sarah Jane Adventures episode "Death of the Doctor" which indicates that Liz Shaw is still alive – although still working on the moon – in 2010; the novel is set in 2003.
• Ace is killed by an explosion in the comic storyline Ground Zero while still a companion of the Seventh Doctor. This is also contradicted by the Sarah Jane Adventures storyline "Death of the Doctor" that indicates she is still alive in 2010, no longer travelling with the Doctor, and running a charity called ACE.
• Jamie McCrimmon dies an elderly man in comic storyline The World Shapers.
• Adam Mitchell is killed by an explosion in the comic storyline Prisoners of Time, sacrificing himself to thwart the Master's attempt to destroy reality and saving all eleven Doctors and their gathered companions.
• Leela dies some time long after Gallifrey is destroyed (it is implied that she survived the Time War) in a trilogy of Big Finish's Companion Chronicles stories, where she is held prisoner by an alien race called the Z'nai.
• In the 2020 web story "Farewell, Sarah Jane", Sarah Jane Smith is said to have died.

See also

•  BBC portal

• List of Doctor Who supporting characters
• List of companions in Doctor Who spin-offs
• List of Doctor Who cast members

Notes

1. Expressed in "The Witch's Familiar", "Before the Flood", "The Girl Who Died", "The Woman Who Lived", and "The Zygon Inversion"
2. Susan travelled with the Doctor prior to the events of An Unearthly Child.
3. Susan leaves the Doctor in The Dalek Invasion of Earth, later appearing in The Five Doctors as companion to the First Doctor (then played by Richard Hurndall).
4. Also makes a cameo appearance in "The Power of the Doctor"
5. Polly and Ben continue travelling with the Doctor following his regeneration in The Tenth Planet.
6. Jamie is played by Hamish Wilson in parts of The Mind Robber episodes 2 and 3, while Frazer Hines was suffering from chickenpox.
7. Jamie returns to his own time in The War Games, but later appears in the Sixth Doctor-era story The Two Doctors, again as the Second Doctor's companion.
8. Also makes a cameo appearance in The Five Doctors
9. First appears in The Web of Fear (as Colonel) and The Invasion alongside the Second Doctor, before appearing as a semi-regular character throughout the Third Doctor's era. He further appears in Robot and Terror of the Zygons alongside the Fourth Doctor, and Mawdryn Undead alongside the Fifth Doctor before serving as the Second Doctor's companion in The Five Doctors. He subsequently appears in The Sarah Jane Adventures story Enemy of the Bane.
10. Jo also appears in The Sarah Jane Adventures story Death of the Doctor (2010), alongside Sarah Jane Smith and the Eleventh Doctor.
11. Sarah continues to travel with the Doctor following his regeneration in Planet of the Spiders, and after her later departure from the series serves as the Third Doctor's companion once more in The Five Doctors.
12. Lethbridge-Stewart appears alongside the Second Doctor as a colonel in The Web of Fear and subsequently as a brigadier in The Invasion.
13. Subsequently appears in Robot, Terror of the Zygons, Mawdryn Undead and Battlefield, and as the Second Doctor's companion in The Five Doctors
14. Darren Plant portrayed John Benton as a baby in The Time Monster, and Steven Stanley did so as a child in the direct-to-video release, Wartime.
15. Benton appears alongside the Second Doctor in The Invasion as Corporal Benton.
16. Subsequently appears with the Fourth Doctor in Robot, Terror of the Zygons and The Android Invasion as WO2 Benton
17. Harry also appears in The Android Invasion
18. The "Mark I" incarnation of K-9, who leaves the Doctor in The Invasion of Time, returns in the independent spin-off series K-9, regenerating into a newer form. A further model of K-9, "Mark III", features in the pilot of K-9 and Company with Sarah Jane Smith, and Doctor Who episode "School Reunion" with the Tenth Doctor and Sarah Jane. Killed and replaced by K-9 Mark IV in the latter episode, he subsequently appears irregularly in The Sarah Jane Adventures, and also the Doctor Who episode "Journey's End".
19. Romana leaves the Doctor in Warriors' Gate, and subsequently reappears as the Fourth Doctor's companion in The Five Doctors (in footage from Shada).
20. Adric, Nyssa and Tegan continue travelling with the Doctor following his regeneration in Logopolis.
21. Nyssa also appears in The Keeper of Traken.
22. Adric also makes a cameo appearance in Time-Flight.
23. Also makes a cameo appearance in The Caves of Androzani
24. Due to problems with the robotic prop, Kamelion was not featured in the five serials between his first and last stories. Planned scenes in The Awakening were cut and never broadcast.
25. Peri continues travelling with the Doctor following his regeneration in The Caves of Androzani.
26. The series never establishes how Mel meets the Doctor, who first appears as part of the Doctor's future. Their first meeting is recounted in the Past Doctor Adventures novel Business Unusual and the Big Finish Productions audio-drama The Wrong Doctors.
27. Mel continues travelling with the Doctor following his regeneration in Time and the Rani.
28. Julia Joyce portrays a young Rose in "Father's Day"
29. Rose continues travelling with the Doctor following his regeneration in "The Parting of the Ways".
30. Rose departs in "Doomsday", and makes brief cameo appearances in "Partners in Crime", "The Poison Sky" and "Midnight" before returning as a companion from "Turn Left" to "Journey's End". She briefly appears in "The End of Time", and in "The Day of the Doctor" as the interface of the Moment device selects an image of Rose to assist the War Doctor.
31. Mickey is introduced in "Rose" as Rose's boyfriend and recurs regularly before becoming a companion.
32. Mickey departs in "The Age of Steel" and re-appears in "Army of Ghosts" / "Doomsday" before returning as a companion in "Journey's End". He also appears in "The End of Time".
33. Introduced in "Doomsday" as "The Bride"
34. After initially refusing to join the Doctor on his travels in "The Runaway Bride", Donna returns as a regular companion from "Partners in Crime". She also appears in "The End of Time".
35. Martha departs in "Last of the Time Lords", but returns from "The Sontaran Stratagem" to "The Doctor's Daughter" and again for "The Stolen Earth" / "Journey's End". She also appears in "The End of Time".
36. Jack rejoins the Doctor in "Utopia" before departing in "Last of the Time Lords", but returns again for "The Stolen Earth" / "Journey's End". He also appears in "The End of Time".
37. Previously appears with the Tenth Doctor in "School Reunion".
38. Also appears in "The End of Time". Additionally, the Doctor appears alongside Sarah Jane in The Sarah Jane Adventures stories The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith and Death of the Doctor, in his Tenth and Eleventh incarnations respectively.
39. Rachel Fewell portrays a younger Adelaide in flashback
40. Wilf is introduced in "Voyage of the Damned" and recurs throughout series 4 as Donna's grandfather. He officially becomes a short-term companion in "The End of Time".
41. Caitlin Blackwood plays a young Amy (as Amelia) in "The Eleventh Hour", "The Big Bang", "Let's Kill Hitler" and "The God Complex", along with archival footage in "The Angels Take Manhattan"
42. Amy and Rory are left by the Doctor in "The God Complex", but appear briefly in "Closing Time" and feature as companions again in "The Wedding of River Song". They appear in the final scene of "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe", before returning as companions from "Asylum of the Daleks".
43. An illusionary Amy appears to the Doctor before his regeneration in "The Time of the Doctor".
44. A younger Rory is played by Ezekiel Wigglesworth in "Let's Kill Hitler".
45. Also appears in "The Eleventh Hour"
46. Rory is killed in "Cold Blood", but returns in "The Pandorica Opens" as an Auton duplicate before being restored to humanity and resuming his travels with the Doctor and Amy in "The Big Bang".
47. Earlier incarnations of River Song (as Melody Pond) are played by Sydney Wade in "The Impossible Astronaut" / "Day of the Moon", and Maya Glace-Green and Nina Toussaint-White in "Let's Kill Hitler".
48. River first appears alongside the Tenth Doctor in "Silence in the Library" / "Forest of the Dead", introduced as a companion from his relative future who calls the Doctor to her aid. Progressively younger versions of River subsequently summon the Eleventh Doctor in "The Time of Angels" / "Flesh and Stone" and "The Pandorica Opens" / "The Big Bang", before the future Doctor summons her to his death in "The Impossible Astronaut".
49. River refuses the Doctor's offer to travel with him permanently in "Day of the Moon". She subsequently features as a companion in "A Good Man Goes to War", "Let's Kill Hitler" and "The Wedding of River Song", and also appears in "Closing Time". She later appears in "The Angels Take Manhattan" and "The Name of the Doctor".
50. Also appears in "The Lodger"
51. Sophie Downham appears as young Clara in the prequel to "The Bells of Saint John", "The Rings of Akhaten" and "The Name of the Doctor".
52. Coleman first appeared as Oswin Oswald in "Asylum of the Daleks", revealed in "The Name of the Doctor" to be one of multiple echoes of Clara distributed across time. In "The Snowmen", Coleman initially plays another echo of Clara, with her original iteration appearing briefly at the end of the episode. The latter Clara joins the Doctor permanently in "The Bells of Saint John".
53. Clara continues traveling with the Doctor following his regeneration in "The Time of the Doctor".
54. Clara dies in "Face the Raven" and appears only as an illusion in "Heaven Sent", before being temporarily rescued from death and appearing as a companion for the final time in "Hell Bent". She subsequently briefly appears in "Twice Upon a Time".
55. Nardole first appears in "The Husbands of River Song" before appearing as a companion from "The Return of Doctor Mysterio".
56. Nardole departs in "The Doctor Falls" before briefly reappearing in "Twice Upon a Time".
57. Also appears in "The Power of the Doctor"
58. Also appears in "Fugitive of the Judoon"
59. Abby (then called Amy) originally travels with the Doctor from The Judgement of Isskar to The Chaos Pool, then reunites with the Doctor in the boxset Wicked Sisters.
60. Frobisher departs the Sixth Doctor off-screen after The World Shapers, but they reunite in the graphic novel The Age of Chaos and the Big Finish Productions audio plays The Holy Terror and The Maltese Penguin.
61. Evelyn's departure from the Sixth Doctor is depicted in flashbacks of Thicker than Water, where she reunites with the Sixth Doctor and new companion Mel. She appears again with the Seventh Doctor in A Death in the Family.
62. Mentioned in The Night of the Doctor.
63. Flip first meets the Doctor in The Crimes of Thomas Brewster and later joins him as a companion from The Curse of Davros to Scavenger. She re-joins the Doctor and new companion Constance in Quicksilver.
64. Bernice departs the Seventh Doctor in Happy Endings, but later appears in Return of the Living Dad, So Vile a Sin, and Eternity Weeps. She rejoins the Seventh Doctor and Ace in the Big Finish Productions audio series The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield.
65. Klein first meets the Doctor and Ace in Colditz and later joins him as a companion in A Thousand Tiny Wings.
66. Klein travels with the Doctor from A Thousand Tiny Wings to The Architects of History. A version of Klein from an alternative timeline meets the Doctor in UNIT: Dominion, travels with him from Persuasion to Daleks Among Us, and encounters him again in Warlock's Cross.
67. Raine makes an earlier appearance in Thin Ice as a baby.
68. Raine travels with the Doctor and Ace and departs off-screen after Earth Aid. She returns as a companion without Ace in UNIT: Dominion.
69. Sally departs in Afterlife and later appears in Signs and Wonders.
70. Bernice meets the Eighth Doctor again in the Big Finish Productions audio plays The Company of Friends and Lies in Ruins.
71. Compassion departs the Doctor in The Ancestor Cell, but later makes appearances in Escape Velocity and The Gallifrey Chronicles.
72. Anji departs the Doctor in Timeless and later makes a cameo appearance in The Gallifrey Chronicles.
73. Lucie departs the Doctor in Death in Blackpool before re-appearing as the Monk's companion in The Book of Kells and The Resurrection of Mars. She later appears alongside the Doctor in Relative Dimensions, Prisoner of the Sun, and Lucie Miller / To the Death.
74. Tamsin departs the Doctor in The Resurrection of Mars to join the Monk. She later appears alongside the Monk in Lucie Miller / To the Death.
75. Molly departs the Doctor in Rule of the Eminence. An older version of Molly played by Sorcha Cusack re-appears in Master of the Daleks and Eye of Darkness.
76. Liv initially appears in Robophobia alongside the Seventh Doctor before joining the Eighth Doctor as a companion in The Traitor.
77. Alex appears alongside the Eighth Doctor in An Earthly Child, Relative Dimensions, and Lucie Miller / To the Death. At the end of Restoration of the Daleks, the Doctor encounters an alternate universe counterpart of Alex who joins him as a companion starting in Meanwhile, Elsewhere.
78. Majenta initially appears in Hotel Historia before joining the Doctor as a companion in Thinktwice.
79. After her departure in Dead-line, Heather makes a guest appearance in Lucky Heather.
80. After his departure in Bad Wolfie, Wolfgang makes a guest appearance in Lucky Heather.
81. Cindy appears in a number of issues as a friend of Gabby's starting from Revolutions of Terror until she finally joins as a companion in Arena of Fear.
82. Anubis appears in a number of issues starting from Spiral Staircase until he finally joins as a companion in Breakfast at Tyranny's.

1. The inclusion of Sara Kingdom as a companion varies; e.g. she does not appear on the BBC website list of companions. However, she is listed as a companion in many other sources.^{[50][51][52][53][54][55][56]}

References

1. Neela Debnath, "Review of Doctor Who ‘An Unearthly Child’ (Series 1)", The Independent blogs, 16 September 2013 4 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 8 October 2013
2. Donaldson, Mark (22 April 2023). "The Doctor And Susan Weren't Doctor Who's First Lead Characters". ScreenRant. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
3. . Canada. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
4. The Handbook: Fourth Doctor p?
5. Brook, Stephen (23 January 2009). "Michelle Ryan guest stars in Doctor Who. But would she make a good companion?". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 1 June 2010. A minor factor in the continual swirl around Doctor Who is that what constitutes a Doctor Who companion is no longer clear. Sure, Rose, Martha, and Donna were all companions. So was Captain Jack. But what about Mickey and Jackie? How do you qualify? Name in the opening credits, regular trips in the Tardis? The Doctor kisses you? I'm no longer sure. Modern TV drama is so difficult.
6. Sherwin, Adam (5 July 2006). "Sidekick whose time has come". The Times. UK. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
7. "BBC Doctor Who Series 4 Characters". Retrieved 1 June 2010.
8. Commentary on DVD of Castrovalva
9. BBC – Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide – Doctor Who: The TV Movie – Details, retrieved 21 April 2013
10. "Partners in Crime"
11. "Flesh and Stone", "Meanwhile, in the TARDIS... 2"
12. "Day of the Moon"
13. "Let's Kill Hitler"
14. "The Wedding of River Song"
15. Sarah Jane Smith has appeared in "School Reunion", "The Stolen Earth", "Journey's End", and "The End of Time". K-9 has appeared in "School Reunion" and "Journey's End".
16. The Dalek Invasion of Earth
17. The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve
18. The Evil of the Daleks
19. The Green Death
20. The Face of Evil
21. The Invasion of Time
22. Logopolis
23. The Awakening
24. Arc of Infinity
25. The Keeper of Traken
26. Mawdryn Undead
27. Planet of Fire
28. The Ultimate Foe
29. The Curse of Fenric
30. Ibid.
31. Battlefield
32. K-9 and Company
33. "The Power of Three", "The Day of the Doctor"
34. Downtime
35. Statement by Mickey Smith to Martha Smith-Jones in "The End of Time"
36. Statement by Sarah Jane Smith to Luke Smith in the epilogue scene of Death of the Doctor part 2
37. Death of the Doctor
38. The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith
39. The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith
40. The Time Monster
41. "Father's Day"
42. "The Waters of Mars"
43. "The Eleventh Hour", "The Big Bang", "Let's Kill Hitler", "The God Complex", "The Angels Take Manhattan"
44. "A Good Man Goes to War", "The Impossible Astronaut", "Day of the Moon", "Let's Kill Hitler"
45. The prequel to "The Bells of Saint John"
46. "Adam"
47. The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith, Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?
48. The direct-to-video spin-off film, Wartime, produced during the interim between the classic and revived eras, showed Benton as a boy during flashback scenes.
49. "Doctor Who, The Snowmen", BBC, retrieved 26 April 2013
50. Robinson, Nigel; Nathan-Turner, John (1981). The Doctor Who Quiz Book. Target Books. pp. 39 and 98. ISBN 0-426-20143-4.
51. Lofficier, Jean-Marc (1994). The Doctor Who Programme Guide Third Edition. Virgin Publishing Ltd. pp. 16, 43 and 45. ISBN 0-426-20342-9.
52. Howe, David J.; Stammers, Mark; Walker, Stephen James (1994). Doctor Who The Handbook – The First Doctor. Virgin Publishing Ltd. p. 297. ISBN 0-426-20430-1.
53. Richards, Justin; Martin, Andrew (1997). Doctor Who The Book of Lists. BBC Books. pp. 13 and 218. ISBN 0-563-40569-4.
54. Pixley, Andrew (16 December 1998). "Doctor Who Magazine". Doctor Who Magazine (272): 21.
55. Campbell, Mark; Duncan, Paul (April 2014). The Pocket Essential Doctor Who. Pocket Essentials. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-1-903047-19-4.
56. Cornell, Paul; Day, M.; Topping, K.; Howe, D. J.; Walker, S. J. (1995). "The Daleks' Master Plan". Doctor Who: Classic Series Episode Guide. BBC. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
57. Haining, Peter (1983). Doctor Who: A Celebration – Two Decades Through Time And Space. Virgin Publishing Ltd. p. 85. ISBN 0-86369-932-4.
58. "Companions". Doctor Who: Classic Series Episode Guide. BBC. 2007. Retrieved 14 September 2007.
59. "BBC – Doctor Who – Classic Series – Companions – Adric".
60. "BBC – Doctor Who – Classic Series – Companions – Nyssa".
61. "BBC – Doctor Who – Classic Series – Companions – Tegan Jovanka".
62. "BBC – Doctor Who – Classic Series – Companions – Vislor Turlough".
63. Nathan-Turner, John (1986). Doctor Who — The Companions. New York: Random House. pp. 18–21. ISBN 978-0-394-88291-8.
64. Howe, David J; Stammers, Mark (1995). Doctor Who — Companions. London: Doctor Who Books. p. 103. ISBN 978-1-85227-582-2.
65. "Doctor Who — Classic Series — Companions — Kamelion". BBC. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
66. "Doctor Who – Classic Series – Companions – Kamelion". BBC.
67. "Press Office – Doctor Who press pack phase six Episode Seven". BBC. 4 May 2005. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
68. "Doctor Who – Captain Jack Harkness – Character Guide". BBC. 28 March 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
69. "Noel natters to DWM". BBC. 21 February 2006. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
70. "Doctor Who – Mickey Smith – Character Guide". BBC. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
71. "Doctor Who – Martha Jones – Character Guide". BBC. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
72. "Companion Piece". BBC News. 14 August 2007. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
73. "Who Should Be So Lucky?". 19 December 2007. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
74. "Confidential at Christmas". Doctor Who Confidential. Season 4. Episode 1. 25 December 2007.
75. "Doctor Who – Sarah Jane Smith – Character Guide". BBC. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
76. Olsen, Anton (21 July 2009). "Who's Your Favorite Doctor Who Companion?". Wired. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
77. Walker, Stephen James (17 December 2008). "Series Overview". Monsters Within: the Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Doctor Who 2008. Tolworth, Surrey, England: Telos Publishing. p. 232. ISBN 978-1-84583-027-4.
78. Cook, Benjamin (9 January 2008). "Sands of time". Radio Times. No. 11–17 April 2009. pp. 16–20.
79. "Ten 'Waters of Mars' teasers". Digital Spy. 30 October 2009. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
80. "Lindsay Duncan to star in second Doctor Who Special of 2009". BBC. 19 February 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
81. Davies, Russell T (7 April 2009). "Dr Who's Easter special". BBC News. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
82. Doctor Who: Best of the Companions (Television production). BBC America. 28 August 2011.
83. Gareth Roberts (24 September 2011). "Open All Hours". Doctor Who Confidential. Series 6. Episode 12. 4:52 minutes in. BBC. The Doctor allows Craig to come along and play the part of his companion [...]
84. K McEwan, Cameron (26 May 2016). "Steven Moffat reveals Pearl Mackie to debut in 2017, her name and when's she's from..." Doctor Who. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
85. "Series 10: Nardole is a Full-Time "Non-Human" Companion". 15 December 2016.
86. Foster, Chuck (1 January 2021). "New companion for Series 13". DoctorWhoNews.net. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
87. Bacon, Thomas (14 September 2022). "Jodie Whittaker's Final Doctor Who Episode Title Revealed". Screen Rant. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
88. Kilbane, Aoife (23 October 2022). "Doctor Who: Here they come..." BBC Media Centre. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
89. "New Doctor Who trailer reveals episode titles for 60th Anniversary Specials ahead of Eurovision Grand Final". BBC. 13 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
90. "Millie Gibson is the new Doctor Who companion, Ruby Sunday". Doctor Who. 18 November 2022.
91. Earthshock
92. The King's Demons
93. "Voyage of the Damned"
94. "Forest of the Dead"
95. "The Angels Take Manhattan"
96. "The Snowmen"
97. "Asylum of the Daleks"
98. Inferno
99. "Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?"
100. "The Girl Who Waited"
101. "The Power of Three"
102. The Myth Makers
103. Doctor Who: Companions, 1995

Bibliography

• David J. Howe, Mark Stammers (1995). Doctor Who: Companions. Virgin Publishing. ISBN 1852275820.

External links

• Guide to classic series companions on the BBC's Doctor Who site