< Doctor Who < Characters

Doctor Who/Characters/Classic Series Companions


Susan "Foreman" (First Doctor)

Oh, grandfather!

Played by: Carole Ann Ford (1963-64, 1983, 1993)

The Doctor's granddaughter. When the series began, she attended Coal Hill School in London as a student for a few months in 1963, posing as a human.

  • The Bus Came Back: While Susan has certainly been on a Long Bus Trip, she did return for one adventure in 1983. There is also an audio adventure featuring her and the Eighth Doctor together, but that's of debatable canon.
  • Human Aliens: From the same race as the Doctor. Never seen regenerating, though.
  • It Runs in The Family
  • Long Bus Trip: Returns briefly in the 20th anniversary special The Five Doctors and the Big Finish audio An Earthly Child.
  • Put on a Bus: Done at the end of the serial "The Dalek Invasion of Earth" where the Doctor leaves her behind so she can marry a nice young resistance fighter and have some stability in her life. She would have stayed with her grandfather out of a sense of obligation if he hadn't.
    • Bus Crash: The Doctor stated he was the Last of His Kind as early as "The End of the World". In the later episodes "The Empty Child", "Fear Her" and "The Doctor's Daughter", the Doctor reminisces about having had children once, and confirms that he considers every last Time Lord dead.
  • Screaming Woman: The original screamer. That was why the actress left the show after only one season - she got tired of this role.
  • Shipper on Deck: The Big Finish Companion Chronicle "Here There Be Monsters" opens with her talking about how she thinks that Ian and Barbara truly belong together.
  • Thicker Than Water: She feels strongly about her duty to her grandfather.

Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton (First Doctor)

Ian: We'd better keep an eye on [the Doctor]. He seems to have a knack of getting himself into trouble.

Played by: Jacqueline Hill and William Russell (1963-65)

Two teachers at Susan's school (history and science, respectively); together with Susan, the first three companions.

Vicki (First Doctor)

Oh, something else I forgot to tell you. I think I've poisoned Nero.

Played by: Maureen O'Brien (1965)

Survivor of a spaceship crash on the planet Dido (so she did go down with the ship...), she was a teenage girl who then traveled with the Doctor. She decided to stay in ancient Troy and married Trolius, becoming Cressida (yep, the one from Greek Mythology).

Steven Taylor (First Doctor)

This is quite a ship you've got here, Doc.

Played by: Peter Purves (1965-66)

A marooned pilot from Earth's future, he eventually leaves the TARDIS to mediate between two opposing factions of humans (or Human Aliens).

  • Companion Cube: His stuffed panda, Hi-Fi. The only thing that kept him sane-ish while stuck on the planet Mechanus for two years.
  • The Lancer
  • What the Hell, Hero?: He berates the Doctor and storms out of the TARDIS after they flee the Massacre of St. Bartholomew and leave a young Protestant girl behind.
  • You Are in Command Now: How he leaves the show. Two factions choose him as their new ruler during their peace negotiations.
  • You Look Familiar: Purves plays a different character in an earlier episode of the same story in which Steven is introduced.

Katarina (First Doctor)

First Doctor: She wanted to save our lives, and perhaps the lives of all other beings of the solar system. I hope she found perfection.

Played by: Adrienne Hill (1965)

Came from ancient Troy and thought the Doctor was a god. Her character was considered too limiting and she only appeared in two stories.

Sara Kingdom (First Doctor)

Played by: Jean Marsh (1965)

Outside of the Expanded Universe, she appared in only one, twelve episode long, story, for seven of its episodes. She was intentionally written to serve in a companion role (taking over from Katarina) but was never intended to be a permanent character. Sara broke the normal companion mold (then and now) and worked as an agent for a sinister solar system-wide governmental security agency run by the human Big Bad. Once she realized her error, she joined the crew of the TARDIS.

  • The Atoner: After she kills her own brother and realizes she has worked for the Big Bad all along, leads to her transitioning into a more normal Action Girl.
  • Dark Action Girl: at least, the story wants to give his impression when she first appears.
  • Expanded Universe: When her one and only (very long) story was novelised, it was split into parts. The second began by saying six months had passed since the first. Various Doctor Who Expanded Universe works have been set in this gap. (The novelizations, incidentally, do not occur in the same continuity as other branches of the EU, or with each other.)
    • Several Big Finish audio dramas featuring her are set after her death. Somehow.
  • Heroic Sacrifice
  • The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Dressed as a badass with a zap gun, but doesn't really do much of anything after her introductory episode.
  • Putting on the Reich: She belongs to the 'SSS, too.
  • You Look Familiar: Jean Marsh had already played a different character, and returned in 1989 to play a third.


Dorothea "Dodo" Chaplet (First Doctor)

Steven: If it isn't allowed, Dodo would be first in the queue!

Played by: Jackie Lane (1966)

Rather a forgotten companion, she waltzed off in "The War Machines" and left a note saying she was staying on her native Earth.

Ben Jackson and Polly (First and Second Doctors)

Ben: The Doctor always wore this. If you are him it should fit... That settles it!
Second Doctor: I'd like to see a butterfly fit into a chrysalis case after it spreads its wings.
Polly: Then you did change.

Played by: Michael Craze and Anneke Wills (1966-1967)

From 1966. The pair - he was a sailor, she was a secretary - helped the Doctor through his first regeneration. They joined and left the TARDIS crew at the same time as each other.

  • The Dulcinea Effect: Ben comes to Polly's assistance when another man at the nightclub won't leave her alone.
  • Good-Looking Privates: Ben in his Able Seaman's uniform.
  • In Harm's Way: When he first appears, Ben's moping every night in the nightclub because he's been given a shore posting.
  • No Name Given: Polly's surname is never mentioned on screen. It's probably "Wright". (In "The Faceless Ones", an alien duplicate of her gave her name as "Michelle Leuppi", but given that she was using a different forename there's no reason to suppose she kept Polly's original surname).
  • Only One Name: Polly's last name was never revealed on screen, but the scripts indicated it to be Wright, which has been adopted by the Doctor Who Expanded Universe. A few reference books in the 1980s gave her last name as Lopez, a mishearing of "Leuppi" as mentioned above.
  • Stay in the Kitchen: Polly gets told to "Go make some coffee" a lot when she asks how she can help. Worse, when they leave the TARDIS crew Ben gets told to find his ship and become an admiral, while Polly should take care of Ben.
  • Totally Radical: Intended by the production team to show the new face of Doctor Who in the swinging mid-sixties.

Jamie McCrimmon (Second Doctor)

Me? Foreign? You're the one that's foreign - I'm Scottish.

Played by: Frazer Hines (1966-69, 1983, 1985); Hamish Wilson (1968)

The longest running male companion. Or the longest running of all if you count by episode instead of by years active. A piper of the Clan McLaren, who came from 18th century Scotland.

  • Ascended Extra: His character wasn't intended to be a companion.
  • Badass: One of the few action oriented companions, and quite keen to get stuck into the action.
  • Battle Cry: "Creag an Tuire!" ("The Boar's Rock", the motto of the McLaren Clan).
  • Brave Scot
  • Fish Out of Temporal Water: To an extent; he was a quick learner.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: One of Jamie's ultimate fates in an Expanded Universe tale penned by Grant Morrison. Many fans were not happy... but most seem to agree that it was a pretty damned badass way to go.[1]
  • Heterosexual Life Partners: He appears in all but the first of Troughton's serials, and this pairing is remembered as one of the best ever.
  • Laser-Guided Amnesia: Had all but his first adventure mind-wiped by the Time Lords.
  • Long Bus Trip: Appeared as a companion to the Sixth Doctor's Big Finish adventures 25 years since his last appearance in the series; 41 years since his last appearance as a Companion proper. This must be some kind of record.[2]
  • Man in a Kilt: He's Scottish, what'd you expect?
  • No Sense of Personal Space: Mostly with the Doctor, but sometimes with the female companions as well.
  • The Nth Doctor: "The Mind Robber" replaced Frazer Hines, for an episode or two, for Hamish Wilson, who looked nothing like him. The story explained this by having him run afoul of a trap in the Land of Fiction that required the Doctor to try to reconstruct his face from a bunch of options (facial features hung on a blackboard), kind of like a Mr. Potato Head. He got it wrong the first time, and fixed it the second time—bringing back Frazer Hines.
  • Security Cling: All the time, especially with the Doctor.

Victoria Waterfield (Second Doctor)

Second Doctor: You look very nice in that dress, Victoria.
Victoria: Thank you. Don't you think it's a bit...
Second Doctor: A bit short? Oh, I shouldn't worry about that. Look at Jamie's.

Played by: Deborah Watling (1967-68, 1993)

A well-brought-up young lady from 1866. Taken in by the Second Doctor after the Daleks blew up her home and exterminated her father.

Brigadier Sir Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Seventh Doctors)

Just once, I'd like to face an alien menace that wasn't Immune to Bullets.

Played by: Nicholas Courtney (1968-75, 1983, 1989, 1993)[3]

Some people consider him a companion, others don't. All acknowledge his significance as a character. The head of UNIT in the 70s (or was it the 80s?), the Brig worked alongside the Doctor and many of his companions in that era and beyond - often defending the Earth from various threats. Retired from UNIT in 1976, though still met up with the Doctor and Sarah Jane (in The Sarah Jane Adventures) on occasion.

Brigadier: In my day, we took on Daleks, Cybermen, Autons, Zygons, and all manner of space thuggery! And it doesn't come more hostile than that!

  • Retired Badass: In SJA, just because he retired doesn't mean he won't remind you of just why he is the Brig.
  • Running Gag: In both Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures, the Brig has a disturbing tendency to be "stranded in Peru" when all the important, UNIT-related alien stuff is going on.
  • Shoot the Dog: Very much so in Doctor Who and the Silurians.
  • The Snark Knight
  • Stiff Upper Lip: No matter whatever weird menace the Universe throws against him, the Brig takes it completely in stride.
  • You Look Familiar: Nicholas Courtney played Bret Vyon in "The Daleks' Master Plan" before he got the role of the Brigadier, making him the only actor to act alongside all seven (eight if you count the audio drama "Minuet in Hell") of the original Doctors at some point in his career.

Zoe Heriot (Second Doctor)

My head has been pumped full of facts and figures which I reel out automatically when needed, but I want to feel things as well.

Played by: Wendy Padbury (1968-69, 1983)

A teenaged astrophysicist from the 21st century (as seen from 1968). Stowed away on board the TARDIS.

Sergeant John Benton (Second, Third and Fourth Doctors)

Played by: John Levene (1968-75)[5]

One of two recurring characters during the UNIT years who were subordinate to the Brigadier, Benton was down-to-Earth and often had common sense that others around him seemed to lack. Apparently killed in action by an android duplicate, it turns out that he retired from UNIT in 1979 and has since become a used car salesman.

Dr. Elizabeth "Liz" Shaw (Third Doctor)

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart: Nonsense. What you need, Doctor, as Miss Shaw herself so often remarked, is someone to pass you your test tubes, and to tell you how brilliant you are.

Played by: Caroline John (1970, 1983, 1993)

The Third Doctor's first assistant when he was exiled to Earth. Scientific advisor to UNIT, before the Doctor showed up and casually took her job. Eventually got her own debatably canon direct-to-video spinoff, P.R.O.B.E., in 1994.

Jo Grant-Jones (Third Doctor)

Third Doctor: I thought you said you took science at A-Level.
Jo: I didn't say I passed.

Played by: Katy Manning (1971-1973)

Assistant to the Third Doctor during his exile on Earth. Ostensibly a scientist, but it's later revealed that a high-placed uncle got her the job.

"I've really got off to a terrific start haven't I? I find the man everybody's looking for, I forget where he is, and I end up by trying to blow you all sky-high."

  • The Ditz
  • Escape Artist: She's a trained escapologist, and can often wriggle her way out of trouble. Thus, while she was hardly immune to being captured, this rarely did the bad guy any good.
  • Faux Action Girl: Was originally meant to be an Emma Peel-Expy—traces of this can be seen in her karate-chopping Sgt Benton in "Terror of the Autons", brandishing a gun in "The Mind of Evil" and her talents as an Escape Artist. Eventually though it became easier for the writers to portray Jo as The Ditz and Damsel in Distress. In fairness Jo was a rookie—she'd been trained as a secret agent, but had no experience.
  • Grandma, What Massive Hotness You Have!: Even Rani points it out! (In The Sarah Jane Adventures)
  • Hair of Gold: She sports the classic 70's "lion-cut" shaggy hairdo.
  • Happily Married: She stayed with Dr. Jones and had seven kids with him. They went on to have thirteen grandchildren.
  • Manic Pixie Dream Girl: A platonic version. Her friendship with the Third Doctor makes him a more open and softer person, and he's noticeably hurt when she leaves him.
  • Ms. Fanservice: Arguably one of the Doctor's hottest companions - her wardrobe of mini-skirts, majorette boots and occasional panty-shots help out....a lot. That and the time Manning posed naked with a Dalek.....
  • Nice Girl
  • Obfuscating Stupidity
  • Plucky Girl: Not many people can politely tell the Master that they aren't going to let themselves be hypnotized again.
  • The Power of Love: Gigantic invincible intergalactic demon about to wipe out mankind? No problem.
  • Walking the Earth: It's what she's been doing since she got married. She travels everywhere and stages protests with her huge family.
  • The Watson
  • Wide-Eyed Idealist
  • Will They or Won't They?: She enjoys a mild flirtation with Mike Yates and in "The Curse of Peladon", she's all ready to go out on a date with him, until the Doctor whisks her away.

Captain Mike Yates (Third and Fourth Doctors)

Played by: Richard Franklin (1971-74, 1983)

A recurring character during the UNIT years, Mike Yates was one of several subordinates to the Brigadier over the years. He left UNIT in shame, however, after being brainwashed and forced to assist with the destruction of the modern era with dinosaurs of all things. Yates returned once more for the final Third Doctor tale, but it is currently unknown if he rejoined UNIT after or simply faded into obscurity.

Sarah Jane [6] Smith (Third, Fourth and Tenth Doctors [7])

Sarah Jane: So, providing we don't burn up on re-entry and aren't suffocated on the way down, we'll probably be smashed to a pulp when we land.
Fourth Doctor: Exactly. Sarah, you've put your finger on the one tiny flaw in our plan.
Sarah Jane: Our plan? It's your plan!

Played by: Elisabeth Sladen (1973-76, 1983, 1993, 2006, 2008, 2010)[8]

A journalist from South Croydon, who met the Doctor while posing as her virologist aunt Lavinia. Perhaps the most archetypal companion (many older fans grew up with her as their companion), and the longest-serving if you count by number of serials. So popular that she got two spinoffs: the didn't-go-anywhere K-9 and Company (1981), and the much more successful The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007-2011).

Harry Sullivan (Fourth Doctor)

Fourth Doctor: Harry Sullivan is an imbecile!!!

Played by: Ian Marter (1974-75)

A brief companion of the Fourth Doctor, the character was brought in just in case the Doctor cast was an elderly Doctor rather than… well… Tom Baker. As such, Harry was fairly redundant in some ways, but the bumbling naval officer is still fondly remembered for his chemistry with Tom Baker and Lis Sladen, making up one of the most memorable TARDIS teams.

Leela of the Sevateem (Fourth Doctor)

Don't worry, Doctor. I found the answer: knife them in the neck!

Played by: Louise Jameson (1977-78, 1993)

A human Noble Savage, descendant of an ill-fated colonization expedition. Primarily remembered for her Fan Service leotard and trying to kill anything that looked hostile - however, though she was (initially) quite ignorant, she was not stupid and made up for her inferior intellect with her own insights and Simpleminded Wisdom.

K-9 (Fourth and Tenth Doctors)

I am not a dog. I dislike the terms "heel", "sit", and "boy".

Voiced by: John Leeson (1977-79, 1980-81, 1983, 1993, 2006, 2008); David Brierley (1979-80)

The first robot-buddy of the franchise, hailing from the 51st century. Shared a spinoff with Sarah Jane Smith and is a recurring character on The Sarah Jane Adventures, being a regular for series 3. Also got his own Australian-made spinoff, K9.

Rose: It looks so...disco.
Tenth Doctor: Oi! In the year 5000 this was cutting-edge!

Romana (1978-81, 1983, 1993) (Fourth Doctor)

Fourth Doctor: Well, here we are. We've tracked him to his lair.
Romana I: Yes, we've got him exactly where he wants us.

A Time Lord, or more properly a Time Lady, like the Doctor, and therefore has multiple regenerations. (Two were seen onscreen, dubbed Romana I and Romana II by fans; the Expanded Universe added a third.) Sent to assist the Doctor in the search for the Key To Time, she was initially what one would call "book-smart": extremely well-educated (her academic record trounced the Doctor's), but quite young and with little practical experience.

Tropes common to both incarnations

Romana I

Romana I: You have absolutely no sense of responsibility whatsoever!
The Doctor: What?
Romana I: You're capricious, arrogant, self-opinionated, irrational, and you don't even know where we're going!
The Doctor: Exactly!

Played by: Mary Tamm (1978-79)

A tall, leggy, dark-haired woman; the initial concept of her was a "Grace Kelly" sort of character. Could be called "the skirt Romana", preferring these.

Romana II

The Doctor: Psst, you are wonderful.
Romana II: Suppose I am. I've never really thought about it.

Played by: Lalla Ward (1979-81, 1983, 1993)

Shorter, with strawberry blonde hair. Preference for trousers rather than skirts.

  • Bifauxnen: At times.
  • Catholic School Girls Rule: Wears a very St Trinian's style uniform in the "City of Death" serial. Lalla Ward, judging by interviews and the production notes, came up with the idea and had no concept it was a fetish.
  • Expanded Universe: several novels and audio dramas have attempted to explain why Romana regenerated into the Lalla Ward version. These range from the short story "The Lying Old Witch in the Wardrobe" suggesting the TARDIS forced her to in a fit of jealousy (after impersonating Romana during the events of Destiny of the Daleks), to other ideas.
  • Gendered Outfit: Wore a pink version of The Doctor's outfit.
  • I Choose to Stay: After three serials of trying to get out of E-Space, she decides to stay at the end of "Warriors' Gate" to help a race of enslaved time-traveling lion people.
  • Lady of Adventure: More keen on adventuring than her first incarnation.
  • Nerves of Steel: An adventurous Time Lady like her picked them up really quickly after jousting against The Daleks
  • Never Found the Body
  • Romance on the Set: With Tom Baker.
  • Sorting Algorithm of Deadness: She gets a 1.833333.
  • Wholesome Crossdresser: Although she just likes men's clothes rather than actually being a transvestite. Described in one DVD extra as the only woman who could pull off wearing a fruit salad on her head.
  • You Look Familiar: The actress was a guest star as Princess Astra of Atrios in the story immediately preceding her debut. This was referenced in-story as Romana choosing that form to regenerate into.

Adric (Fourth and Fifth Doctors)

Could anyone pass the sodium chloride, please?

Played by: Matthew Waterhouse (1980-82)

A snotty teenage maths geek from E-Space, annoying in the way that snotty teenage geek-boys usually are, but a well-meaning kid all the same. He is most notable for being the longest serving companion to be killed off.

Nyssa of Traken (Fourth and Fifth Doctors)

Do you have any books on telebiogenesis?

Played by: Sarah Sutton (1981-83)

Daughter of Tremas, who got his body possessed by the Master at the end of Fourth Doctor serial The Keeper of Traken. Famous for the skirt removal bit in Terminus, which the actor herself has described as "a gift to the fans". One of the more accomplished TARDIS pilots among the companions; she was even able to fly it solo (with assists from Tegan in Castrovalva and Adric in The Visitation).

Tegan Jovanka (Fourth and Fifth Doctors)

Fifth Doctor: How do you feel now?
Tegan: Groggy, sore, and bad-tempered.
Fifth Doctor: Almost your old self, then!

Played by: Janet Fielding (1981-84)

A brash |Australian, inadvertently kidnapped from 1981 just as she was about to start a new job as a flight attendant. Created to help sell the show to Australia. Once described herself as "just a mouth on legs". One of a very few companions seen to pilot the TARDIS, albeit not very well. Longest-serving companion if you count by consecutive years active.

  • Eighties Hair: The short, Sheena Easton variety.
  • Beam Me Up, Scotty: Tegan's supposed fondness for using "Rabbits!" as a swear word. She actually only uses it twice.
  • The Cat Came Back: The Doctor eventually got her back to where she wanted to be (Heathrow, about to start her new job), but several months too late. She returns in the next season, having lost her job before she even arrived and managed to find the TARDIS again (by accident).
  • Demonic Possession: Guess who becomes the Mara's host both times it shows up?
  • Department of Redundancy Department: "How do we find the index file? Of course, if we had an index file, we could look it up in the index file under 'index file'! What am I saying?!"
  • Line-of-Sight Name: How the character was named. Nathan-Turner was either going to choose Tegan, for an Australian friend's niece, or Jovanka, after the wife of Yugoslavian president Josip Broz Tito. Script-editor Christopher H. Bidmead read Tegan as the first name and Jovanka as the last name. The rest, as they say, is history.
  • Odd Friendship: With Nyssa.
  • Plucky Girl
  • Sexy Stewardess
  • Tsundere: Heavily Type A, the deredere being nearly vestigial.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: Type 2 with Adric. They seem to care as much as they bicker, especially when one of them gets captured (or killed).

Vislor Turlough (Fifth Doctor)

What is it about Earth people that makes them think a futile gesture is a noble one?

Played by: Mark Strickson (1983-84)

An alien noble exiled to Earth after a revolution on his planet, Turlough is posing as an English schoolboy when the Doctor meets him. While the Doctor and Turlough have had their differences, Turlough eventually grew to consider the Doctor his closest friend. Just don't expect him to admit it.

Kamelion (Fifth Doctor)

Unexpected as it may be, I do have a mind of my own.

Voiced by: Gerald Flood (1983-84)[10]

A shape-changing robot that the Master acquired as a sort of souvenir from the planet Xeriphas, this character quite literally vanished into the TARDIS rather than becoming a Companion, and is almost always forgotten. This, in itself, is not necessarily a bad thing. Showed up in "The King's Demons" as a villain and puppet of the Master, got cut from an appearance in "The Awakening" and made a final appearance in "Planet of Fire".

Perpugilliam "Peri" Brown (Fifth and Sixth Doctors)

The Master: I am the Master!
Peri: So what? I'm Perpugilliam Brown, and I can shout just as loud as you can!

Played by: Nicola Bryant: (1984-86)

The series' only regular American companion (supposedly), Peri was a botany student who stumbled into the TARDIS while she was on holiday. Has developed a lot of attention from male fans due to her tendency to wear tight clothes.

  • Eighties Hair
  • Abhorrent Admirer: Peri has an unfortunate knack for attracting lustful weirdos, such as Sharaz Jek and the Borad.
  • Abusive Parents: She has a nightmare about her step-father in her first appearance: fans were left to draw their own (generally unpleasant) conclusions.
  • Absolute Cleavage: Just ask Peter Davison. Some of her wardrobe is actually modest though.
  • Break the Cutie: The Expanded Universe seems to delight in doing this to poor Peri. One tale winds up killing off her entire family. And not just that, but it was an utter afterthought in a story's epilogue where Peri had already lost some people who were like family to her.
    • Another "perfect" example deals with the alternate possibilities coming from her final appearances. Resurrected from her death on Thoros Beta by the Time Lords and accidentally copied from her ending with King Yrcanos. Now, Peri was returned to her life on Earth with only the memories of her first trip with the Doctor. This Peri wound up marrying her high school sweetheart... and is abused repeatedly by her 'perfect husband.' Unable to have children, Peri slowly gets used to the idea of having a messed-up life... only to have it dragged out by a run-in with her old self. It's a real mood-switcher. For those who care, there are four others out there - including the Peri who wound up with King Yrcanos. Not only does the EU like screwing with Peri, but Big Finish likes messing with continuity.
  • The Ditz: Season 22, mostly. Luckily, she improved drastically in her last season, not to mention her audio adventures.
  • Form-Fitting Wardrobe
  • Know Your Vines: Peri is a botanist, but rarely gets the opportunity to show it.
  • Male Gaze: Her introduction.
  • Ms. Fanservice: Her aforementioned tight wardrobe. Which was a bit unfair on poor Ms. Bryant, as both she and Colin have pointed out in more than one commentary that England can be really cold.
  • Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: A lot. Really hard. To the point that some American viewers have had to Google her to figure out where she was meant to be from.
    • The accent was also problematic because the production team had Nicola Bryant present herself as being an American just like Peri.
  • Parent Service: Another blatant example like Leela before her.
  • Plucky Girl
  • Shouldn't Peri Be Back In School Right Now?: Depending on what her fate really is. See the alternate possibilities above.
  • Tsundere: A Type B with the Sixth Doctor. Also an example of Vitriolic Best Buds (Type 2).

Melanie "Mel" Bush (Sixth and Seventh Doctors)

AAAIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Played by: Bonnie Langford (1986-87)

A computer programmer from Brighton, Mel was well known both for having a particularly piercing scream and being obsessive about her health (and the Doctor's, for that matter).


Dorothy, aka "Ace" (Seventh Doctor)

Seventh Doctor: I don't believe you've met my young friend Ace, an expert in calorification,[12] incineration,[13] carbonization,[14] and inflammation.[15]

Played by: Sophie Aldred (1987-89)

A "typical" late-eighties teenager rescued from an ice planet where she was working as a waitress (long story). Notable as one of the relatively few classic series girls who actively attempted to beat up the monsters rather than scream at them. She also liked to deploy her favourite weapon, a homemade explosive she called Nitro-9. Always called the Doctor "Professor", even after he asked her not to. This started out as an example of her anti-authority bent, then turned into an affectionate nickname between them.

  • Eighties Hair
  • Aborted Arc: According to Word of God, had the show not been placed on hiatus, the Doctor would have enrolled Ace in the Time Lord Academy so she could undergo training to become a Time Lord. Oh yes.
    • Her eventual fate is finally alluded to in the Sarah Jane Adventures. When listing what her research has revealed about various companions, Sarah Jane mentions a woman named Dorothy who runs a charity called A Charitable Earth which has raised billions.
  • Anti-Hero: Type II
  • Badass: She once beat up a Dalek. With a baseball bat. Inspired the Crowning Moment of Awesome trope.
  • Broken Bird: The girl had "issues".
  • Butch Lesbian: According to writer Rona Munro, anyway. Ace occasionally has chemistry with male guest stars (notably Captain Soren in "The Curse of Fenric"), but it's much more common with the ladies.
  • Catch Phrase: Enjoyed shouting "Ace!" (meaning "cool"). Since this is also her nickname, it almost seems like she is engaging in Pokémon-Speak.
    • She said "Wicked!" so often that the Doctor himself was inspired to say it once.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: The epitome of this trope, to the point where the type of Doctor Ace really needs is a therapist.
  • Expanded Universe: has established that her full name is Dorothy Gale McShane.
  • Girl of the Week: The children's TV Word of Gay version. Ace appeared in nine stories, and rapidly established a close friendship with an attractive young female character in at least five of them.
  • Gosh Dang It to Heck: Much of the Totally Radical comes from the writers' attempts to have her insult people or express emotion without swearing.
  • Mad Bomber: She's very quick to whip out those homemade explosives of hers. The Doctor is more than aware of this.

Seventh Doctor: "ACE! Hand me some of that Nitro-9 you're not carrying."

  • Meaningful Name: Her name's Dorothy, and she ends up in the future by a "time storm". Does this remind you of anything?
    • Taken further via Word of God: her middle name is "Gale".
  • The Nicknamer: She's best known for calling the Doctor "Professor", but she invented names for other characters as well. Mel ended up as "Doughnut".
  • No Name Given: Her surname is not given in any canon source, but audios use Dorothy Gale McShane.
  • Psycho Sidekick: Subverted, in that a vague description of the dynamic between them would make Ace seem like a Psycho Sidekick, but the Seventh Doctor is much more ruthless than she is, in a less personally violent way.
    • Especially in "The Curse of Fenric" where the Doctor cruelly calls her an "emotional cripple". It's in order to save her life by forcing her to lose faith in him so the big bad can't destroy the world. But it's still a pretty nasty thing to do to a character established as carrying a lot of emotional baggage.
  • Really Gets Around: Not on television, but in the Expanded Universe books, Ace seems to shag someone in every novel.
  • Stable Time Loop: She meets her grandmother, causing her own existence.
  • Supporting Protagonist: When Andrew Cartmel tried to re-instil some mystery into The Doctor and made him a conniving Chessmaster, Ace ended up getting the most character development of any companion from the classic series.
  • Tomboy
  • Totally Radical: Try and listen to some of the dialogue and the slang she uses without cringing. Go on. We dare you.
  • Weapon of Choice: Explosives!
  • Wholesome Crossdresser: In Ghost Light.

Dr. Grace Holloway (Eighth Doctor)

Doctor, I only have one life. Can you try to keep that in mind?

Played by: Daphne Ashbrook (1996)

Only on-screen companion of the Eighth Doctor, Grace also has the dubious distinction of having killed the Doctor. She's a cardiologist from 1999 with a fondness for opera.

"I finally meet the right guy... and he's from another planet!"

  1. ↑ In fact, it was the most beloved story from Doctor Who Magazine that year. Go figure.
  2. ↑ Well, Frazer winds up playing a fictional version of Jamie back in the Land of Fiction ... but that's fine, he's got all the same memories of Jamie. Awesome.
  3. ↑ and more Expanded Universe and Whoniverse guest appearances than you can shake a stick at
  4. ↑ Unlike Jamie, though, this was the real Zoe. But she doesn't remain.
  5. ↑ a very young Darren Plant played the baby incarnation of Benton in The Time Monster.
  6. ↑ Frequently called Sarah in the classic series, but insists on "Sarah Jane" by The Sarah Jane Adventures series 2
  7. ↑ After a guest appearance in series 2, she briefly returns as a companion for the series 4 finale. Also technically a companion of the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors in The Sarah Jane Adventures
  8. ↑ Plus two spin-off shows, and more Expanded Universe appearances than we can list sensibly...
  9. ↑ No, a literal one of medicine
  10. ↑ Over 6 episodes.
  11. ↑ Paul Cornell did bring back Kamelion for the Big Finish "Circular Time" audio drama, in a short episode that delves into the Fifth Doctor's rather unusual Regeneration scene.
  12. ↑ setting things on fire
  13. ↑ setting things on fire
  14. ↑ setting things on fire
  15. ↑ setting things on fire
This article is issued from Allthetropes. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.