COMPANION ROLL CALL: THE 1960s
played by WILLIAM RUSSELL
First regular Doctor Who appearance: An Unearthly Child Episode 1 (1963)
Final regular Doctor Who appearance: The Chase Episode 6 (1965)
Thanks to his starring role in Sir Lancelot, William Russell Enoch was a familiar face on British television by the time he was cast as Ian Chesterton. With a career spanning six decades, Russell has worked extensively in the theatre and on TV, appearing as Ted Sullivan in Coronation Street in the 1990s.
History teacher Ian was a dependable, heroic and loyal member of the TARDIS crew – even if the Doctor did abduct him! Always willing to tackle any new monstrous threat, Ian enjoyed his travels, but when the opportunity came to return to Earth, he took it without hesitation.
And another thing: Russell almost returned in 1983’s Mawdryn Undead, although scheduling conflicts meant that the role was rewritten for the Brigadier.
played by JACQUELINE HILL
First regular Doctor Who appearance: An Unearthly Child Episode 1 (1963)
Final regular Doctor Who appearance: The Chase Episode 6 (1965)
Jacqueline Hill worked on stage and screen before and after Doctor Who, collaborating with her future husband, director Alvin Rakoff on a 1957 TV play for which she recommended Sean Connery for a role. She guest starred in 1980 Doctor Who story Meglos, and her final screen role was as Mrs Mallard-Greene in Paradise Postponed, again directed by her husband. She passed away in 1993.
Barbara’s adventures with the Doctor brought the history she loved as a teacher to life before her eyes – even passionately clashing with the Doctor on wanting to change the destiny of the Aztecs. Like Ian, she always wanted to return home, and happily took the chance to return to Earth in a Dalek time machine.
And another thing: Barbara was the first character in the series to actually see a Dalek.
played by CAROLE ANN FORD
First regular Doctor Who appearance: An Unearthly Child Episode 1 (1963)
Final regular Doctor Who appearance: The Dalek Invasion of Earth Episode 6 (1964)
Final guest Doctor Who appearance: The Five Doctors (1983) (She also appeared in the Children in Need special, Dimensions in Time in 1993.)
Carole Ann Ford had already clocked up appearances in Emergency – Ward 10, Z-Cars, Dixon of Dock Green and the film The Day of the Triffids before her casting as Susan in Doctor Who. She appeared in The Great St Trinian’s Train Robbery in 1966, and returned to the role of Susan for Big Finish in 2003, going on to play the Doctor’s granddaughter opposite the Eighth Doctor, Paul McGann.
Susan was the Doctor’s granddaughter and original companion, fleeing their home world in the TARDIS with him to become wanderers in the fourth dimension. The Doctor knew Susan would never leave him voluntarily. When she fell in love with David Campbell, it was the Doctor who locked her out of the TARDIS, urging her to live her life.
And another thing: Carole Ann Ford’s official BBC publicity photo omitted the ‘e’ from her first name – so she added it herself while signing autographs.
played by MAUREEN O’BRIEN
First regular Doctor Who appearance: The Rescue Episode 1 (1965)
Final regular Doctor Who appearance: The Myth Makers Episode 4 (1965)
Merseyside-born actress Maureen O’Brien had never seen Doctor Who when she was cast as the Doctor’s surrogate granddaughter Vicki, her first television role. Never particularly pleased with her character, Maureen was quite relieved when Vicki was written out of the series and she returned to her first love, theatre. O’Brien starred as Elizabeth Straker in BBC One’s Casualty from 1986 to 1987. She published her first crime novel in 1989.
After her mother died in 2493, Vicki set out on spacecraft 201 with her father to start a new life on the planet Astra. But the ship crashed, and the crew were all killed except for Vicki and a man called Bennett. When it was revealed that Bennett had murdered the other survivors to cover up previous crimes, Vicki decided to travel with the Doctor, Ian and Barbara.
And another thing: The producers of Doctor Who originally asked O’Brien to die her hair black to mimic Carole Ann Ford. She refused.
played by PETER PURVES
First regular Doctor Who appearance: The Chase Episode 6 (1965)
Final regular Doctor Who appearance: The Savages Episode 4 (1966)
Before being cast in Doctor Who, first as hillbilly tourist Morton Dill and then as Steven Taylor, Peter Purves appeared in many popular TV series including Z-Cars, The Saint, Dixon of Dock Green and World of Wooster. In 1967, Purves joined Blue Peter as a presenter, appearing in over 850 editions of the legendary children’s magazine programme until he left just over ten years later in 1978.
After crashing in the jungles of the planet Mechanus, Pilot Flight Red Fifty Steven Taylor was captured by the robot Mechonoids and spent two years in solitary confinement. Brave and headstrong, Steven was helped to escape by the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki and stumbled into the TARDIS before it dematerialised.
And another thing: The only other ‘survivor’ of Steven’s crash was his mascot, a cuddly panda he called Hi-Fi.
played by ADRIENNE HILL
First regular Doctor Who appearance: The Myth Makers Episode 4 (1965)
Final regular Doctor Who appearance: The Daleks’ Master Plan Episode 4 (1965)
Born in Plymouth, Adrienne Hill impressed production assistant Viktors Ritelis while acting as understudy for Maggie Smith in a performance of Mary Mary and was invited to read for the role of Joanna in The Crusade. While Jean Marsh eventually won the role, Hill was cast as Katarina later the same year. Following Doctor Who, Hill took a major role in BBC Radio’s long-running Waggoner’s Walk. She died in 1997.
Handmaiden to Cassandra, High Priestess of Troy, Katarina met the Doctor when the TARDIS landed in 1184 bc. Befriending Vicki, the servant helped carry the seriously injured Steven back to the TARDIS and was carried away from Earth when the ship dematerialised.
And another thing: In 1983, Adrienne Hill made a rare appearance on Children in Need with her fellow Doctor Who companions.
played by JACKIE LANE
First regular Doctor Who appearance: The Massacre Episode 4 (1966)
Final regular Doctor Who appearance: The War Machines Episode 2 (1966)