played by LOUISE JAMESON
First regular Doctor Who appearance: The Face of Evil Part 1 (1977)
Final regular Doctor Who appearance: The Invasion of Time Part 6 (1978)
Final guest Doctor Who appearance: Dimensions in Time Part 2 (1993)
After winning the prestigious Shakespeare Memorial Prize, Louise Jameson left RADA in 1971 and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her long-lasting TV career began with four lines in a BBC production of Cider With Rosie, followed by appearances in Tom Brown’s Schooldays, Z-Cars, Emmerdale and Space: 1999. Following Doctor Who, Jameson remained a familiar face on television playing major roles in The Omega Factor, Tenko, Bergerac, EastEnders and Doc Martin.
When the Doctor first met Leela she was wild, untamed and had just been exiled from her tribe. After helping him defeat the mad computer Xoanon, the leather-clad Sevateem warrior insisted the Doctor took her with him. Despite his best intentions, this savage Eliza Doolittle often reverted back to her violent roots. Primitive but no fool, Leela never waited to be asked before jumping into action.
And another thing: Looking for a familiar face to bridge the move from Tom Baker to Peter Davison, producer John Nathan-Turner asked Jameson to return as Leela for the Fifth Doctor’s first season. As she was only happy to return for a maximum of three stories, the idea was dropped.
voiced by JOHN LEESON and DAVID BRIERLEY
First regular Doctor Who appearance: The Invisible Enemy Part 1 (1977)
Final regular Doctor Who appearance: Warriors Gate Part 4 (1981)
Final guest Doctor Who appearance: Journey’s End (2008)
A RADA graduate, John Leeson holds the distinction of being the original Bungle the bear in Rainbow. In the late 1970s, Leeson bumped into an old friend, director Derrick Goodwin, who subsequently asked him to play a couple of voices in The Invisible Enemy – namely an alien virus and K-9. Leeson temporarily left the series after The Armageddon Factor and was replaced by David Brierley. After an accident in rehearsal ended his ballet-dancing career, Brierley had moved into stage managing, picking up acting roles as he transferred from theatre to theatre. His TV work included three separate parts in Coronation Street, most notably as a friend of Ken Barlow in episodes 6 to 14 of the legendary soap opera. Brierley voiced K-9 for four stories, including the untelevised Shada, before Leeson was persuaded to return for K-9’s imminent departure. Brierley went on to appear in Threads, Juliet Bravo, The Tripods and Howard’s Way before passing away in June 2008, while Leeson made appearances in Minder, Doctors and ChuckleVision. He returned to Doctor Who in 2006 for School Reunion, reprising his role in the subsequent spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures, and again in Australian TV’s K9 series.
Given to the Doctor by his creator Professor Marius, mobile computer K-9 travelled on board the TARDIS until he opted to remain on Gallifrey with Leela. The Doctor had obviously been preparing for the possibility that his robot dog might leave – he already had a box containing the components for K-9 Mark II.
And another thing: John Leeson provided the voice of the Dalek Battle Computer in Remembrance of the Daleks.
played by MARY TAMM
First regular Doctor Who appearance: The Ribos Operation Part 1 (1978)
Final regular Doctor Who appearance: The Armageddon Factor Part 6 (1979)
After attending RADA, Mary Tamm joined the Birmingham repertory theatre in 1971 appearing alongside Ronnie Barker and Derek Jacobi. She made the move into television two years later, winning roles in The Donati Conspiracy and Coronation Street, where she played Hilda Ogden’s daughter-in-law. Her first major role after leaving Doctor Who was as Jill Frazer in the 1980 TV thriller The Assassination Run and its sequel The Treachery Game. Tamm would go on to appear as Penny Crosbie in Channel 4’s Brookside from 1993 to 1995 and guest starred in such popular series as Heartbeat, Jonathan Creek, Wire in the Blood and EastEnders. She passed away in July 2012.
Romana was thrust upon the Doctor by the White Guardian to help the Time Lord gather the six segments of the Key to Time. Hyper-intelligent yet naïve, the original Romana was a force to be reckoned with, glamorous and absolutely convinced of her own superiority. Several centuries younger than the Doctor, she still considered herself his intellectual and academic superior – although relations between the two Gallifreyans thawed over time.
And another thing: Mary Tamm attended RADA at the same time as Louise Jameson.
played by LALLA WARD
First regular Doctor Who appearance: Destiny of the Daleks Episode 1 (1979)
Final regular Doctor Who appearance: Warriors Gate Part 4 (1981)
Final guest Doctor Who appearance: Dimensions in Time Part 2 (1993)
Even though she was painfully shy and had never even taken part in a school play, the Honourable Sarah Ward dared herself to go to drama school. Winning a place at the Central School of Speech and Drama, she graduated three years later and immediately secured a role in Hammer’s Vampire Circus. She left Doctor Who in 1980, just prior to her brief marriage to Tom Baker, and worked extensively in the theatre before retiring from acting in 1992. Ward now balances a successful career as an illustrator with charity work.
After completing the quest for the Key to Time, Romana regenerated. Having tried on a few bodies for size, she settled on the image of Princess Astra of Atrios, despite the Doctor’s protestations. In her new incarnation, Romana was more playful but still brimmed with confidence, unable to resist any opportunity to rib the Doctor about his shortcomings.
And another thing: Lalla Ward met second husband Richard Dawkins at Douglas Adams’s 40th birthday party. They were married six months later.
THE FOURTH DOCTOR’S RULES FOR COMPANIONS
Rule 1: ‘Do exactly as I say.’
Rule 2: ‘Stick close to me.’
Rule 3: ‘Let me do all the talking.’
MUSTERING THE TROOPS – THE CREATION OF UNIT
‘We deal with the odd, the unexplained, anything on Earth or even beyond.’
The Brigadier, Spearhead from Space
Earth-bound military group UNIT has been a mainstay of Doctor Who since the late 1960s. What led to the creation of this much-loved facet of the Doctor’s lives?
When, in the summer of 1968, Patrick Troughton having announced his intention to leave Doctor Who, producer Peter Bryant and script editor Derrick Sherwin cast their eyes to the future, with a revamp for the series very much on the cards.