NOVEMBER

Lindsay Duncan

7 November 1950

William Russell

19 November 1924

Karen Gillan

28 November 1987

Michael Craze

29 November 1942

DECEMBER

Noel Clarke

6 December 1975

Wendy Padbury

7 December 1947

Sarah Sutton

12 December 1961

Nicholas Courtney

16 December 1929

Jacqueline Hill

17 December 1929

Matthew Waterhouse

19 December 1961

John Levene

24 December 1941

Bernard Cribbins

29 December 1928

COMPANION ROLL CALL: THE 1970s

played by CAROLINE JOHN

First regular Doctor Who appearance: Spearhead from Space Episode 1 (1970)

Final regular Doctor Who appearance: Inferno Episode 7 (1970)

Final guest Doctor Who appearance: Dimensions in Time Part 2 (1993)

Following her time at the Central School of Speech and Drama, Caroline John toured with both the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre, where she was directed by Sir Laurence Olivier. In 1970 she was cast as the Doctor’s new companion, only staying with Doctor Who for one series. She continued to work solidly, appearing in many TV series, including The Hound of the Baskervilles with Tom Baker and in the film Love, Actually. She passed away in 2012.

Dr Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Shaw was a brilliant Cambridge academic, co-opted into UNIT as a scientific adviser. Highly intelligent and not afraid of action, Liz eventually headed back to Cambridge, claiming that all the Doctor needed was somebody to pass him test tubes and tell him how brilliant he was!

And another thing: Caroline John was married to actor Geoffrey Beevers, who played a UNIT private in The Ambassadors of Death and the Master in The Keeper of Traken.

played by KATY MANNING

First regular Doctor Who appearance: Terror of the Autons Episode 1 (1971)

Final regular Doctor Who appearance: The Green Death Episode 6 (1973)

Katy Manning was beginning to earn a name for herself on British television with appearances in Softly, Softly: Taskforce and Man at the Top, before being cast as Jo Grant in Doctor Who. Manning left the series after two years and moved with her two children to Australia where she hosted her own chat show. She returned to the United Kingdom in 2009, and reprised the role of Jo Grant in The Sarah Jane Adventures in 2010.

Josephine Grant was a feisty, loyal and capable UNIT operative assigned to the Doctor as his new assistant. Caring and resourceful, Jo would never hesitate to put herself danger to help others – including offering her own life for the Doctor’s on more than one occasion. She left UNIT to marry environmentalist Professor Clifford Jones.

And another thing: While living down under, Katy toured the Australian outback with her one-woman show about Bette Davis, Me and Jezebel.

played by ELISABETH SLADEN

First regular Doctor Who appearance: The Time Warrior Part 1 (1973)

Final regular Doctor Who appearance: The Hand of Fear Part 4 (1976)

Final guest Doctor Who appearance: The End of Time, Part Two (2010)

Z-Cars, Doomwatch and a six-episode stint in Coronation Street were all on Elisabeth Sladen’s CV by the time she was cast as Sarah Jane Smith in Doctor Who. Appearing alongside both Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, Elisabeth became the most popular and recognisable Doctor Who companion in the history of the programme. Largely stepping back from acting in the late 1980s to bring up her daughter, Elisabeth returned to Doctor Who in 2006 and went on to star in The Sarah Jane Adventures until her death in 2010.

Journalist Sarah Jane Smith first met the Third Doctor under an assumed identity, posing as her virologist aunt, Lavinia Smith. Investigative instincts made her the ideal companion for the Doctor, capable of getting into as much trouble as the Time Lord. The bond between the two friends strengthened after the Doctor regenerated, but Sarah was heartbroken when he practically kicked her out of the TARDIS. However, the Doctor was true to his word – he never forgot Sarah Jane Smith.

And another thing: Elisabeth presented the ITV children’s programmes My World and Stepping Stone in the late 1970s.

played by IAN MARTER

First regular Doctor Who appearance: Robot Part 1 (1974)

Final regular Doctor Who appearance: Terror of the Zygons Part 4 (1975)

Final guest Doctor Who appearance: The Android Invasion Part 4 (1975)

After leaving University in 1969, 25-year-old Ian Marter secured a job as Acting Stage Manager at the Bristol Old Vic. One of his first television auditions was for UNIT’s Captain Yates, a role he won but couldn’t play due to prior commitments. After Doctor Who, Marter appeared in such series as The Brothers, Crown Court, Shine on Harvey Moon and Bergerac before his untimely death in 1986.

Poor old Harry. You have to pity the physician put in charge of the newly regenerated Fourth Doctor. The rather befuddled Surgeon Lieutenant later found himself on board the TARDIS as it took off for the Nerva Beacon. Brave, if not a little clumsy at times, Harry was charming and polite but infuriated Sarah by often calling her ‘old girl’ or ‘old thing’. Despite the Doctor’s assertion in Revenge of the Cybermen that ‘Harry Sullivan is an imbecile’, the Time Lord owed his life to the Naval officer on more than one occasion.

And another thing: In the 1970s and 1980s, Ian Marter novelised nine Doctor Who stories for Target Books.

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.