Over the years, the Doctor has travelled with a range of companions; mainly young ladies from planet Earth, but also a smattering of men, aliens and robots too.
Along the way, there have been a few who seemed ideal companion material and might have come along for the ride, but did not, either by failing to survive their first encounter or by a lack of invitation. Here we present five companions that never were…
5. Rodan (The Invasion of Time)
Rodan was a young Time Lady responsible for manning the transduction barrier – the impenetrable force shield around the Time Lord’s home planet of Gallifrey. Exiled from the Capitol as part of the Doctor’s plan, she aids Leela in gathering a resistance force to repel Gallifrey’s Vardan invaders.
Other than the Doctor’s Grandaughter Susan, whose status has never been clearly defined, Rodan was the first female from Gallifrey seen on screen. She was highly intelligent, but lacking in practical experience due to her upbringing in the cosseted world of the Capitol. Could she have occupied the role filled by Mary Tamm’s Romana in the very next story?
4. Lynda Moss (Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways)
Sweet Lynda with a “y” (Jo Joyner), now better known to many as Tanya from EastEnders, was placed in the Bad Wolf story as a deliberate set-up to make us think Rose had really been deleted from the twisted version of The Weakest Link.
Despite being a contestant in Big Brother, hence her suffix ‘with a y’ to distinguish her from another Linda, she was fun, sparky and had an instant rapport with the ninth Doctor, bonding over their love of gameshows. The Doctor agrees to let her travel with him and Rose’s jealousy was barely concealed.
Sadly, it was all hands on deck when the insane Emperor’s hoards invaded the Gamestation. In possibly one of the best Dalek sequences ever, she coordinated the resistance to the Daleks and witnessed the true horror of the Time Lords greatest foes as they slaughtered everyone on board, not just those who mounted a defence. When a Dalek appears outside, floating in the airless vacuum, we can’t hear anything, but it’s obvious which word it utters as the glass shatters and Lynda is explosively decompressed to her doom.
3. Ray (Delta and the Bannermen)
Lovelorn Rachel “Ray” Defwydd (Sara Griffiths) assisted the Doctor in his tussle with Gavrok and the dastardly Bannermen in South Wales, 1959. As well as ferrying the Time Lord about on the back of her scooter, she proved herself a capable assistant who and knew her way around engines and carried a tool kit with her.
Despite her unrequited attractions for heart throb Billy, whose head was turned by the statuesque Chimeron Queen Delta, Ray threw herself into the battle and survived, leaving for adventures of her own on Billy’s treasured Vincent motorbike while he set off for the stars.
Designed as a potential companion, Ray was not taken forward as the production as plans for Bonnie Langford’s exit were altered. They subsequently chose to pick up Sophie Aldred’s Ace instead in the following tale, Dragonfire.
2. Samantha Briggs (The Faceless Ones)
Searching for her brother who was missing after apparently going on a Chameleon Tour, spirited Liverpool lass Samantha Briggs (Pauline Collins) aided the Second Doctor and his friends in defeating the Chameleons and their Gatwick airport face stealing shenanigans.
Despite having some good chemistry with Frazer Hines with the hint of some romance between their characters, Pauline Collins turned down the offer to continue and Victoria was picked up in the subsequent story Evil of the Daleks instead. Collins later returned to the series playing Queen Victoria in 2006’s Tooth and Claw.
1. Sally Sparrow (Blink)
Fan favourite Sally Sparrow (Carey Mulligan) was at the heart of the show’s first encounter with the Weeping Angels, back in 2007. Firmly in the present day but receiving messages from the Doctor, trapped back in 1969, she manages to solve the mystery, luring the Angels into a trap.
Despite saving the day, Sally only got to meet the Doctor at the end of the tale, as he rushes past her shop. Sadly he’s in the midst of another adventure with Martha at the time, and so she only has enough time to thrust enough information into his hand to enable him to create the messages for her in the first place.
Stuck at opposite ends of an ontological paradox, it seemed Sally and the Doctor were destined to be nothing more to each other than passing acquaintances.
Which guest stars do you wish had become companions? Let us know below…
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