companion (Doctor Who)

In the earliest episodes of Doctor Who, the dramatic structure of the programme's cast was rather different from the hero-and-sidekick pattern that emerged later. Initially, the character of the Doctor was unclear, with uncertain motives and abilities.{{cite book |last1=Hayes |first1=Paul |title=Pull to Open: The Inside Story of How the BBC Created and Launched Doctor Who |date=2023 |publisher=Ten Acre Films |isbn=978-1-908630-84-1 |page=145 |quote="It's clear [from the initial planning document] that the Doctor is to be a mysterious character... It's made clear that, whatever the mystery of the Doctor is, it may well never be known to the viewers."}} The primary protagonists were schoolteachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, who provided the audience's point of view in stories set in Earth's history and on alien worlds. Ian in particular served the role of the action hero. The fourth character was the Doctor's granddaughter, Susan, who (though initially presented as an "unearthly child") was intended as an identification figure for younger viewers.{{cite book |editor1-last=Ainsworth |editor1-first=John |title=Doctor Who: The Complete History: Volume 1 |date=2015 |publisher=Panini UK/Hachette Partworks |page=25 |quote="The old man would have a teenage girl companion for younger viewers to relate to, along with another couple between whom a romance could develop."}}

Carole Ann Ford, who played Susan Foreman, became unhappy with the lack of development for her character{{cite web |url=http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/entertainment/story.html?id=34a2011d-d8c6-4678-ba7a-896d33c429d6&p=1 |title='Doctor Who destroyed my career' |publisher=Canada |access-date=18 September 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518142447/http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/entertainment/story.html?id=34a2011d-d8c6-4678-ba7a-896d33c429d6&p=1 |archive-date=18 May 2015}} and chose to leave in the show's second series. The character of Susan was married off to a freedom fighter and left behind to rebuild a Dalek-ravaged Earth. Doctor Who's producers replaced Susan with another young female character, Vicki.{{Cite web |title=The Rescue ★★★★ |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-guide/the-rescue/ |access-date=27 January 2024 |website=Radio Times |language=en-GB}} Similarly, when Ian and Barbara left, the "action hero" position was filled by astronaut Steven Taylor.{{Cite web |title=Doctor Who companions in order: From Susan Foreman to Ruby Sunday |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-companions-in-order/ |access-date=27 January 2024 |website=Radio Times |language=en-GB}} This grouping of the Doctor, a young heroic male, and an attractive young female became the programme's pattern throughout the 1960s.

When the programme changed to colour in 1970, its format changed: the Doctor was now Earth-bound and acquired a supporting cast by his affiliation with the paramilitary organisation United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (UNIT). The Third Doctor, more active and physical than his predecessors, made the role of the "action hero" male companion redundant. In the 1970 season, the Doctor was assisted by scientist Liz Shaw and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, along with other UNIT personnel. The intellectual Shaw was replaced by Jo Grant in the following season, and as the programme returned to occasional adventures in outer space, the format shifted once more: while UNIT continued to provide a regular "home base" for Earth-bound stories, in stories on other planets, the Doctor and Jo became a two-person team with a close, personal bond. This pattern, the Doctor with a single female companion, became a template from which subsequent eras of Doctor Who rarely diverged.

In 1974, the character of Harry Sullivan was created by the production team when it was expected that the Fourth Doctor would be played by an older actor who would have trouble with the activity expressed by his predecessor. The role went to 40-year-old Tom Baker, and the part of Harry, no longer required for the action role, was dropped after one season.The Handbook: Fourth Doctor p?

In the Fourth Doctor's final season (1980-1981), he acquired three companions (Adric, Tegan, and Nyssa), and this situation continued under the Fifth Doctor for much of his first season. Adric was written out by the method, unusual within the series, of being "killed off" in the serial Earthshock. By the time of the Sixth Doctor in 1985, a single companion had become standard again.

When the series returned in 2005, a single female companion remained the standard format, though intermittent and short-term companions also featured. More consistent exceptions occurred between series 5 and 7, when the Eleventh Doctor travelled with Amy Pond and Rory Williams, and series 10, where the Twelfth Doctor appeared alongside Bill Potts and Nardole. In conjunction with the introduction of the first female Doctor in 2018, the Thirteenth Doctor's era features multiple companions (both male and female) throughout.

Although the term "companion" is designated to specific characters by the show's producers and appears in the BBC's promotional material and off-screen fictional terminology, there is no formal definition that constitutes such a designation. The definition of who is and is not a companion becomes less clear in the newer series.{{cite news |first=Stephen |last=Brook |title=Michelle Ryan guest stars in Doctor Who. But would she make a good companion? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2009/jan/23/doctorwho-bbc |work=The Guardian |location=UK |date=23 January 2009 |access-date=1 June 2010 |quote=A minor factor in the continual swirl around Doctor Who is that what constitutes a Doctor Who companion is no longer clear. Sure, Rose, Martha, and Donna were all companions. So was Captain Jack. But what about Mickey and Jackie? How do you qualify? Name in the opening credits, regular trips in the Tardis? The Doctor kisses you? I'm no longer sure. Modern TV drama is so difficult.}} During the Doctor's latest incarnations, his primary companions, such as Rose Tyler and Martha Jones, have fulfilled a distinct dramatic role, more significant than other, less prominent TARDIS travellers such as Adam, Jack, and Mickey. The British press referred to Martha as the "first ethnic minority companion in the 43-year television history of Doctor Who",{{cite news |last=Sherwin |first=Adam |title=Sidekick whose time has come |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/sidekick-whose-time-has-come-c8r78gwq3t6 |work=The Times |location=UK |date=5 July 2006 |access-date=18 June 2022}} despite the presence of Mickey Smith as a TARDIS traveller in the previous series.

The opening credits do little to clarify the situation. In the first two series of the renewed programme, the only supporting actor to receive a title credit is Billie Piper, although short-term companions Bruno Langley (Adam Mitchell), John Barrowman (Jack Harkness) and Noel Clarke (Mickey Smith) all appear. In the third series, Barrowman receives a title credit for his return to the show alongside permanent cast member Freema Agyeman, and in series four Agyeman is restored to the opening titles for her return arc as Martha Jones. Series four also gives Agyeman, Piper, Barrowman, and Elisabeth Sladen title billing for their reappearances in the final two-parter. Clarke also reprises his role in the series four finale; although listed as a companion alongside the other actors on the BBC Doctor Who website,{{cite web |title=BBC Doctor Who Series 4 Characters |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/characters |access-date=1 June 2010}} Clarke is not credited in this way. In "The End of Time", John Simm receives title billing for his antagonist role as the Master, ahead of Bernard Cribbins as companion Wilfred Mott. In subsequent years, Claire Skinner, Nick Frost and Mark Gatiss have received title credits in special episodes for roles that are not considered companions, as does Piper for her non-companion return in "The Day of the Doctor".

The Doctor's companions have assumed a variety of roles—involuntary passengers, assistants (particularly Liz Shaw), friends, and fellow adventurers; and, of course, he regularly gains new companions and loses old ones. Sometimes they return home, and sometimes they find new causes—or loves—on worlds they have visited. A few companions have died during their travels with the Doctor, such as the 12th Doctor's companion Bill Potts. Some have taken trips in the TARDIS by accident like Rose's mother, Jackie Tyler.

Most companions travel in the TARDIS with the Doctor for more than one adventure. Sometimes a guest character takes a role in the story similar to that of a companion, such as photographer Isobel Watkins, who plays a significant role in The Invasion (1968), or Lynda Moss in "Bad Wolf" and "The Parting of the Ways" (2005). In the revived era, some guest characters have gained companion status such as Mickey Smith, River Song, Wilfred Mott, and Craig Owens.

Despite the fact that the majority of the Doctor's companions are young, attractive females, the production team for the 1963–89 series maintained a long-standing taboo against any overt romantic involvement in the TARDIS: for example, Peter Davison, as the Fifth Doctor, was not allowed to put his arm around either Sarah Sutton (Nyssa) or Janet Fielding (Tegan Jovanka).Commentary on DVD of Castrovalva The taboo was controversially{{citation |title=BBC – Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide – Doctor Who: The TV Movie – Details |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/tvmovie/detail.shtml |access-date=21 April 2013}} broken in the 1996 television movie when the Eighth Doctor was shown kissing companion Grace Holloway. The 2005 series played with this idea by having various characters think that the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler were a couple, which they vehemently denied. Since the series revival, the Doctor has kissed many of his companions, including Rose and Jack, although each instance was not necessarily in a romantic context (see also "The Doctor and romance"). In Series 2 of the revival, the Tenth Doctor and Rose develop a romantic connection. Rose mentions sharing a mortgage with him if he were to ever be trapped with her in "The Satan Pit". At the end of Series 2, in "Doomsday", Rose and the Doctor are forcibly separated. The Doctor "burns up a sun to say goodbye" and Rose tells him "I love you". Rose and Martha each developed romantic feelings toward the Doctor. On the opposite side of the same coin, Amy reacted to the stress of her adventures by very aggressively trying to seduce the Doctor on the eve of her own wedding, despite being in love with her fiancé Rory; the Doctor forcibly pushed her off of himself, though she did not immediately cease her pursuit."Flesh and Stone", "Meanwhile, in the TARDIS... 2" The Eleventh Doctor also formed a romantic connection with occasional companion River Song,"Day of the Moon" later marrying her."The Wedding of River Song"

Companions rarely returned during the classic series, with the notable exceptions of The Five Doctors (1983) and The Two Doctors (1985), where companions returned alongside their respective Doctors. Otherwise, only Harry Sullivan (Ian Marter) reappears shortly after his departure as a companion in The Android Invasion (1975), and all of the Fifth Doctor's former companions make cameo appearances as he regenerates in The Caves of Androzani (1984). Original companion Ian Chesterton (Wiliam Russell) was planned to return in Mawdryn Undead (1983), but proved unavailable.{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3hJlgjbPrTqgrcd7kxLt7zp/the-fourth-dimension | title=BBC One - Doctor Who, Season 20, Mawdryn Undead - the Fourth Dimension }} Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith) and Louise Jameson (Leela) both declined an offer to return for Tom Baker's final story, Logopolis (1981), and the following season.{{cite AV media notes |last1=Pete |first1=McTighe |author-link1=Pete McTighe |date=2019 |chapter=Logopolis |title=Doctor Who: The Collection Season 18 |publisher=BBC Studios |page=23}}{{cite web |first=Ben |last=Rawson-Jones |url=http://www.digitalspy.com/british-tv/s7/doctor-who/interviews/a90187/louise-jameson-doctor-who.html |title=Louise Jameson ('Doctor Who') |publisher=Digital Spy |date=17 February 2008 |access-date=30 November 2013 |archive-date=3 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203180916/http://www.digitalspy.com/british-tv/s7/doctor-who/interviews/a90187/louise-jameson-doctor-who.html |url-status=live }}

Since the programme's return in 2005, companions have returned to the series more routinely. With the exceptions of Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) and Ryan Sinclair (Tosin Cole), all regular companions have returned in some capacity for their Doctor's final episodes. Additionally, following her initial departure in series 2 (2006), Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) returned in series 4 (2008), appearing briefly throughout the series before fulfilling a starring role in the final three episodes.{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s7/doctor-who/news/a103792/davies-rose-is-harder-for-dr-who-return.html|title=Davies: Rose is "harder" for 'Dr Who' return|work=Digital Spy|publisher=Hearst Magazines UK|last=Rawson-Jones|first=Ben|date=25 June 2008|access-date=18 March 2012}} Piper reprised the role again in the fiftieth anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor" (2013).{{cite web|first=Kevin|last=Wicks|url=http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2013/11/doctor-steven-moffat-explains-billie-pipers-role-50th/|title='Doctor Who': Steven Moffat Explains Billie Piper's Role in the 50th|publisher=BBC America|date=24 November 2013|access-date=25 November 2013|archive-date=3 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203004324/http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2013/11/doctor-steven-moffat-explains-billie-pipers-role-50th/|url-status=dead}} Similarly, Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) departed in series 3 (2007) but also returned for multiple episodes of series 4, as well as an arc in series 2 of spin-off series Torchwood (2008).{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2007/07/02/46692.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090104232923/http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2007/07/02/46692.shtml |archive-date=4 January 2009 |title=More Martha! |publisher=BBC |date=2 July 2007 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web

|last=Elliott

|first=Sean

|title=Exclusive interview: 'Doctor Who' & 'Torchwood' series producer Julie Gardner teases next seasons of each show

|work=iF Magazine

|publisher=Electric Entertainment

|date=30 July 2007

|url=http://www.ifmagazine.com/feature.asp?article=2267

|access-date=30 July 2007

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927224708/http://www.ifmagazine.com/feature.asp?article=2267

|archive-date=27 September 2007

|url-status=dead

}} Following her initial one-off appearance in "The Runaway Bride" (2006), Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) served as the primary companion throughout series 4, before returning again in the sixtieth anniversary specials (2023).{{cite news|url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2007/07/03/46831.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080218175211/http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2007/07/03/46831.shtml|archive-date=18 February 2008| publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation|title=Donna says "I do!"|date= 3 July 2007|access-date = 3 July 2007}}{{cite web |last1=Mzimba |first1=Lizo |title=Doctor Who: David Tennant and Catherine Tate to return |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-61455936 |website=BBC News |access-date=15 May 2022 |date=15 May 2022}}{{cite web|title=Doctor Who's David Tennant and Catherine Tate to return to the show|last=Hooton|first=Kayleigh|publisher=Digital Spy|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a40002140/doctor-who-david-tennant-catherine-tate-60th-anniversary/|date=15 May 2022|access-date=16 May 2022}}

Classic era companions have also returned to the new series, beginning with Sladen as Sarah Jane. Following her initial reappearance in "School Reunion" (2006), Sladen led spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–2011), and returned to Doctor Who in "The Stolen Earth" / "Journey's End" (2008) and "The End of Time" (2010). Former companion Jo Grant (Katy Manning) also appeared in the Sarah Jane Adventures story Death of the Doctor (2010), where she meets the Eleventh Doctor. In "The Power of the Doctor" (2022), Tegan Jovanka (Janet Fielding) and Ace (Sophie Aldred) return to the series as one-off companions, with Ian, Jo and Melanie Bush (Bonnie Langford) also briefly appearing.{{Cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-classic-companions-interview-exclusive-newsupdate/|title=Doctor Who's classic companions on their return: "It was a total joy"|last=Mulkern|first=Patrick|date=23 October 2022|accessdate=9 September 2024|work=Radio Times|archive-date=3 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221103204154/https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-classic-companions-interview-exclusive-newsupdate/|url-status=live}} Melanie subsequently continues in a recurring role as a member of UNIT, alongside the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctors.

In the classic era, companions' friends and families were rarely depicted, and almost all were kept unaware of the true nature of the Doctor and the TARDIS.

Conversely, families and friends of most companions in the revived era are extensively depicted, and their adventures with the Doctor are generally not kept secret. The revived era has also featured a number of companions related to other companions by blood or marriage (Donna Noble's grandfather Wilfred Mott; Amy Pond's fiancé (later husband) Rory Williams, and the couple's daughter River Song; former companions Mickey Smith and Martha Jones who married subsequent to their companionship; Graham O'Brien and step-grandson Ryan Sinclair).Statement by Mickey Smith to Martha Smith-Jones in "The End of Time" No such relationships occurred among companions in the classic era, although original companions Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright are reported in the revived era to have married subsequent to their companionship, and Ben Jackson and Polly are likewise reported to be together.Statement by Sarah Jane Smith to Luke Smith in the epilogue scene of Death of the Doctor part 2 The families of some classic-era companions too have been depicted in the revived era, such as Jo Grant (now known as Jo Jones)'s grandson Santiago Jones;Death of the Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith's parents,The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith adopted son Luke Smith, adopted daughter Sky Smith, and alternate timeline fiancé Peter Dalton;The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith and Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart's daughter Kate Stewart."The Power of Three", "The Day of the Doctor"

Another change in the revived era is the depiction of many companions' pre-Doctor lives, particularly their childhoods; no companion was so depicted in the classic era. Companions Rose Tyler,"Father's Day" Mickey Smith,Ibid. Adelaide Brooke,"The Waters of Mars" Amy Pond,"The Eleventh Hour", "The Big Bang", "Let's Kill Hitler", "The God Complex", "The Angels Take Manhattan" Rory Williams,"Let's Kill Hitler" River Song"A Good Man Goes to War", "The Impossible Astronaut", "Day of the Moon", "Let's Kill Hitler" and Clara OswaldThe prequel to "The Bells of Saint John" have all been portrayed in their youths by juvenile actors on Doctor Who; the pre-companionship lives of the Pond-Williams-Song family being particularly well-documented. Companions Jack Harkness"Adam" and Sarah Jane SmithThe Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith, Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? have also been depicted in their youths on their respective spin-off series.

In the original run of the show, companions were mostly written as leaving of their own accord, with only a few exceptions.{{cite web |last1=Berger |first1=Matt |title=Doctor Who: Original Series vs Revival Series - Which One Is Better? |url=https://screenrant.com/doctor-who-original-revival-series-better-worse/#classic-companions-got-happy-endings |website=ScreenRant |access-date=27 February 2024 |language=en |date=21 October 2019}} The first death of a regular companion was of Adric, in the 1982 serial Earthshock.{{cite web |last1=Oxman |first1=Demaris |title=Doctor Who: Comparing The Mortality Rates Of The Classic & Modern Shows |url=https://gamerant.com/doctor-who-comparing-mortality-rates-classic-modern-shows/ |website=Game Rant |access-date=27 February 2024 |language=en |date=26 November 2022}} This is different in the revived era, with companions more often given tragic endings and the show exploring the theme of loss more. Demaris Oxman makes further distinction of the way this theme is explored by different showrunners, arguing that companions in Steven Moffat's time as showrunner tended to have more tragic endings, while Russell T. Davies wrote departures closely tied to each companion's character.

The impact of such losses has been explored within the show. For example, the loss of Amy and Rory Williams drives the Eleventh Doctor into solitude in Victorian London where he refuses to get involved in the world's affairs anymore.{{citation | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p011gpsb | title=Doctor Who, The Snowmen | access-date=26 April 2013|work=BBC}} Series 9 dealt with the Twelfth Doctor's growing fear over the potential of losing Clara Oswald.Expressed in "The Witch's Familiar", "Before the Flood", "The Girl Who Died", "The Woman Who Lived", and "The Zygon Inversion" Her death in "Face the Raven" leads the Doctor to undertake extreme measures to undo her fate, as depicted in the Series 9 finale "Hell Bent". The impact of the death of his wife, River Song, is a subplot of both "The Husbands of River Song" and "The Return of Doctor Mysterio".

Steven Moffat, showrunner between 2010 and 2017, has stated that companion deaths are "wrong for Doctor Who", explaining that he does not believe the show should represent the "grittiness" of real life.{{cite web |last1=Prince |first1=Martin |title=Doctor Who: Steven Moffat on why companions can't die |url=https://cultbox.co.uk/news/doctor-who-steven-moffat-on-why-companions-cant-die |website=CultBox |access-date=27 February 2024 |date=8 August 2017}}

Several companions are shown to have died in the show's history:

• Katarina, killed in episode 4 of The Daleks' Master Plan when she opens the airlock of a spaceship after being taken hostage by a convict.
• Sara Kingdom is killed in episode 12 of The Daleks' Master Plan when she undergoes extreme ageing as a side effect of the First Doctor's activation of a Time Destructor device.Doctor Who: Companions, 1995
• Adric dies at the end of Episode 4 of Earthshock while trying to prevent the explosion of a bomb-laden space freighter in Earth's atmosphere.
• Kamelion, an android companion, is destroyed by the Fifth Doctor in Episode 4 of Planet of Fire as an act of mercy after Kamelion is taken over by the Master and asks the Doctor to destroy him.
• K9 Mark III sacrifices himself in "School Reunion" to save the Doctor and his friends from a group of aliens. The subsequent K-9 Mark IV that the Doctor leaves with Sarah Jane tells her that the Mark III's files have been transferred to the new machine.
• Astrid Peth sacrifices herself to kill Max Capricorn by driving him into a reactor core at the end of "Voyage of the Damned". The Tenth Doctor partially resurrects her and sends her atoms into space.
• Adelaide Brooke kills herself in "The Waters of Mars" to preserve a fixed point in time.

Others are implied (or said) to have died years after parting company with the Doctor:

• The Eleventh Doctor learns of the death of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in "The Wedding of River Song" via phone call, coinciding with the death of actor Nicholas Courtney.
• Sarah Jane Smith is confirmed to be dead by 2023 in "The Giggle" by the Fifteenth Doctor when talking to the Fourteenth Doctor about what they had lost, adding that they "loved her". The 2020 webcast ‘Farewell Sarah Jane’ depicts her funeral, with numerous past companions attending as well as the children she mentored in The Sarah Jane Adventures.
• Clara Oswald is implied to have at some point died a permanent death but is able to continue living indefinitely after departing the Doctor.

Not all companion deaths have been permanent. Several companions have been resurrected at some point in the series, including Jack Harkness, Rory Williams, Clara Oswald, and Bill Potts. Other companions died in alternate timelines or alternate lives. In Inferno, evil counterparts of Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, Liz Shaw, and John Benton died in the destruction of their universe's Earth.Inferno

• In The Trial of a Time Lord Peri Brown is killed by King Yrcanos in Mindwarp after her brain is replaced by that of Kiv, a member of the Mentor race. In The Ultimate Foe, however, it is revealed that Peri had not been killed and had become Yrcanos's consort.
• Grace Holloway is killed by the Master, but revived by the TARDIS's link to the Eye of Harmony during the 1996 television movie.
• Jack Harkness is killed by Daleks, but is brought back to life and given immortality by Rose Tyler in "The Parting of the Ways". He died several times in Doctor Who and Torchwood, always returning to life soon afterwards. In "Last of the Time Lords" it is hinted that Harkness might become the Face of Boe, who dies peacefully in "Gridlock" after living for billions of years.
• River Song sacrifices herself in "Forest of the Dead" to save the Doctor's life, but he uploads a digital copy of her consciousness to the data core. River continues to appear in the series at earlier points in her life, and her post-death consciousness reappears in "The Name of the Doctor"
• Rory Williams is killed several times throughout his run. First by the Silurian Restac at the end of "Cold Blood", sacrificing himself to protect the Doctor. He is consumed by a crack in time, which wipes him from existence. Rory reappears in "The Pandorica Opens" as an Auton duplicate created from Amy Pond's memories, and is restored to his old life with the rest of the universe in "The Big Bang". He is shown dying of old age in "The Angels Take Manhattan", in front of himself, Amy Pond, the Eleventh Doctor and his daughter River Song. He and Amy negate the timeline by jumping off a roof, preventing him from being sent further back in time to die of old age downstairs. This kills them both, but they are resurrected when the timeline where they died is negated.{{Cite web |last=Walters |first=Jack |date=2023-01-25 |title=Doctor Who: Every Time Rory Williams Died & Came Back To Life |url=https://screenrant.com/doctor-who-every-rory-williams-death-return/ |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=ScreenRant |language=en}}
• Amy and Rory are touched by a Weeping Angel and become stuck in Manhattan in "The Angels Take Manhattan". They then die of old age.{{cite web |title=Doctor Who brutally references Amy Pond and more companions in The Giggle |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-the-giggle-amy-pond-reference-newsupdate/ |access-date=22 February 2024 |website=Radio Times}}
• An older version of Amy is erased from existence in "The Girl Who Waited" after helping the Doctor and Rory rescue a younger Amy. When the Doctor admits that both Amys cannot exist in the same timeline, the older Amy chooses to stay behind.
• Clara is killed during "Face the Raven" but resurrected by the Doctor in "Hell Bent".
• Bill Potts is shot and killed by the colony ship's last crew member to halt the advance of the Cybermen in "World Enough and Time". She is converted into an original Mondasian Cyberman and, during "The Doctor Falls", is saved from her grim fate by being turned into sentient humanoid oil by an alien from her first episode.

Several TV companions have died in spin-off media:

• Liz Shaw dies in the 1997 Virgin New Adventures novel Eternity Weeps by Jim Mortimore, the victim of an extraterrestrial terraforming virus contracted while part of a UNIT team investigating an alien artefact on the Moon. This is contradicted by The Sarah Jane Adventures episode Death of the Doctor, which indicates that Liz Shaw is alive and working on the Moon in 2010; the novel is set in 2003.
• Ace is killed by an explosion in the comic storyline Ground Zero while a companion of the Seventh Doctor. This is also contradicted by the Sarah Jane Adventures storyline Death of the Doctor which indicates she is still alive in 2010, no longer travelling with the Doctor, and running a charity called ACE. Ace then appeared in 2022's The Power of the Doctor.
• Jamie McCrimmon dies an elderly man in the comic storyline The World Shapers.
• Tegan's death is at least implied in the audio "The Gathering", which features the Fifth Doctor meeting her in 2006 and learning that she has an inoperable brain tumor, apparently due to her exposure to alien technology. This is contradicted by her return to the TV series in "The Power of the Doctor", which depicted her assisting UNIT and living a much fuller life in 2022.
• Adam Mitchell is killed by an explosion in the comic storyline Prisoners of Time, sacrificing himself to thwart the Master's attempt to destroy reality and saving all eleven Doctors and their companions.
• Leela dies long after Gallifrey is destroyed (it is implied that she survived the Time War) in a trilogy of Big Finish's Companion Chronicles stories, where she is held prisoner by an alien race called the Z'nai.
• In the 2020 web story Farewell, Sarah Jane, Sarah Jane Smith is said to have died; this has since been confirmed in "The Giggle".

The "last serial" column only includes the last serial in which they appeared in a companion role and excludes minor roles, cameos, flashbacks, and so forth. Also, the table refers solely to adventures with the respective Doctor. Some companions who appear with two or more Doctors appear in separate tables.

{{further|First Doctor}}

{{further|Doctor Who season 1|label1=Season 1|Doctor Who season 2|label2=Season 2|Doctor Who season 3|label3=Season 3|Doctor Who season 4|label4=Season 4|The Five Doctors}}

{{further|Second Doctor}}

{{further|Doctor Who season 4|label1=Season 4|Doctor Who season 5|label2=Season 5|Doctor Who season 6|label3=Season 6|The Five Doctors|Doctor Who season 22|label5=Season 22}}

{{further|Third Doctor}}

{{further|Doctor Who season 7|label1=Season 7|Doctor Who season 8|label2=Season 8|Doctor Who season 9|label3=Season 9|Doctor Who season 10|label4=Season 10|Doctor Who season 11|label5=Season 11|The Five Doctors}}

The final three listed characters, all associated with UNIT during the Third Doctor's exile to Earth, are sometimes considered his companions despite appearing irregularly during his tenure.{{cite book | last = Haining | first = Peter | author-link = Peter Haining (author) | title = Doctor Who: A Celebration – Two Decades Through Time And Space | publisher=Virgin Publishing Ltd | year = 1983 | page = 85 | isbn = 0-86369-932-4 }}{{cite web | first = | title = Companions | work=Doctor Who: Classic Series Episode Guide |publisher=BBC | year = 2007 | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/companions/ | doi = | access-date = 14 September 2007 }}

{{further|Fourth Doctor}}

{{further|Doctor Who season 12|label1=Season 12|Doctor Who season 13|label2=Season 13|Doctor Who season 14|label3=Season 14|Doctor Who season 15|label4=Season 15|Doctor Who season 16|label5=Season 16|Doctor Who season 17|label6=Season 17|Doctor Who season 18|label7=Season 18|The Five Doctors}}

{{further|Fifth Doctor}}

{{further|Doctor Who season 19|label1=Season 19|Doctor Who season 20|label2=Season 20|Doctor Who season 21|label3=Season 21}}

{{further|Sixth Doctor}}

{{further|Doctor Who season 21|label1=Season 21|Doctor Who season 22|label2=Season 22|Doctor Who season 23|label3=Season 23}}

{{further|Seventh Doctor}}

{{further|Doctor Who season 24|label1=Season 24|Doctor Who season 25|label2=Season 25|Doctor Who season 26|label3=Season 26}}

{{further|Eighth Doctor}}

{{further|Doctor Who (film)|label1=Film}}

{{further|Ninth Doctor}}

{{further|Doctor Who series 1|label1=Series 1}}

{{further|Tenth Doctor}}

{{further|Doctor Who series 2|label1=Series 2|Doctor Who series 3|label2=Series 3|Doctor Who series 4|label3=Series 4|Doctor Who specials (2008–2010)|label4=2008–2010 specials}}

{{further|Eleventh Doctor}}

{{further|Doctor Who series 5|label1=Series 5|Doctor Who series 6|label2=Series 6|Doctor Who series 7|label3=Series 7|Doctor Who specials (2013)|label4=2013 specials}}

{{further|Twelfth Doctor}}

{{further|Doctor Who series 8|label1=Series 8|Doctor Who series 9|label2=Series 9|Doctor Who series 10|label3=Series 10}}

{{further|Thirteenth Doctor}}

{{further|Doctor Who series 11|label1=Series 11|Doctor Who series 12|label2=Series 12|Doctor Who series 13|label3=Series 13|Doctor Who specials (2022)|label4=2022 specials}}

{{further|Fourteenth Doctor}}

{{further|Doctor Who specials (2023)|label1=2023 specials}}

{{further|Fifteenth Doctor}}

{{further|Doctor Who series 14|label1=Series 14|Doctor Who series 15|label2=Series 15}}

The Doctor Who spin-off media have seen the creation of new characters acting as new companions to the Doctor. Most of them have been created to feature as companions for the Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Doctor, in the new products presenting themselves as a prosecution of their adventures beyond the TV series, but there also are new companions for other Doctors. None of them have been featured on television, except for the mention of some Big Finish Productions original characters in the minisode The Night of the Doctor; however, some of them have passed from one media to another.

{{Portal|BBC}}

• List of Doctor Who supporting characters
• List of companions in Doctor Who spin-offs
• List of Doctor Who cast members

{{reflist|30em|group="nb"}}

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• David J. Howe, Mark Stammers (1995). Doctor Who: Companions. Virgin Publishing. {{ISBN|1852275820}}.

• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/companions/ Guide to classic series companions on the BBC's Doctor Who site]

{{Doctor Who characters|selected=Companions}}

{{Doctor Who}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}

{{Use British English|date=November 2012}}

*

Doctor Who companions

Category:Lists of Doctor Who characters

Doctor Who

Category:Doctor Who lists