First Doctor Companions

First Doctor Companions

Name: Susan Foreman
Race: Gallifreyan
Time of Origin: The Rassilon Era
Planet of Origin: Gallifrey


Susan is the granddaughter of the Doctor and, because it is clear that she originates from Gallifrey, it can be assumed that her given name and age are merely an alias so that she may fit in on Earth.

In many ways, Susan acted like a normal teenager. She was vastly intelligent due to her upbringing and had knowledge of advanced physics theory, but at the same time, she was not entirely accustomed to Earth-based knowledge.

During her travels, Susan falls in love with David Campbell, a freedom fighter in the 22nd century, but feels that she has to stay with and take care of her grandfather. The Doctor, realising that Susan is now a grown woman and deserves a future away from him, locks her out of the TARDIS and leaves after a tearful farewell.

Susan settled down to marry David, and be a wife in the new order. She was, with others of the rebel group, a founder of the reborn human race on Earth.



Name: Barbara Wright
Race: Human
Time of Origin: 1963
Planet of Origin: Earth


Barbara Wright was a history teacher. But when one of students, Susan, shows an unusually advanced knowledge of science and history, she follows her back to a junkyard, and discovers the Doctor and the TARDIS. She and her fellow teacher, Ian, and are then whisked away on an adventure in time and space with the Doctor and Susan.

Barbara is a strong-willed woman and provides a maternal figure to Susan. She is frequently the only person who can stand up to the First Doctor's cantankerous personality and the chemistry between Ian and herself is also evident.

In 'The Aztecs', Barbara is hailed as the reincarnation of the ancient high priestess Yetaxa. Despite the Doctor's protests that she cannot change history, she attempts to turn the Aztecs away from their practice of human sacrifice. After many travels, she eventually returns home to Earth.

Name: Ian Chesterton
Race: Human
Time of Origin: 1963
Planet of Origin: Earth


Ian Chesterton was a science teacher. But when one of students, Susan, shows an unusually advanced knowledge of science and history, he follows her back to a junkyard, and discovers the Doctor and the TARDIS. He and his fellow teacher, Barbara, and are then whisked away on an adventure in time and space with the Doctor and Susan.

Ian provides the series with an action-oriented figure, able to perform the physical tasks that the elderly Doctor is not. His concern, above all, is for the safety of the TARDIS crew and he also shows a surprising breadth of skills: Survival, horse riding, sword fighting, and general fighting skills.

He is also fiercely protective of Barbara, going on a lone mission to rescue her and in that story, he is also knighted by King Richard as 'Sir Ian of Jaffa'. He and Barbara eventually use a Dalek time machine to get home, albeit two years after their disappearance.

Name: Viki
Race: Human
Time of Origin: 25th Century
Planet of Origin: Earth (encountered on the planet Dido)


Vicki first appears in 'The Rescue', a survivor of a spaceship crash on the planet Dido and menaced by the monstrous Koquillion. As the Doctor is still coping with his recent parting from Susan, his granddaughter, the Doctor invites the teenage girl to join the TARDIS crew.

Vicki is a surrogate granddaughter to the Doctor, and takes care of him like her own grandfather. She rarely takes the initiative, relying instead on the other companions. Like many, however, her travels with the Doctor change and mature her.

Vicki eventually falls in love with the warrior Trolius when the TARDIS landed during the siege of Troy. After making sure that Steven and the Doctor will be all right without her, she decides to remain with Troilus, eventually passing into legend as Cressida, the name given to her by King Priam.

Name: Steven Taylor
Race: Human
Time of Origin: Unknown
Planet of Origin: Earth (encountered on the planet Mechanus)


Steven first appears in 'The Chase', when the Doctor and his companions find him on the planet Mechanus where he crash-landed two years before. He joins the Doctor and Vicki when they discover that he stowed-away in the TARDIS.

Steven is a strong-willed individual, who is more capable when there is something physical to do than when there is thinking to be done. He has a finely developed sense of right and wrong, and places a high value on human life.

His journey eventually ends during the 'The Savages,' when he decides to accept the responsibility of leading the combined society of Savages and Elders that is attempting a lasting peace.

Name: Katarina
Race: Human
Time Of Origin: Ancient Greece
Planet of Origin: Earth

Katarina is introduced in 'The Myth Makers', which takes place during the siege of Troy. She is a handmaiden of the prophetess Cassandra, and helps the TARDIS crew survive the events of the siege.

A sweet, simple young woman who cannot really cope with the concept that the universe has suddenly opened up to her, Katarina believes that she is dead, and that the Doctor is a god transporting her to the next life. She refers to the TARDIS as a 'temple', and literally worships the Doctor, referring to him as 'Lord' (much to his annoyance).

Katarina is significant for being the first of the Doctor's companions to die on-screen. During 'The Daleks Master Plan', Katarina is taken hostage by the escaped prisoner Kirksen, who demands that the Doctor take him to a distant planet. To prevent the Doctor giving in to Kirksen's demands, she chooses to trigger the controls to the arilock she is being held in, propelling both herself and her captor into space.

Name: Sarah Kingdom
Race: Human
Time of Origin: Year 4000
Planet of Origin: Earth


Sara is a Space Security Agent, the sister of Bret Vyon. When told that Vyon is a traitor, she shoots him, only later learning that she was decieved. She is about to shoot the Doctor and Steven when they are transported across space to the planet Mira.

Sara is by turns aggressive, independent and ruthless in her pursuit of what was right, a single-mindedness that blinded her to the larger implications of her orders. Meeting the Doctor changes that, and she turns her formidable skill and intellect to the defeat of the Daleks.

When the Doctor activates the Time Destructor — a device that accelerates time — as part of his plan to stop the Daleks, he orders his companions back to the TARDIS for their protection. However, Sara follows him and, as a result, she is caught in the field of the Time Destructor as it rapidly ages everything around it. While the Doctor withstood the effects, Sara, being human, sound not. As Steven and the Doctor watch helplessly, Sara ages and dies.

Name: Dodo Chaplet
Race: Human
Time of Origin: 1966
Planet of Origin: Earth


Dodo is introduced at 'The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve', as a teenage girl who wanders into the TARDIS thinking it was a real police box. The Doctor and Steven are taken aback when she introduces herself as Dodo Chaplet (Anne Chaplets decendant who they met earlier) descendant.

In her travels, Dodo faces the mad games of the Celestial Toymaker, witness the gunfight at the O.K corral, says good-bye to Steven in 'The Savages', and is hypnotised by the rogue artificial intelligence WOTAN in 'The War Machines'.

Halfway through that last adventure, she abruptly disappears for a rest in the country after being hypnotised, and never reappears. At the story's conclusion a new companion explains to the departing Doctor that Dodo has decided to remain in the 20th Century.

Name: Polly
Race: Human
Time of Origin: 1966
Planet of Origin: Earth


Polly appears in 'The War Machines' and aid the Doctor in his fight against WOTAN when the computer tries to take over the world. She and her friend Ben are accidentally carried away in the TARDIS.

Polly is a more sophisticated and hip young woman of the 1960s — vivacious, attractive, and alternately shy and aggressive. She and Ben make an odd couple, but she is receptive to Ben's protective urges, and he in turn finds her elegant and posh, giving her the nickname "Duchess". Polly is present with Ben when the First Doctor regenerates into the Second, and continues to travel with the Second Doctor.

Eventually, the TARDIS finds its way back to 1966 London on the very day Ben and Polly had left. They decide to remain behind to resume their lives without disruption as the Doctor and companion, Jamie, travel on.

Name: Ben Jackson
Race: Human
Time of Origin: 1966
Planet of Origin: Earth


Ben appears in 'The War Machines' and aid the Doctor in his fight against WOTAN when the computer tries to take over the world. He and his friend Polly are accidentally carried away in the TARDIS.

Ben is a salt-of-the-Earth kind of fellow, dependable, faithful, but prone to be suspicious when kept in the dark or not understanding what was going on. He is very attached to Polly, appointing himself as both her protector and that of the Doctor's. He is present with Polly when the First Doctor regenerates into the Second, and continues to travel with the Second Doctor.

Eventually, the TARDIS finds its way back to 1966 London on the very day Ben and Polly had left. They decide to remain behind to resume their lives without disruption as the Doctor and companion, Jamie, travel on