Kamelion was a shape-changing android discovered by the Master on the planet Xeraphas. The weak-willed robot was forced to impersonate King John in order to prevent the Magna Carta from being signed. When the Master’s plot was foiled, Kamelion joined the TARDIS crew, only to come under the control of the Doctor’s former friend once more in 20th-century Lanzarote.
And another thing: Pathfinders in Space was produced by Sydney Newman, co-creator of Doctor Who.
played by NICOLA BRYANT
First regular Doctor Who appearance: Planet of Fire Part 1 (1984)
Final regular Doctor Who appearance: The Trial of a Time Lord Part 8 (1986)
Final guest Doctor Who appearance: Dimensions in Time Part 2 (1993)
Nicola Bryant was spotted by agent Terry Carney during a drama school performance that saw the young actress play an American. When a casting call came through for an American companion for Doctor Who, Carney put Bryant through, under the mistaken impression that she was from the States rather than Surrey. After Doctor Who, Bryant moved straight into a nine-month run in Killing Jessica with Patrick Macnee at the Savoy Theatre and continued to appear on both the stage and television in such shows as The Biz, Holby City, Doctors and My Family.
Following an argument with her stepfather while holidaying in Lanzarote, 18-year-old botany student Peri leapt from his boat and, attempting to swim to shore, nearly drowned. She was rescued by Turlough and taken aboard the TARDIS which almost immediately took off for the planet Sarn. Peri stayed with the Time Lord, although her relationship with the newly regenerated Sixth Doctor was prickly at best.
And another thing: Talent scout Terry Carney was William Hartnell’s son-in-law.
played by BONNIE LANGFORD
First regular Doctor Who appearance: The Trial of a Time Lord Part 9 (1986)
Final regular Doctor Who appearance: Dragonfire Part 3 (1987)
Final guest Doctor Who appearance: Dimensions in Time Part 1 (1993)
After winning Opportunity Knocks at 6 years old, Bonnie Langford made her Broadway debut opposite Angela Lansbury just 12 months later in Gypsy Girl. TV and films followed with Langford appearing in London Weekend Television’s Just William, plus films such as Bugsy Malone and Wombling Free. She won the role of Mel after a long run in Peter Pan, but left Doctor Who the following season, disenchanted with playing ‘Little Miss Sweetie Pie’. Returning to the theatre, Langford played in Charlie Girl, Me and My Girl and Pirates of Penzance in quick succession. Today she still appears regularly on stage and in 2006 skated into third place in ITV’s Dancing on Ice.
Mel’s introduction to the Doctor was unique. On trial for his lives, the Doctor presented an adventure from his future as evidence, thus introducing the universe – and himself – to the bubbly computer programmer from Pease Pottage. The Time Lords then plucked Mel from a later point in her life and reunited her with the Doctor – even though in his eyes they’d yet to meet. When the charges against the Doctor were dropped the older Mel left on board the TARDIS. Confused yet? She was still travelling with him when he underwent his sixth regeneration.
And another thing: Bonnie Langford is the first companion who was born after the start of Doctor Who.
played by SOPHIE ALDRED
First regular Doctor Who appearance: Dragonfire Part 1 (1987)
Final regular Doctor Who appearance: Survival Part 3 (1989)
Final guest Doctor Who appearance: Dimensions in Time Part 2 (1993)
Sophie Aldred won the role of Ace while appearing in Fiddler on the Roof in Manchester and impressed producer John Nathan-Turner so much that her last scene was hastily rewritten so Ace left with the Doctor. Since the original series’ cancellation in 1989, Aldred has worked extensively in children’s television and radio. 2012 saw the launch of Tree Fu Tom, an animated CBeebies series with Sophie voicing the lead alongside David Tennant as her character’s assistant, Twigs.
A troubled teenager with a natural talent for chemistry, Ace was suspended from school after she blew up class 1C’s prize-winning pottery pig collection with a lump of home-made gelignite. At 16, during an experiment with nitro-glycerine, she was transported to Iceworld by what she thought was a freak time storm. Ace would later discover that it was all the work of an evil cosmic entity by the name of Fenric.
And another thing: Russell T Davies planned to bring Ace back in The Sarah Jane Adventures. She would have been revealed to be a tough but classy businesswoman.
THE SEVENTH DOCTOR’S RULES FOR COMPANIONS
Rule 1: ‘I’m in charge.’
Rule 2: ‘I’m not the Professor, I’m the Doctor.’
Rule 3: ‘Well, I’ll think up the third by the time we get back to Perivale.’
THE SORRY BALLAD OF KAMELION
In November 1981, during the recording of Earthshock, freelance effects designer Richard Gregory, whose company had constructed the Cybermen costumes, told producer John Nathan-Turner about a fully working robot that had been created by Chris Padmore and Mike Power of CP Cybernetics. Originally built as a promotional tool, the ‘android’ could make gestures and deliver dialogue provided by prerecorded cassette. Excited by the concept, Nathan-Turner and script editor Eric Saward visited CP Cybernetics’ workshop. They were greeted by a robot dressed in a swimming costume and rubber cap to disguise the parts that had yet to be finished. On hearing plans to make the robot walk, Nathan-Turner commissioned Terence Dudley to write Kamelion’s debut story, The King’s Demons.
When it came to filming, Kamelion proved to be nothing short of a disaster. Every scene required 15 minutes of extensive programming and even then the robot’s pre-recorded speeches repeatedly went out of sync. It also couldn’t walk. The final straw came when Kamelion’s hydraulic arms jammed beyond repair.
Kamelion officially joined the TARDIS as a companion at the end of The King’s Demons, although he effectively vanished until his departure in Planet of Fire, some six stories later. New scenes with the robot were filmed for The Awakening but hit the cutting-room floor before transmission.
OFF-SCREEN COMPANIONS
As well as his TV assistants, the Doctor has been joined by a whole host of companions in books, comics, audio dramas and stage plays. Here are the most significant.
