Over the years, Doctor Who has featured many actors as companions to the titular Time Lord, but not many lasted a long time on the show. Doctor Who first premiered on the BBC in 1963, quickly becoming one of the most popular shows on television, at least until its 1989 cancelation. After a failed attempt at a revival in 1996, the series came back with a bang in 2005 under the supervision of Russell T. Davies. Fifteen actors have taken on the coveted role of the Doctor, but many more actors have portrayed traveling companions for the alien adventurer, most staying for only one or two seasons before departing.
When the series began, the role of the companion was simply a side character, acting as the audience's eyes and ears as the Doctor splurges information about the various time periods and planets they find themselves in. After its 2005 revival, however, companions have played a much larger role in Doctor Who, with their own backstories and families being explored, and the effect they have on the Doctor has been much more impactful. Ncuti Gatwa will become the Fifteenth Doctor in 2023, with Millie Gibson as his companion, Ruby Sunday. Here are all of the past companions to the Doctor and why the actors left their roles.
Carole Ann Ford (Susan Foreman)
Carole Ann Ford played Susan Foreman from 1963 to 1964, one of the First Doctor's companions and his granddaughter. While Ford was initially excited about the role, it soon turned out that she'd been promised things that wouldn't be delivered. She was told that Susan would be an acrobatic hero who had telepathic powers, but she was simply written as an ordinary teenager. Unhappy with the fact that the ambition she had for the character wouldn't be realized, Ford departed Doctor Who in 1964's "The Dalek Invasion Of Earth," after her contract with the series expired, though she did reprise the role in 1983's 20th anniversary special, "The Five Doctors."
Jacqueline Hill (Barbara Wright)
Jacqueline Hill played Barbara Wright from 1963 to 1965, a teacher at Coal Hill School in London alongside Ian Chesterton, who becomes interested in their unusual student, Susan, and soon finds herself on board the TARDIS. Barbara and Ian shared a romantic connection on the series, so when the time came, the pair were written out together, which occurred during 1965's "The Chase." After two years, Doctor Who was starting to become a strain and Hill felt she had accomplished all she could, asking then-producer Verity Lambert OBE to be written out and allow the series to try something new without any of the original companions left in the TARDIS.
William Russell (Ian Chesterton)
William Russell played Ian Chesterton from 1963 to 1965, introduced as a science teacher at London's Coal Hill School, who wants to find out more about his student, Susan, who shows an aptitude for science, soon finding out that she's the Doctor's granddaughter. Russell never intended to stay as long as he did, and has stated that he wanted to get back to working in theater. Feeling completely fulfilled, he asked Verity Lambert OBE to be written out with a happy ending for Ian and Barbara. Russell reprised the role in 2022's BBC centenary special, "The Power of the Doctor," as a member of the Doctor Who companion group.
Maureen O'Brien (Vicki)
Maureen O'Brien played Vicki for nine stories (38 episodes) in 1965, traveling with the First Doctor after the departure of his granddaughter, Susan. O'Brien has stated that she was desperate to leave pretty much as soon as she started, after realizing just what she had gotten herself into, but it was a change of producer that brought the final nail in the coffin for the young actor. Verity Lambert OBE left the series in 1965, replaced with John Wiles who was displeased with O'Brien's attitude on set, writing the character out during 1965's "The Myth Makers," making arrangements to have her removed while the cast were on a week-long break.
Peter Purves (Steven Taylor)
Peter Purves played Steven Taylor from 1965 to 1966, replacing Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright in the TARDIS after their departure in "The Chase." Purves was suggested to be Jacqueline Hill and William Russell's replacement by First Doctor actor William Hartnell and Maureen O'Brien, but not long after taking his first trip in the TARDIS, he became a casualty of another producer shake-up behind the scenes of Doctor Who. Innes Lloyd took over from John Wiles in 1966 and wanted to make the series more action-oriented and less whimsical than it had been, wanting to make the show more realistic, which unfortunately left Steven by the wayside in the shake-up.
Adrienne Hill (Katarina)
Adrienne Hill played Katarina for only five episodes in 1966, a Trojan handmaiden who was originally penned as a permanent replacement for Vicki, who departed Doctor Who in the same episode. Despite this, her role on the show was quickly reevaluated as the writer's found it challenging to write for someone so out of time, unused to modern items and scientific advancements. Hill was written out during her second story, where Katarina propels herself into space in an airlock, becoming the first of the Doctor's companions to die on Doctor Who. Hill's episodes would be lost until January 2004, when the second episode of "The Daleks' Master Plan" was recovered.
Jean Marsh (Sara Kingdom)
Jean Marsh played Sara Kingdom in 1965's "The Daleks' Master Plan," taking over in the serial from Adrienne Hill who was written out during the story's second episode. Though Sara didn't continue as a regular companion, her involvement in the long-running story means she had more time on Doctor Who than her predecessor, so she must count as a companion. Unfortunately, Marsh could only commit to eight weeks on Doctor Who due to other scheduling conflicts, meaning she couldn't stay any longer after "The Daleks' Master Plan," one of Doctor Who's missing stories, so her character is aged up and killed off at the end of the story in 1966.
Jackie Lane (Dorothea "Dodo" Chaplet)
Jackie Lane played Dorothea "Dodo" Chaplet from February to July 1966. An Earth teenager, Dodo s the First Doctor and Steven on board the TARDIS in 1966's "The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve," only staying for six stories before her character was written out after the expiration of her contract. Lane became another casualty of Innes Lloyd's shake-up of Doctor Who, wanting to take the series in a new direction, which meant that both Peter Purves and Lane were written out not too long after he took over the job. Lane has stated how disappointed she was that she didn't get a dramatic ending, like many other Doctor Who companions.
Anneke Wills (Polly Wright)
Anneke Wills played Polly, often called Polly Wright in spinoff material, from 1966 to 1967, with she and Michael Craze being brought in to replace Peter Purves and Jackie Lane. The First Doctor regenerated in 1966's "The Tenth Planet," with Patrick Troughton replacing William Hartnell in the role, which both Polly and Ben Jackson were there to witness. After the change in actor for the Doctor, Wills stating that she found it hard to adjust to the changing series, as many aspects became much more modern, meaning Polly was written out not long after. The character cameoed in 2017's Christmas special, "Twice Upon a Time," alongside David Bradley's version o the First Doctor.
Michael Craze (Ben Jackson)
Michael Craze played Ben Jackson from 1966 to 1967, being introduced to Doctor Who in the same episode as Polly, "The War Machines." He is the other companion to witness the First Doctor's regeneration into the Second, and stays traveling until his departure with Polly in 1967's "The Faceless Ones," choosing to leave together. Both Anneke Wills and Craze ed the list of casualties from Innes Lloyd's shake-up behind the scenes, with neither happy about how they were abruptly written out of the series before they were initially scheduled to leave. They were, however, paid for the time they should have worked on Doctor Who, so there's a silver lining.
