Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' and two of its spin-offs. Sarah Jane is a dogged investigative journalist who first encounters alien time traveller

the Doctor The Doctor, sometimes known as Doctor Who, is the protagonist of the long-running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. An extraterrestrial Time Lord, the Doctor travels the universe in a time travelling spaceship called th ...

while trying to break a story on a top secret research facility, and subsequently becomes his travelling companion on a series of adventures spanning the breadth of space and time. After travelling with The Doctor in four seasons of the show they suddenly part ways, and after this she continues to investigate strange goings-on back on Earth. Over time, Sarah Jane establishes herself as a committed defender of Earth from

alien invasion Alien invasion or space invasion is a common feature in science fiction stories and films, in which extraterrestrial lifeforms invade Earth to exterminate and supplant human life, enslave it, harvest people for food, steal the planet's resource ...

s and other threats, occasionally reuniting with The Doctor in the course of her own adventures, all the while continuing to work as a freelance investigative journalist. Sarah Jane is one of the Doctor's longest-serving companions, co-starring in 18 stories (80 episodes) with the

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

and fourth incarnations of the Doctor, on the programme from 1973 to 1976 (seasons 11 – 14). She and robotic dog K9 appear in the 1981 television pilot '' K-9 and Company''. She returned in the 20th-anniversary

Fifth Doctor The Fifth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Peter Davison. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord ...

story " The Five Doctors" (1983) and the 30th-anniversary story ''

Dimensions in Time ''Dimensions in Time'' is a charity special crossover between the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and the soap opera ''EastEnders.'' The special was broadcast in two parts on 26 and 27 November 1993 and was filmed on lo ...

'' (1993), then co-starred in two BBC radio serials with the Third Doctor ('' The Paradise of Death'' and '' The Ghosts of N-Space''), and starred in a series of spin-off audio dramas entitled '' Sarah Jane Smith'' for independent production company Big Finish. After the television revival of ''Doctor Who'' in 2005, she appears in several episodes with the

Tenth Doctor The Tenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is played by David Tennant in three series and nine specials. The character has also appeared in other ''Docto ...

, and as the central character of her own series '' The Sarah Jane Adventures'' from 2007 to 2011, which included appearances by both the Tenth and

Eleventh Doctor The Eleventh Doctor is an incarnation (otherwise known as regeneration) of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is played by Matt Smith in three series as well as five specials. As wi ...

s. In April 2020, former ''Doctor Who'' showrunner

Russell T Davies Stephen Russell Davies ( ; born 27 April 1963), known professionally as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for being the original showrunner and head writer of the revival of the BBC sci-fi seri ...

released an epilogue to Sarah Jane's story on the anniversary of Sladen's death, detailing various characters attending Sarah's funeral.

Casting

''Doctor Who'' producer

Barry Letts Barry Leopold Letts (26 March 1925 – 9 October 2009) was an English actor, television director, writer and producer, best known for being the producer of ''Doctor Who'' from 1969 to 1974. Born in Leicester, he worked as an actor in theatre, ...

offered the part of Sarah Jane to actress April Walker, who accepted the role and was duly contracted by the BBC. During rehearsals for '' The Time Warrior'', it became clear to

Jon Pertwee John Devon Roland Pertwee (; 7 July 1919 – 20 May 1996), known professionally as Jon Pertwee, was an English actor. Born into a theatrical family, he became known as a comedy actor, playing Chief Petty Officer Pertwee (and three other roles) in ...

and Letts that the two leads had little rapport and were physically mis-matched (it has been claimed that Pertwee demanded the part be recast, because Walker was too tall for the role). Letts therefore released Walker from her contract (though she was still paid in full for season 11). Although committed to not talking about the issue in her release agreement, Walker began to discuss the circumstances surrounding her casting decades later. After giving some written interviews to fanzines, in May 2020 Walker gave an on screen interview to 'Time Space Visualiser' giving much further detail about the circumstances, including revealing later work alongside Pertwee. Walker admitted that although she understood Pertwee's thinking, she told him she would never forgive him for what he had done. Letts began a second batch of auditions and saw Elisabeth Sladen after a recommendation from fellow BBC producer Bill Slater, who had twice cast the actress recently in separate episodes of ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police and CID detectives in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by ...

''. Sladen performed her audition alongside actor Stephen Thorne and after impressing Letts, he arranged for her to meet Pertwee before any decisions were made. Pertwee stood behind Sladen and gave a 'thumbs-up' to Letts who then offered her the role.

Appearances

Television

1973–1976, 1981, 1983; introduction and classic run

Sarah Jane first appears in the

Third Doctor The Third Doctor is an incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, the protagonist of the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee. Within the series' ...

serial '' The Time Warrior'' (1973–74), where she has managed to infiltrate a top secret research facility by posing as her aunt, Lavinia Smith, a famous

virologist Virology is the scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host cells for reproduction, the ...

. Introduced as an ardent

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

, Sarah Jane sneaks aboard the

TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space") is a fictional hybrid of a time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. While a TARDI ...

and becomes embroiled in a battle against a militaristic alien

Sontaran The Sontarans ( ) are a fictional race of extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrial humanoids principally portrayed in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-off series ''The Sa ...

in the Middle Ages who is kidnapping scientists from the present day. Subsequently, she accompanies

The Doctor The Doctor, sometimes known as Doctor Who, is the protagonist of the long-running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. An extraterrestrial Time Lord, the Doctor travels the universe in a time travelling spaceship called th ...

(

) on several journeys in the TARDIS, and she also assists the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce led by

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, generally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', created by writers Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln and played by Ni ...

( Nicholas Courtney) on a number of occasions. After Pertwee's departure, Sladen remains following Season 11 finale '' Planet of the Spiders'' (1974), in which The Doctor regenerates into the

Fourth Doctor The Fourth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Tom Baker. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from ...

(

Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is best known for having played the Fourth Doctor, fourth and longest-serving incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction television ...

). In season 12's consecutive 1975 serials '' The Sontaran Experiment'', '' Genesis of the Daleks'' and '' Revenge of the Cybermen'', Sarah and male companion Harry Sullivan ( Ian Marter) face the series' three iconic recurring creatures, the Sontarans, the

Dalek The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrial race of extremely xenophobic mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by writer Terry Nation and first appeared in th ...

s and the Cybermen. In ''Genesis'' Sarah is present at the creation of the Daleks and meets their creator,

Davros Davros () is a fictional Character (arts), character from the long-running British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was created by screenwriter Terry Nation, originally for the 1975 serial '' ...

( Michael Wisher). Sarah Jane departs in the Season 14 serial '' The Hand of Fear'' (1976) after The Doctor receives a summons to his home planet,

Gallifrey The Time Lords are a fictional ancient race of extraterrestrial people in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Time Lords are so named for their command of time travel technology and their non-linear perception of t ...

. Sladen has described Sarah as "a bit of a cardboard cut-out. Each week it used to be, 'Yes Doctor, no Doctor'..." Sladen declined an offer to return as Sarah Jane for Baker's final story, '' Logopolis'' (1981), and the following season. However, she agreed to reprise the role in a pilot episode for an Earth-based spin-off series, '' K-9 and Company'', later in 1981. In the pilot episode, titled "A Girl's Best Friend", Sarah Jane receives the robot dog K9 Mark III ( John Leeson) as a Christmas present from The Doctor. The pilot did not lead to a series, but the character reappeared in ''Doctor Who'' for the 1983 twentieth anniversary story " The Five Doctors", in which she is transported to Gallifrey by Lord President Borusa ( Philip Latham) to take part in the Game of Rassilon in The Death Zone devised by Time Lord founder

Rassilon Rassilon is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. In the backstory of the programme, he was the founder of Time Lord society on the planet Gallifrey and its first leader, as Lord High President. A ...

(Richard Mathews). Here, Sarah is reunited with the Third Doctor, and also meets the First,

Second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

and Fifth. "The Five Doctors" shows that Sarah Jane still owns and is working with K9. The character made an appearance in the 1993 ''

Children in Need ''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...

'' special (a crossover with long-running British soap ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

''), ''

'', wherein various Doctors and companions are teleported to Albert Square as part of a plot by the Rani ( Kate O'Mara). Though Sladen would not make any more official ''Doctor Who'' television appearances until 2006, in the interval the actress reprised her role as Sarah Jane twice on BBC radio with Jon Pertwee, and in a series of ''Big Finish'' audio dramas, and in the unofficial

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...

spin-off film ''

Downtime In computing and telecommunications, downtime (also (system) outage or (system) drought colloquially) is a period when a system is unavailable. The unavailability is the proportion of a time-span that a system is unavailable or offline. This is ...

'' (1995) alongside the Brigadier, Second Doctor companion Victoria Waterfield ( Deborah Watling) and Leeson in a rare on-screen role.

2006–2011, 2020, 2023, 2024; revived series and spin-off

Following

' 2005 ''Doctor Who'' revival, Sladen returned to the show in the Series 2 episode " School Reunion" (2006). "School Reunion" revisits Sarah Jane, still working alongside K9 since "The Five Doctors", when she encounters the

(

David Tennant David John Tennant (; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the Tenth Doctor, tenth and Fourteenth Doctor, fourteenth incarnations of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Docto ...

) while they both investigate mysterious goings on at a school run by Headmaster Finch (

Anthony Head Anthony Stewart Head (born 20 February 1954) is an English actor and singer. Primarily a performer in musical theatre, he rose to fame in the UK in the 1980s following his role in the Gold Blend couple television advertisements for Nescafé, ...

Exposition Exposition (also the French for exhibition) may refer to: *Universal exposition or World's Fair *Expository writing *Exposition (narrative), background information in a story * Exposition (music) *Trade fair * ''Exposition'' (album), the debut alb ...

in the episode reveals that, having waited years for The Doctor to return to her, Sarah Jane assumed he had died, though later came to suspect his involvement when witnessing the alien spaceship above London in ''Doctor Who''

Christmas special Christmas themes have long been an inspiration to artists and writers. A prominent aspect of Christian media, the topic first appeared Christmas in literature, in literature and Christmas music, in music. Filmmakers have picked up on this wealth o ...

The Christmas Invasion "The Christmas Invasion" is a 60-minute Television special, special episode of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'', first broadcast on BBC One on 25 December 2005. This episode features the first full-episode appea ...

". On meeting Sarah Jane, current companion Rose Tyler (

Billie Piper Billie Paul Piper (born Leian Paul Piper; 22 September 1982) is an English actress and former singer who is best known for her portrayal as Rose Tyler in ''Doctor Who'' (2005–2006, 2008, 2010). She initially gained recognition as a singer a ...

) reflects on her future after The Doctor. Though K9 Mark III still assists Sarah Jane, he has fallen into disrepair; after K9 Mark III sacrifices himself to save Sarah Jane and The Doctor, The Doctor leaves Sarah Jane a new K9 model, K9 Mark IV, and takes her advice by inviting Rose's boyfriend Mickey Smith (

Noel Clarke Noel Anthony Clarke (born 6 December 1975) is an English actor, writer, director and producer. Rising to prominence for playing Mickey Smith in ''Doctor Who'' (2005–2006, 2008, 2010), he received critical acclaim for writing, directing, and ...

) aboard the

as his second companion. The success of "School Reunion" led to the development of '' The Sarah Jane Adventures'', starring Sladen as Sarah Jane, produced by

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...

for

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

. In ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'', Sarah Jane investigates alien activity covertly from her manor house in Bannerman Road in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...

, driving an emerald green Nissan Figaro and with the help of her sentient supercomputer Mr Smith (voice of comedian

Alexander Armstrong Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong (born 2 March 1970) is an English actor, comedian, radio personality, television presenter, singer and farmer. He is the host of the BBC One game show ''Pointless'', and is a weekday morning-show presenter on C ...

), as well as an alien activity scanner and sonic lipstick device. In the special premiere episode " Invasion of the Bane" (2007), Sarah Jane adopts a son: Bane creation, genetic archetype and boy genius Luke Smith ( Tommy Knight), and befriends her neighbour Maria Jackson ( Yasmin Paige) during her investigation of Bane leader Mrs Wormwood ( Samantha Bond). Sarah Jane remarks that since meeting them she is no longer content to live alone; she discloses she never married after parting from the

, to whom no one could ever compare. Sometime between "School Reunion" and "Invasion of the Bane", K9 has left Sarah Jane to close off a

black hole A black hole is a massive, compact astronomical object so dense that its gravity prevents anything from escaping, even light. Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will form a black hole. Th ...

, occasionally passing close enough to contact her; due to the concurrent development of the ''K-9'' television series, to which creator Bob Baker owns the rights, K9 only appears in two episodes of the first series. In the first series, Sarah Jane learns how to be a mother to Luke, the while strengthening her friendship with teenage neighbour Maria, the person Sarah Jane "trusts the most". Along with Luke and his friend Clyde Langer ( Daniel Anthony) they defeat and repel various threats to the contemporary Earth. Among these threats, series one introduces The Trickster ( Paul Marc Davis), a cosmic being who makes alterations to the timeline to cause chaos and destruction; he becomes a recurring adversary for Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane finds a new enemy in the Slitheen, a family of criminal aliens originally seen in ''Doctor Who'', and an ally in alien research scientist Professor Rivers (

Floella Benjamin Floella Karen Yunies Benjamin, Baroness Benjamin (born 23 September 1949), is a Trinidadian-British actress, singer, presenter, author and politician. She is known as presenter of children's programmes such as ''Play School (British TV series), ...

). Time travel scenes also depict 13-year-old Sarah Jane (Jessica Ashworth), for whom the death of her best friend Andrea Yates (

Jane Asher Jane Asher (born 5 April 1946)''The International Who's Who of Women'', 3rd edition, ed. Elizabeth Sleeman, Europa Publications, 2002, p. 29 is an English actress and author. She achieved early fame as a child actress and through her associatio ...

) gave Sarah Jane her resolve to fight against loss of life. Sarah Jane then reappears in ''Doctor Who'' in the two-part fourth series finale episodes " The Stolen Earth" and " Journey's End" (2008), which crosses over from ''

Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British-American science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect i ...

'' and ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''. When Daleks invade Earth, Sarah Jane is summoned along with

UNIT Unit may refer to: General measurement * Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law **International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system **English units, histo ...

officer Martha Jones ( Freema Agyeman) and

leader Captain Jack Harkness ( John Barrowman) by former PM Harriet Jones (

Penelope Wilton Dame Penelope Alice Wilton (born 3 June 1946) is an English actress. She was formerly married to fellow actor Sir Ian Holm and, as she has not remarried, retains her married style of Lady Holm. Wilton is known for starring opposite Richard ...

) to help The Doctor save the universe. On the Dalek ship Davros ( Julian Bleach) recognises Sarah Jane from their encounter in the classic series' episode ''Genesis of the Daleks''. In ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' second series (2008), Maria moves away to America in '' The Last Sontaran'', and Sarah Jane befriends new neighbour

Rani Chandra Rani Chandra (2 June 1949 – 12 October 1976) was an Indian actress and model, a winner of Miss Kerala. She died when Indian Airlines Flight 171 crashed in Bombay in 1976. She acted in several landmark films such as '' Nellu'' (Malayalam, ...

(

Anjli Mohindra Anjli Mohindra () is an English stage, screen and voice-over actress and writer. She is best known for her television roles as Rani Chandra in the ''Doctor Who'' spin-off '' The Sarah Jane Adventures'' (2008–2011) and would-be suicide bomber ...

) in '' The Day of the Clown''; the same episode features flashbacks to Sarah Jane's (Jessica Mogridge) childhood in her Aunt Lavinia's home. In '' The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith'', Sarah Jane saves the lives of her parents, Eddie ( Christopher Pizzey) and Barbara ( Rosanna Lavelle) in 1951; by doing so she plays into The Trickster's hands, creating a

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are genres of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronom ...

alternative universe in the present day. Learning of this however, her parents choose to die, becoming heroes to restore the timeline. In series two finale '' Enemy of the Bane'', Sarah Jane's old friend Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney) from UNIT assists her against united adversaries Mrs Wormwood and

Commander Kaagh ( Anthony O'Donnell). Sarah Jane feels threatened on a personal level by Mrs Wormwood's claim to be Luke's mother as his creator. Sladen has relatively scarce screen-time in "Sarah Jane-lite" serial '' The Mark of the Berserker'' due to back-to-back filming. Though K9 makes no appearances in series two, he appears to assist Sarah Jane against Ambassador Ranius (

Ronnie Corbett Ronald Balfour Corbett (4 December 1930 – 31 March 2016) was a Scottish actor, broadcaster, comedian and writer. He had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the BBC television comedy sketch show ''The Two Ronnies''. He achieved promine ...

) in a mini-episode for ''Comic Relief'' (2009). In series three (2009), Sarah Jane makes a new enemy in the body-stealing alien Androvax (Mark Goldthorp) as well as a lukewarm ally in the form of the interplanetary police force, the Judoon (from ''Doctor Who''). In the second two-parter, Sarah Jane is able to recover K9 full-time (reflecting a real-world deal struck with the creators of the children's series '' K-9''). In a crossover with the parent show, Sarah Jane reveals her intention to marry her secret fiancé, barrister Peter Dalton, in '' The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith''. However, Dalton's involvement in Sarah Jane's life proves to be a scheme of The Trickster. The Doctor gatecrashes the wedding to foil The Trickster's plot to make Sarah Jane give up on alien hunting, and explains to Sarah Jane that The Trickster is a powerful member of the extra-dimensional so-called Pantheon of Discord. The serial clarifies that Sarah Jane owes her independent wealth to her Aunt Lavina's will. In 'Sarah-lite' two-parter '' Mona Lisa's Revenge'', Sarah Jane and Luke have their first argument as he progresses into his teenage years; they argue about the cleanliness of Luke's room. In series finale '' The Gift'', though she is reluctant to use weapons or cause harm, when Luke falls deathly ill for the first time ever due to the machinations of the Blathereen-Slitheen, Sarah Jane takes up arms to confront them. In the episode's conclusion, regretfully she is forced to kill them using Mr Smith. Sarah Jane next appears in the Tenth Doctor two-part ''Doctor Who'' finale, " The End of Time", in 2010. When The Doctor is slowly dying from radiation poisoning, he makes timely visits to his close friends and companions; The Doctor saves Luke's life from an oncoming car on Bannerman Road (an inside joke by Russell T Davies commenting on actors' failure to look for cars before crossing the street because traffic is always stopped for them, something that he believes is especially important in a children's show) and bids a silent farewell to Luke and to Sarah Jane. In the fourth season (2010) of ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'', Sarah Jane sees Luke off to university in the first two-parter of the series, but continues her adventures alongside Rani and Clyde. The trio encounter the

(

Matt Smith Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is known for playing the Eleventh Doctor in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Prince Philip in Netflix's historical series ''The Crown ( ...

), as well as Sarah Jane's immediate predecessor as The Doctor's companion,

Jo Grant Josephine "Jo" Grant, later Jo Jones, is a fictional character played by Katy Manning in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Jo was introduced by Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks in the first episode of '' ...

(

Katy Manning Catherine Ann Manning (born 14 October 1946) is a British actress. Although she has made many appearances on both screen and stage, Manning is best known for her part as the companion Jo Grant in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doct ...

), in '' Death of the Doctor''; aliens known as the Shansheeth fake The Doctor's death as part of a plot to gain access to the TARDIS using Jo and Sarah Jane's memories. '' The Empty Planet'' is this series' 'Sarah-lite' serial; with the rest of the population, Sarah Jane mysteriously vanishes, leaving Rani and Clyde to investigate without her. In '' Lost in Time'', Sarah Jane is sent back in time on a mission from the mysterious Shopkeeper ( Cyril Nri). Sarah Jane is convinced to retire by an alien plot in the

series finale A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, ...

, earning a new nemesis and doppelgänger in Ruby White (

Julie Graham Julie Graham (born 24 July 1965) is a Scottish actress from Irvine, Ayrshire. Her credits include ''Taggart'' (1986), '' The Fruit Machine'' (1988), ''Nuns on the Run'' (1990), '' Harry'' (1993–1995), '' The Near Room'' (1995), '' Preaching ...

); she is saved from Ruby when Luke drives down from university to her rescue. Sladen's death ended the show in the middle of its fifth series, which aired in 2011. In its premiere story, Sarah Jane adopts a new child in the form of

Sky Smith ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' is a British science fiction television programme that was produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC, created by Russell T Davies, and starring Elisabeth Sladen. The programme is a spin-off of the long-running BBC ...

(Sinead Michael), a genetically-engineered alien girl with abilities relating to electromagnetism; the Shopkeeper arranged for their encounter, but declines to explain his motives to Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane's final broadcast appearance comes in series five finale ''

The Man Who Never Was ''The Man Who Never Was'' is a 1956 British espionage thriller film produced by André Hakim and directed by Ronald Neame. It stars Clifton Webb and Gloria Grahame and features Robert Flemyng, Josephine Griffin and Stephen Boyd. It is b ...

''. The final story ends with a short montage of archive footage and audio recordings celebrating Sarah Jane's journey from lone investigator to mother of two surrounded by friends. The series ends with the final caption: "And the story goes on... forever." The cast and writers of ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' produced a special 2020

webcast A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, webca ...

epilogue for the show with a mix of narrated and acted elements entitled "Farewell, Sarah Jane". In the story, Sarah Jane's friends and many past companions of the Doctor return to London to attend her funeral. At the end of the webcast, Rani and Mr Smith speculate whether Sarah Jane actually did not die and instead went to travel the universe with the Doctor once more. In the 60th Anniversary special, " The Giggle", it is confirmed that Sarah Jane has died. In the episode, the newly bi-generated

Fifteenth Doctor The Fifteenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Rwandan-Scottish actor Ncuti Gatwa in two series and two specials. Within the series' narr ...

reminisces with the

Fourteenth Doctor The Fourteenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor and the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' for the 2023 specials. He is portrayed by Scottish actor David Tennant, who previously portrayed the Ten ...

about all the loss that they have suffered up to that point in their lives. Among the names and events mentioned, the Fifteenth Doctor mentions that Sarah Jane is gone and both Doctors express their love for her. In the '' Tales of the TARDIS'' spin-off episode " Pyramids of Mars", the

tells his companion Ruby Sunday (

Millie Gibson Amelia Eve Gibson (born 19 June 2004), known as Millie Gibson, is an English actress. She is best known for portraying Kelly Neelan in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' from 2019 to 2022, and Ruby Sunday in the BBC-Disney+ co-produ ...

) about Sarah Jane and that they were best friends and told her that she travelled with him during his first encounter with Sutekh. It is later revealed that the conversation took place during the events of " Empire of Death".

Literature

Sarah Jane appears in several ''Doctor Who'' novels and short stories, notably in the

Eighth Doctor Adventures The ''Eighth Doctor Adventures'' (sometimes abbreviated as EDA or referred to as the EDAs) are a series of spin off novels based on the long running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and published under the BBC Books impri ...

novels '' Interference: Book One'' and '' Interference: Book Two'' by

Lawrence Miles Lawrence Miles (born 15 March 1972 in Middlesex) is a science fiction author known for his work on original ''Doctor Who'' novels (for both the Virgin New Adventures and BBC Books series) and the subsequent spin-off Faction Paradox. He is also ...

; and the Past Doctor Adventures novel ''

Bullet Time Bullet time (also known as frozen moment, dead time, flow motion or time slice) is a visual effect or visual impression of detaching the time and space of a camera (or viewer) from that of its visible subject. It is a depth enhanced simulation of ...

'' by David A. McIntee, all taking place after she stops travelling with The Doctor. She appears in Ian Marter's '' Harry Sullivan's War'' published by Target Books; Marter played companion Harry Sullivan in seven television serials. Different accounts of Sarah Jane's life have been given in the ''Doctor Who'' literature. ''Interference'' and the

Virgin New Adventures The ''Virgin New Adventures'' (NA series, or NAs) are a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British Science fiction on television, science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. They continued the story of the Doctor from th ...

novel '' Christmas on a Rational Planet'', also by Miles, suggest that Sarah Jane married someone named Paul Morley sometime between 1996 and 1998 and took his name. In the short story "Lily" by Jackie Marshall, in Big Finish's '' Short Trips: A Christmas Treasury'', the

pays a visit to an older Sarah Jane, who has a daughter, Lauren, and an

autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

granddaughter, Lily; Lauren's father is named Will. In the Past Doctor Adventure ''Bullet Time'', Sarah Jane is apparently killed—although the story is ambiguous about whether she actually dies—in 1997 when she sacrifices herself so that she cannot be used as a hostage to stop the

Seventh Doctor The Seventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-o ...

from taking action to aid an escaping alien ship, contradicting her other spin-off appearances. However, the novel takes place during a story arc where enemies of The Doctor were attempting to eliminate his companions from the Timeline (revealed in the later novel '' Sometime Never...''), and Sarah Jane's death may have been reversed when those enemies are defeated. In any case, other stories have shown her alive after 1997. Sarah Jane was mentioned in the prologue of the

Virgin Publishing Virgin Books is a British book publisher 90% owned by the publishing group Random House, and 10% owned by Virgin Group, the company originally set up by Richard Branson as a record company. History Virgin established its book publishing arm ...

novelisation of ''

The Power of the Daleks ''The Power of the Daleks'' is the Doctor Who missing episodes, completely missing third serial of the Doctor Who (season 4), fourth season of British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly part ...

'' by John Peel. It revealed that Sarah Jane was working as

's official chronicler and that in "1996" she covered the aftermath of the Cybermen's failed attempt to drain Earth of its energy and the technology left behind in their wake ('' The Tenth Planet'', which was actually set in 1986). Stories written as in-universe articles in '' Doctor Who Magazine Winter Special'' 1991 (subtitled "UNIT Exposed"), made statements about Sarah Jane's life after leaving the Fourth Doctor. She wrote a history of UNIT, ''Fighting for Humankind'' ("heavily vetted and evidently subjected to considerable censorship"), as well as a series of science fiction novels. These featured an extraterrestrial called The Doctor and his companion Nicola Jones, who frequently encountered WIN (World Investigative Network), commanded by General Lutwidge-Douglas. Titles included ''Day of the Dinosaurs'', ''Sutekh the Destroyer'' and ''The North Sea Monster''. Another in-universe article was written by Kevin W. Parker, Roving Reporter, which was a biography of Sarah Jane from her childhood to the early 1990s. She grew up with her aunt Lavinia after her parents died in a car crash. She went to Caterham School For Girls and the University of Nottingham. She was engaged to Andrew Lofts, an aspiring television journalist; it didn't last. She ended up working with UNIT; her exact duties were never described. In the spring of 1981, she left UNIT after being hospitalised from an accident in a quarry. Afterwards she developed a romantic relationship with Harry Sullivan; they parted amicably and were still very fond of each other, and were still close friends, even to the time of the article. She wrote science fiction novels ''World War Skaro'' and ''The Monster at the End of Space'' which made it onto the ''Times'' and ''New York Times'' bestseller lists. Though there are as yet no original ''Sarah Jane Adventures'' novels, many of the television episodes have been novelised.

Audio drama

Between seasons 13 and 14, Sladen appeared as Sarah Jane, with Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, in the audio play '' The Pescatons'', released on LP by The Decca Record Company Limited in 1976. She also appeared with Baker in "The Time Machine", episode three of the BBC Radio 4 series '' Exploration Earth'' broadcast on 4 October 1976. Also in 1976 she appeared as Sarah Jane alongside Tom Baker's Doctor in the first ever BBC Enterprises audio spin-off from ''Doctor Who'': a cassette and LP release of an abridged version of ''Genesis of the Daleks'', narrated by Baker. Sarah Jane (played by Sladen) appeared in two BBC Radio plays starring Jon Pertwee as The Doctor in the 1990s: '' The Paradise of Death'' and '' The Ghosts of N-Space''. She also appears, voiced by Sladen, in her own range of Big Finish audio dramas, consisting of nine stories released between 2002 and 2006. This series came to an unexpected end when the character was given her own television series, ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'', detailed above. There are loose allusions to the audio series in the television series, including Sarah Jane's ownership of a Volkswagen. Sarah Jane appears in two audio stories based on ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'', released in November 2007 on CD: ''The Glittering Storm'' by Stephen Cole and ''The Thirteenth Stone'' by

Justin Richards Justin Richards (born 14 September 1961) is a British writer. He has written science fiction and fantasy novels, including series set in Victorian or early-20th-century London, and also adventure stories set in the present day. He has written ...

, with both stories read by series star Elisabeth Sladen. This is the first time that BBC Audiobooks have commissioned new content for exclusive release on audio. Further pairs of audio stories were released every year until 2010, again all read by Sladen. In 2011, two audio stories were read by Daniel Anthony and Anjii Mohindra. Sladen's daughter Sadie Miller took over the role of Sarah Jane Smith for Big Finish audio dramas in 2021, first in ''Return of the Cybermen'' in March, a reworking of Gerry Davis' 1974 original script which was eventually filmed as ''Revenge of the Cybermen'', with Tom Baker as the fourth Doctor; and then in ''The Third Doctor Adventures'' in May, with Tim Treloar as the third Doctor. The canonicity of Sarah Jane's appearances in the audio dramas is, like all ''Doctor Who''

spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

media, unclear, and they may not even take place in the same continuity as one another. For example, the novels' mention of Sarah Jane as having been married is contradicted by the later ''Sarah Jane Smith'' audio play ''Dreamland'', and the ''Sarah Jane Adventures'' episode "Invasion of the Bane".

Reception, impact and legacy

Sarah Jane Smith was consistently voted the most popular ''Doctor Who'' companion until the advent of the new series in 2005. Even in more recent times the character has continued to vie in popularity with Rose Tyler,

Donna Noble Donna Noble is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Portrayed by British actress and comedian Catherine Tate, she is a companion of the Tenth and Fourteenth Doctors (both portr ...

, and Ace. Sladen felt that part of her popularity was working alongside Pertwee and

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient histo ...

, who were popular Doctors. Daniel Martin of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' named her the best companion in 2007, writing that her "jolly-hockey-sticks good nature" made her so beloved. ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' Gavin Fuller also ranked Sarah Jane number one, praising Sladen's portrayal and saying that she displayed "great determination and bravery". In 2012,

Toby Whithouse Toby Lawrence Whithouse (; born 5 July 1970) is an English actor, screenwriter and playwright. His highest-profile work has been the creation of the BBC Three supernatural television series ''Being Human (British TV series), Being Human''. He ...

, who wrote Sarah Jane's return to the series in "School Reunion", said she was his favourite companion from the classic series. Concerning the impact of the character, he said:

References

External links

*
Sarah Jane Smith on the BBC's ''Doctor Who'' website ("New Series")

Sarah Jane Smith on the BBC's ''Doctor Who'' website ("Classic Series")

Online TV Interview on Liverpool Reporter hosted by Jonathan Thompson with Elisabeth Sladen in 2006

BBC Norfolk Kids: ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''

BBC Norfolk: Interview with Elisabeth Sladen regarding Sarah Jane Smith
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Sarah Jane Doctor Who companions English female characters in television Television characters introduced in 1973 Fictional orphans Fictional people from London Fictional reporters and correspondents Recurring characters in Doctor Who The Sarah Jane Adventures characters UNIT personnel Fictional journalists Fictional characters from the 20th century Fictional characters from the 21st century