It's an all-Classic Companion Faceoff quarter final! First, we've got Fifth Doctor compatriots Turlough and Tegan facing off against each other, and then it's the Brigadier vs fellow UNIT employee Jo Grant. Also, just a warning - there is one picture which is slightly NSFW. What can you do with these actresses?
Mark Strickson (Turlough): Shockingly, Mark Strickson is not ginger – the Doctor Who producers made him dye his hair, so that it was easier to tell the difference between him and Peter Davison at a distance (both being fair, tall men). Not having done much before being cast in Doctor Who (BBC medical drama Angels notwithstanding), after he left the show, Strickson changed careers slightly. He moved to the Antipodes, studied zoology, and became a producer of wildlife documentaries. He was the man who first put Steve Irwin in front of the cameras, for a start.
Janet Fielding (Tegan): Janet Fielding has one of the shortest Who companion CVs. Outside of Doctor Who and related shows, she’s only appeared in five other TV productions, including her debut in Hammer House of Horror. Fielding’s instead chosen to work behind the scenes, working with Women in Film and Television UK to promote women in media industries, and also becoming a theatrical agent. She represented Paul McGann when he won the role of the Eighth Doctor, although she rejected David Tennant. Despite being somewhat critical of Doctor Who (she appears on DVD commentaries, for serials she didn’t appear in, to critique the portrayal of female characters), that hasn’t stopped her returning to the role for Big Finish audio, as well as appearing in The Five-Ish Doctors Reboot last year.
Janet Fielding (Tegan): Janet Fielding has one of the shortest Who companion CVs. Outside of Doctor Who and related shows, she’s only appeared in five other TV productions, including her debut in Hammer House of Horror. Fielding’s instead chosen to work behind the scenes, working with Women in Film and Television UK to promote women in media industries, and also becoming a theatrical agent. She represented Paul McGann when he won the role of the Eighth Doctor, although she rejected David Tennant. Despite being somewhat critical of Doctor Who (she appears on DVD commentaries, for serials she didn’t appear in, to critique the portrayal of female characters), that hasn’t stopped her returning to the role for Big Finish audio, as well as appearing in The Five-Ish Doctors Reboot last year.
Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart): Nicholas Courtney is possibly the most faithful companion. Before Doctor Who, he had a number of small roles in British TV shows, before being considered for the role of Richard the Lionheart in Doctor Who. He didn’t get the role, but impressed the director enough that he was cast as Bret Vyon in First Doctor serial “The Daleks’ Master Plan.” The director obviously liked him, casting him again in Second Doctor serial “The Web of Fear”, originally as Captain Knight and then promoting him when another actor dropped out. After the Brigadier was reduced to very occasional guest appearances, Courtney appeared in a wide array of British TV comedy and drama, but always returned to his favourite role. Taking into consideration TV episodes, multi-Doctor episodes and audio plays, Courtney appeared alongside every Doctor up until Paul McGann. He was due to appear opposite the Tenth Doctor in The Sarah Jane Adventures, but fell ill before filming.
Katy Manning (Jo Grant): Katy Manning is possibly the only companion to be so short-sighted that she ran into a tree and knocked herself out. Also, she’s the only companion to have posed naked with a Dalek for a glamour magazine. Although she’s not done too much work on screen since Doctor Who, Manning has appeared in lots of theatre, including a one-woman show, Me and Jezebel, which she took to the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Like most other companions, she’s returned to the role of Jo in Big Finish audio productions (also playing renegade Time Lady Iris Wildthyme). But Manning also got to return on screen, playing Jo in an episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures where she met the Eleventh Doctor, making Jo one of only three Classic companions to return to the new Whoniverse.
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Who do you think deserves to go through to the semi-finals?
Let us know in the comments below!
Also, planning on cosplaying as the Brigadier? You need a UNIT pass from our store.
Let us know in the comments below!
Also, planning on cosplaying as the Brigadier? You need a UNIT pass from our store.
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