February 17, 2025
Meet some of the Whoniverse's most unsung heroes...
The Doctor’s not short of travelling companions - be they fellow Time Lords, tin dogs, or even journalists! However, not everyone gets the chance to travel with the Doctor; either by their own choosing, or through the tragic consequences of their encounters with the Doctor, and their foes..
We’re taking a look back at some of the friends who could’ve easily joined the Doctor across time and space, and, despite having not made it past the TARDIS doors, make up the “biggest family on Earth” - in fact, the Whoniverse and beyond!
Lynda with a Y
Lynda Moss - who gave herself that nickname to differentiate herself from ‘Linda with an I’ - was a contestant on a futuristic version of Big Brother when the Ninth Doctor found himself mysteriously transported onto the show.
She was the first to offer him help, left with him when he broke free into the rest of the Game Station, and later asked to join him in the TARDIS. The Doctor, impressed by her resourcefulness, enthusiasm and sweet nature, gladly accepted.
Tragically, Lynda was unable to take the Doctor up on the offer. She was sucked out into the vacuum of space when a troop of Daleks attacked.
Jago and Litefoot
Henry Gordon Jago, - a theatrical impresario from depths of Victorian music hall, and George Litefoot, autopsy-conducting police doctor, may not seem like natural pals but became close chums whilst fighting Magnus Greel alongside the Fourth Doctor and Leela.
Their help (and hindrance) was invaluable to the Doctor during this adventure as their local knowledge, bravery and talent for trouble managed to defeat Greel and save the world.
Although the Doctor departed at the end of their adventure, the story of these infernal investigators continues in fourteen series' of audio dramas available from Big Finish.
Astrid
Astrid Peth wanted to see the stars and break free from her dismal home planet of Sto, and becoming a waitress on the starship Titanic seemed the easiest way to travel. After the ship collided with the TARDIS, she quickly befriended the Tenth Doctor and accompanied him to Earth before discovering Max Capricorn’s nefarious attempt to destroy the ship for profit.
She sacrificed herself to save the remaining passengers and planet Earth, with the Doctor attempting to resurrect her via her teleport bracelet so that she could travel alongside him. Unable to do so, he bid her a farewell kiss before sending her atoms to roam the stars.
Osgood
Day of the Doctor / Death in Heaven / The Zygon Invasion / The Zygon Inversion
Kate Lethbridge-Stewart’s scientific advisor Petronella Osgood was another fan of the Doctor, often dressing like their various incarnations. She helped create a peace treaty between the Zygons and humanity, also gaining a Zygon double in the process.
Having helped foil the subsequent Zygon invasion and with her form being taken by previous enemy agent Bonnie, the Twelfth Doctor offered Osgood the opportunity of travelling in the TARDIS. She declined, preferring to stay on Earth to maintain peace and work with her new ‘sister’.
Osgood’s adventures continue both in audio dramas and in short stories such as For the Girl Who Has Everything as featured in The Wintertime Paradox.
Sally Sparrow
Sally Sparrow may only have met the Tenth Doctor and Martha for a minute or so but she was every bit their equal, having fought the Weeping Angels while the Doctor was trapped in the 1960s.
Intelligent and brave, she sealed her own fate by giving the Doctor notes on his side of their conversation (which took place in her past but yet to happen for him), before settling down with her fellow angel-battler, Larry.
You can’t become a companion when you’re temporally ahead of the Doctor themself, after all!
Rogue
An intergalactic bounty hunter, flirt and Dungeons and Dragons fan, Rogue, despite some initial friction, soon warmed to the Fifteenth Doctor after the psychic paper revealed the Time Lord’s attraction to him.
Both promised to “argue across the stars” with one another, a desire as yet unfulfilled as Rogue sacrificed himself in Ruby Sunday’s place, being transported alongside the villainous Chuldur to an unspecified dimension.
Malcolm Taylor
One of UNIT’s many scientific advisors over the years, Malcolm was a Doctor superfan (aren’t we all?). He assisted the Tenth Doctor in closing a wormhole, caused by the malevolent Swarm, whilst the Time Lord was trapped on the other side of it on a double-decker bus.
Extremely enthusiastic, to the point of almost being unable to give the Doctor information, Malcolm closed the wormhole and met his hero, greeting him with a gigantic hug before returning to his regular duties.
Although we never saw Malcolm again, he was working for UNIT during the events of The Day of the Doctor - still helping his favourite Time Lord.
Rita
The Eleventh Doctor was impressed by Rita’s quick thinking and intelligence after he met the abducted medical student in a mysterious 80s hotel under the control of a Minotaur-like alien which preyed on people’s fears. He jokingly “fired” Amy as a companion and offered Rita the chance to travel with him instead.
Unfortunately, the power of the creature (a distant cousin of the Nimon) was too strong, and Rita’s fear of failing her father lead to her demise.
Mags
When the Seventh Doctor and Ace arrived at the Psychic Circus on Segonax, they met an interesting range of characters, including Captain Cook, an explorer, and his companion Mags. Beholden to Cook, as he had saved her from a silver bullet, Mags was a werewolf who was fearful of her transformations and potential for savagery. Despite this, she and the TARDIS team became quick friends.
Mags harnessed her ferality to break free of Cook’s influence and seemed poised to travel in the TARDIS - only for her to decide to stay on Segonax to restart the circus instead. She has re-encountered Ace and the Doctor in further adventures via comics and audio dramas, however!
Perkins
A mysterious mummy is attacking passengers on the space-faring Orient Express but, luckily, Chief Engineer Perkins is on hand.
Perkins helped figure out why the Foretold (the aforementioned mummy) was killing passengers every sixty-six seconds, and provided the Twelfth Doctor and Clara Oswald with a passenger manifest and train timetable to check who was being killed and when. This ensured that the Foretold was defeated and the surviving passengers protected.
The Doctor offered Perkins a chance to travel in the TARDIS but the engineer declined - saying that the job of maintaining the TARDIS could “change a man”.
Shona
An ordinary shop worker possessed by a Kantoffari (aka “dream crab”), Shona believed herself to be a scientist on a remote North Pole outpost, helping to fight off the invasion of the crabs alongside the rest of her dream team.
She aided the Twelfth Doctor, Clara Oswald and Santa Claus in defeating the crabs, and eventually returned to reality. Despite suggesting to the Doctor that they exchange phone numbers and keep in contact, she remembered very little of the dream and her adventure.
Ray
Motorbike-loving mechanic Rachel, or "Ray" she preferred to be known, helped the Seventh Doctor and Mel in their fight against the devious Bannermen, who were pursuing Delta, the last survivor and Queen of the Chimerons.
Unlucky in love and always handy with a tool, Ray’s adventure with the Doctor seemed to put her in the perfect position to become a companion, and she got him out of a number of scrapes - and onto her motorbike! But fate left Ray back in 1950s Wales...
Anita Benn
Anita’s life was changed forever when the Fifteenth Doctor was forced to stay on Earth for a year, helping out at her place of work, the Sandringham Hotel. Quickly, they became close friends.
The Doctor “assisted” her with various hotel jobs and the two spent a weekly “Chair Night” together, sharing stories and confiding in one another.
When the Doctor had to leave, he and Anita bid each other a tearful farewell - although the Doctor was able to offer her a new adventure, as he recommended her for a job in the Time Hotel. Wonder what happened to her next?
