Sarah Jane Smith

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Sarah Jane first appeared in the Third Doctor serial The Time Warrior (1973–74), infiltrating a facility by posing as her aunt, Lavinia Smith. She accompanied the Doctor on journeys in the TARDIS and assisted the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. Following Season 11's finale, Planet of the Spiders (1974), she remained with the Fourth Doctor through seasons 12 to 14. During this time, she faced iconic creatures like the Sontarans, Daleks, and Cybermen in serials such as The Sontaran Experiment, Genesis of the Daleks, and Revenge of the Cybermen. In Genesis, she met their creator Davros. She departed in The Hand of Fear (1976) after receiving a summons to Gallifrey. Sladen later described her early performance as feeling like a 'cardboard cut-out' where lines were often just 'Yes Doctor, no Doctor'. Despite declining an offer for the final story Logopolis, she returned for the 1983 twentieth anniversary story The Five Doctors, reuniting with the Third Doctor and meeting the First, Second, and Fifth incarnations. She also appeared in the 1993 special Dimensions in Time.

In Their Own Story

In 2006, Sarah Jane resurfaced in the Series 2 episode School Reunion, still working alongside K-9 Mark III since The Five Doctors. She investigated mysterious events at a school with the Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler. Exposition revealed she had waited years for the Doctor's return, eventually suspecting his involvement after witnessing an alien spaceship above London in The Christmas Invasion. After K-9 Mark III sacrificed himself to save her and the Doctor, he gifted her a new model, K-9 Mark IV, and invited Mickey Smith aboard the TARDIS. This success led to The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–2011). Based at her manor in Bannerman Road, Ealing, she drove an emerald green Nissan Figaro and used Mr Smith, a sentient supercomputer voiced by Alexander Armstrong. She adopted Luke Smith, a genetic archetype of the alien Bane, and befriended neighbours Maria Jackson and Clyde Langer. Together they fought threats like the Trickster and the Slitheen family. Time travel scenes depicted 13-year-old Sarah Jane (Jessica Ashworth), whose resolve to fight loss stemmed from her best friend Andrea Yates' death. Sometime between School Reunion and Invasion of the Bane, K-9 left to close a black hole.

Reader's Guide

Sarah Jane's casting history is unique; producer Barry Letts initially offered the role to April Walker, who accepted but was released during rehearsals for The Time Warrior due to a lack of rapport with Jon Pertwee and physical mismatch. Walker later revealed in May 2020 that she would never forgive Pertwee for the recasting. Elisabeth Sladen secured the part after a recommendation from Bill Slater and a successful audition alongside Stephen Thorne, earning a 'thumbs-up' from Pertwee before Letts offered her the role. Beyond television, she starred in two BBC radio serials with the Third Doctor (The Paradise of Death and The Ghosts of N-Space) and Big Finish audio dramas. In April 2020, Russell T Davies released an epilogue detailing characters attending Sarah Jane's funeral on the anniversary of Sladen's death.

Did You Know?

• April Walker was originally contracted for the role but released during rehearsals because Jon Pertwee felt she was too tall and they had little rapport.
• In Genesis of the Daleks, Sarah Jane is present at the actual creation of the Daleks and meets their creator, Davros.
• Sarah Jane drove an emerald green Nissan Figaro in her own series while using a sonic lipstick and an alien activity scanner.
• She adopted Luke Smith between 2006 and 2007, stating she never married after parting from the Fourth Doctor because no one could compare to him.
• In April 2020, Russell T Davies released an epilogue story detailing various characters attending Sarah Jane's funeral.