The Doctor Who legend told RadioTimes.com she would love to come back.

By Louise Griffin

Published: Thursday, 23 February 2023 at 12:00 am


As Doctor Who fans call for Susan Foreman to return to the show, actress Carole Ann Ford has said she’s ready and waiting for another trip in the TARDIS.

In a recent RadioTimes.com poll, more than 2,000 readers voted on which classic companion most deserves a comeback, after various Doctor Who icons, including Ace (Sophie Aldred), Tegan (Janet Fielding), Ian Chesterton (William Russell), and Jo Jones (Katy Manning), returned in some form or another.

A whopping 43 per cent voted for the original companion, Susan, who saw the universe with the First Doctor (William Hartnell).

Responding to the poll results, Ford told RadioTimes.com: “That’s amazing, I’m absolutely flabbergasted. I’m very honoured!”

Speaking about why people resonate with the character of Susan, she added: “The idea of her, what I was told after I got the part, was she would be the eyes and ears of the young people watching it, that her reaction would be the perceived reactions of them, so therefore they would probably identify with her.”

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Carole Ann Ford.
Tristan Fewings/Getty Images

She went on: “She was unique because she was the Doctor’s granddaughter, which gave her a special relationship with him.”

As for whether she would be open to returning? “Are you kidding?! Do you really have to ask? I’d love to be in it as it is now! I’d love to experience all the money they spend on it now – it’s done like a film! I would adore to be in it now.”

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Susan was the very first companion and was introduced as the Doctor’s granddaughter. She left in 1964, in an emotional scene where the Doctor locks her out of the TARDIS and promises: “One day I shall come back.”

Elsewhere in the poll, Louise Jameson’s Leela received 11 per cent of the vote, while Romana II, played by Lalla Ward, received 10 per cent.

Jamie McCrimmon, played by Frazer Hines, received eight per cent of the vote, with Katy Manning’s Jo Jones and Nicola Bryant’s Peri each receiving six per cent.

Of course, Doctor Who hasn’t been short of returning legends after last year’s The Power of the Doctor, which saw various classic Doctors and companions come back.

Meanwhile, for the 60th anniversary of the show, Tenth Doctor actor David Tennant (who’s playing the Fourteenth Doctor this time around) and Catherine Tate (Donna Noble) are also back in action.

As for whether we’ll ever get to see Susan step foot in the TARDIS again, only time will tell!