{"id":24376,"date":"2022-10-23T22:00:44","date_gmt":"2022-10-23T20:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1724359"},"modified":"2022-10-23T22:37:31","modified_gmt":"2022-10-23T20:37:31","slug":"doctor-who-revisits-old-companions-in-touching-scene","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/doctor-who-revisits-old-companions-in-touching-scene\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctor Who revisits old companions in touching scene"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Morgan Jeffery\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Sunday, 23 October 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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We\u2019d been promised \u201cEaster eggs and kisses to the past<\/a>\u201d in Doctor Who<\/a>\u2018s centenary special and The Power of the Doctor<\/a> certainly delivered, serving up cameo appearances from several classic companions.<\/p>\n

Having bid a heartbreaking farewell to the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), Yaz (Mandip Gill) returned to Earth and was reunited with Dan (John Bishop) and Graham (Bradley Walsh), with the latter revealed to have set up a support group of sorts for ex-TARDIS travellers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have this problem,\u201d Graham told the group. \u201cSee, I met this person and I got whooshed away, across all of space and time. I had the most amazing adventures.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I came back and I actually can\u2019t tell anyone, because they\u2019d have me put away \u2013 and that started me thinking though\u2026 I can\u2019t be the only one.\u201d<\/p>\n

He certainly isn\u2019t \u2013 revealed to have accepted Graham\u2019s invitation alongside Dan, Yaz, Ace (Sophie Aldred), Tegan (Janet Fielding) and Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) are three classic Doctor Who companions: Melanie Bush (Bonnie Langford), Jo Jones (Katy Manning) and Ian Chesterton (William Russell).<\/p>\n

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Bonnie Langford as Mel in Doctor Who in 1987.<\/span><\/figcaption> BBC<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Mel travelled with both the Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) and the Seventh (Sylvester McCoy) between 1986 and 1987, while Jo \u2013 then Jo Grant \u2013 was assistant to the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) between 1971 and 1973 and last appeared in spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures<\/a> in 2010.<\/p>\n

Ian, meanwhile, was one of Doctor Who\u2019s original cast, debuting in the show\u2019s very first episode in 1963 and travelling alongside the First Doctor (William Hartnell) until 1965 \u2013 returning to the series almost six decades later, the science teacher gets a mighty surprise\u2026<\/p>\n

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William Russell.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Reflecting on his own experiences alongside the Doctor, Dan remarks: \u201cI\u2019m glad I\u2019m not on the verge of being exterminated anymore \u2013 but I do miss her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry\u2026 did you say\u2026 her?!\u201d says a flabbergasted Ian, learning about regeneration for the first time.<\/p>\n

Speaking to press at a screening of the centenary special, Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall said it was essential that the episode be \u201cbig\u201d, \u201cepic\u201d and \u201cemotional\u201d but also that it have \u201clots of golden threads back to the past\u201d.<\/p>

\u201cTo see William Russell as Ian Chesterton, going right back to the first ever episode of Doctor Who\u2026 a lot of people worked very hard to make all of those things happen,\u201d Chibnall explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t tell anybody I was going to be doing it \u2013 I just put it in the script and sent the script off. I just thought this was the moment when we could ask [those actors to return], and they were all really keen \u2013 we just got incredible messages back.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the day, it was really emotional, but it was emotional in an amazing way.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Jodie Whittaker in The Power of the Doctor.<\/span><\/figcaption> James Pardon\/BBC Studios<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Though she wasn\u2019t required for filming, Jodie Whittaker revealed that she paid a special visit to the Doctor Who set on the day that the companion reunion was shot. \u201cIt was so emotional, it was amazing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWalking onto set with people who\u2026 this is their show, and you are a tiny drop in the ocean of Doctor Who. For us, we\u2019ve got to tread lightly and we\u2019ve got to earn our place. And so then to be on set with people that paved the way for us to be here, it\u2019s a really emotional thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve made no kind of secret of the fact that I\u2019m a relatively new Whovian compared to a lot of people because my introduction into the universe has been getting the job. So to have these kinds of experiences\u2026 I know people would kill to be in this position. And so I knew every second of it, you just got to treasure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following transmission of The Power of the Doctor, Doctor Who is entering a bold new era for its 60th anniversary and beyond under returning showrunner Russell T Davies<\/a>. But have we seen the last of these old faces? Perhaps not \u2013 after all, Kate did mention she was keen to get them on UNIT\u2019s books\u2026<\/p>\n

Read more about Doctor Who:<\/strong><\/p>\n