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List of Doctor Who supporting characters

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Over the course of its many years on television, the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who has not only seen changes in the actors to play the Doctor, but in the supporting cast as well. This is not an attempt to make a comprehensive list of all supporting characters or alien races in Doctor Who, but merely the most significant.

Companions

Main article: Companion (Doctor Who)

The Doctor is usually accompanied in his travels by one to three companions (sometimes called assistants). These characters provide a surrogate with whom the audience can identify, and further the story by asking questions and getting into trouble, (similar to Dr. Watson in the Sherlock Holmes mysteries.) The Doctor regularly gains new companions and loses old ones; sometimes they return home, or find new causes on worlds they have visited. A few of the companions (Katarina, Sara Kingdom, Adric, and the android Kamelion) have died during the course of the series.

Other recurring or important characters

Recurring UNIT personnel

Other recurring humans

Recurring Time Lords

Recurring aliens or characters of an unknown race

Recurring or significant villains

(See also List of Doctor Who villains)

Notes

  1. Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart is thought to be a companion by some, though by others he is not. The argument over whether he is an acceptable companion continues to this day, although he is on the list of companions on the BBC's Doctor Who website.
  2. Some fans also consider UNIT era regulars Sergeant Benton and Captain Mike Yates to be "companions" although they do not fit the accepted definition. Benton and Yates appeared as regulars in Season 8, again making other appearances before (in Benton's case) and after.
  3. Lethbridge-Stewart appeared as a regular in Seasons 7 and 8 (as well as making guest appearances before and since). Nicholas Courtney, along with his role as Bret Vyon in The Daleks' Master Plan, his appearance in the charity special Dimensions in Time and his participation in the Eighth Doctor audio play Minuet in Hell, has the distinction of having acted with every screen Doctor before the Ninth.
  4. The Inquisitor and The Valeyard appeared in every episode of Season 23, a season that comprised just one story (albeit split into four segments): The Trial of a Time Lord.
  5. Mickey Smith was a significant recurring character in the 2005 series, prior to briefly becoming a companion in the 2006 series. Similarly, Jackie Tyler appeared in many episodes of the 2005 and 2006 series; in the episodes "Army of Ghosts" and "Doomsday", she briefly travels in the TARDIS and acts like a companion, although she is not generally considered one.
  6. The Master appeared as a regular in Season 8 and has many guest appearances in subsequent seasons and the television movie.

Significant alien species and monsters

(See also Category:Doctor Who races and List of Doctor Who monsters and aliens.)

Characters from Doctor Who spin-offs

The Doctor Who comics, novels and audio dramas have created companions, villains and supporting characters of their own. Some of these originated in one medium and later appeared in another. The lists below indicate where a character has appeared. The canonicity of these spin-offs is unclear.

Companions

(See also List of Doctor Who spin-off companions)

with the First Doctor

with the Second Doctor

  • John and Gillian (TV Comic comic strip)

with the Third Doctor

with the Fourth Doctor

with the Fifth Doctor

with the Sixth Doctor

with the Seventh Doctor

with the Eighth Doctor

Other recurring or important characters

See also

External links

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