Companion Idol – part one

With all the rumour mongering and speculation surrounding the casting of the 11^th Doctor for the 2009 series of Doctor Who (my hopes are pinned on Chiwetel Ejifor or Richard Coyle) most commentators have overlooked the fact that when the show returns there will also be a new lady in the Doctor’s life. So to fill this void of comment, I give you Companion Idol in which the finest ladies in television will battle each other for the role using those big sticks off Gladiators (...or more accurately, in which I suggest a few possible candidates for the vacancy in the TARDIS).

Now predicting the next companion is a rather harder exercise than predicting the next Doctor as we don’t know what form the character will take. I think it’s pretty safe to assume that the character will be a) female b) British and c) attractive. Now it’s been observed (primarily by Scott Grey in his excellent 'Destrii pitch') that Doctor Who Companions usually fall into two main categories: ‘Girls Next Door’ or ‘Mrs Peels’. This first post will look at ‘Girls Next Door’, characters like Rose, Sarah Jane, Tegan etc, characters who are pretty and brave but who are grounded in ‘realism’ and serve as audience identification figures.

Michelle Ryan

As Seen In: Bionic Woman, Jekyll, Eastenders

Former Eastender Michelle Ryan was by far the best thing about the ill-fated Bionic Woman remake and is rumoured to have been close to getting the part of Martha Jones in Season Three (and frankly would've been better in the role than Freema Agyeman). She also has links with new showrunner Steven Moffat, having appeared in his series Jekyll. Unfortunately she may be tied up with that other BBC Saturday Teatime drama, Merlin, but hopefully it will be axed soon, being an utter pile of dirge.

Olivia Hallinan

As Seen In: Sugar Rush, Lark Rise to Candleford, Torchwood: Out of Time

Olivia Hallinan has starred in a number of poplar dramas, specifically Sugar Rush and Lark Rise to Candleford, but she’s still not exactly a household name. Doctor Who would be a great opportunity to break out of the ‘bonnets and corsets’ trap that many British actresses fall into. Incidentally Hallinan is no stranger to the Doctor Who universe having excelled in the Torchwood episode Out of Time.

Sheridan Smith

As Seen In: Jonathan Creek, Two Pints of Lager, Doctor Who (BBC7 Radio Series)

It’s high time there was a northerner in the TARDIS! Having featured in David Renwick’s Love Soup Sherridan Smith has been cast as the new assistant in Renwick’s Jonathan Creek. Although as Smith also plays Lucie Miller, companion to Paul McGann’s Doctor on BBC7 it’s unlikely that producers would choose to transplant that character (or a similar one) to the TV show as it would show a lack of originality.