The Best Doctor Who Companions

By Raymond Lockley

Doctor Who, in both its current and original incarnations, is the pre-eminent British science fiction TV show. Produced in the UK and broadcast on the BBC, it has been On the air there since 1963, and has been showing in the US since the 1970s thanks to Time-Life and PBS. The Doctor (as he is known) has been a significant influence on both European and North American sci-fi writers and actors. Such cultural significance calls for, of course, a totally inconsequential list.

While everyone who is a fan of the show can name their favorite Doctor, I have endeavoured [sic] to list the best Dr Who "companions". The companions are the special co-stars whom the Doctor chooses to go gallavanting about space-time with him, and they add great balance and humanity to the shows. For a bit of companion history, see their Wikipedia entry. As usual, my list totally arbitrary and the criteria are wibbly-wobby. Longevity, complementing the Doctor, and helping him grow are factors; but pretty much, it's who I enjoyed watching the most.

Keep calm and carry on (about it)...

# Companion Which
Doctor
Portrayed By
1 Clara Oswald 11-12 Jenna Coleman
2 Amy Pond 11 Karen Gillan
3 River Song 11 Alex Kingston
4 Rose Tyler 9-10 Billie Piper
5 Bill Potts 12 Pearl Mackie
6 Rory Williams 11 Arthur Darvill
7 Martha Jones 10 Freema Agyeman
8 Nardole (non-human) 12 Matt Lucas
9 Jamie McCrimmon 2 Frazer Hines
10 Jack Harkness 9-10 John Barrowman
11 Peri Brown 5-6 Nicola Bryant
12 Zoe Heriot 2 Wendy Padbury
13 Sarah Jane Smith 4 Elisabeth Sladen

Note: I haven't figured out yet how to rate the companions for the 13th Doctor, Jodie Whitaker. The 3 companions are really a trio, with no lead. So I'm just going to list them as an appendix here:

# Companion Which
Doctor
Portrayed By
? Graham O'Brien 13 Bradley Walsh
? Ryan Sinclair 13 Tosin Cole
? Yasmin Khan 13 Mandip Gil

But don't even talk to me about K-9!


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