Doctor Who: Every Companion Ranked Worst To Best

Throughout many decades of travel in space and time, the Doctor has met thousands of people across the countless civilisations that have needed to be saved from legions of evil alien races. Of these thousands of individuals, a few lucky ones have been able to step aboard the TARDIS and embark on life-changing journeys with the Doctor, who has taken on a healthy number of friendly faces as companions.

The Doctor isn't much without his/her companions along for the journey. As well as aiding the Doctor in battling whatever monsters need defeating, the companions act as the audience's gateway into the lore of Doctor Who; they are essentially the life-blood of the show. Without them, the show would lose much of its emotion and charm (and besides, the Doctor needs someone to talk to). As Series 12 looms ever closer, it's good to have a chance to remember some familiar faces that were able to grace the halls (or is it roundels?) of the TARDIS.

Quick note: criteria for a companion here is that they must have journeyed in the TARDIS for more than one episode, meaning that some of the Doctor's friends that only lasted for a single episode won't qualify here. This list will mainly focus on companions from the revived era of the show, only because the classic era companions deserve a list of their own

Let's get into it...

Yeah, this one barely counts.

Lasting for only two episodes of the Ninth Doctor's only season, Adam tagged along after his stint as an assistant for artefact collector Henry van Statten ended abruptly along with the lives of his boss and everyone else in Statten's bunker once his most treasured piece, an angry Dalek, broke free and went on a rampage.

After the Doctor saves the day, Rose offered Adam a place in the TARDIS, which he accepted, much to the Doctor's reluctance. Once the TARDIS arrived on Satellite 5 in the year 200,000, it became clear that Adam never really possessed the qualities that much of the other Doctor's companions had. Often whiny and constantly irritating the Doctor, his biggest flaw came in his desire to learn more about the Earth's future by carrying out the incredibly normal procedure of having a hole straight into his brain installed. This then allowed the Jagrafess to read his memories and use his knowledge of the Doctor and the TARDIS to land Rose and the Doctor in some serious trouble.

To be fair, Adam is portrayed incredibly well by actor Bruno Langley, and simple curiosity is what eventually becomes his main downfall. It may have been a bit harsh to leave him on Earth with his brain-hole still operating, but it's unlikely that there are many fans petitioning for the return of Adam Mitchell