10 Doctor Who Characters Who Nearly Got Their Own Spin Off

7. Ace

Because who wouldn't want to see Ace as the star of her own spin off series? Just think of the chaos that would ensue. This feisty Seventh Doctor companion is "the one who started it all", in a sense, as she was most certainly the first case of the show's female co-star stealing the spotlight from its leading Time Lord. As you'll know, that's pretty much been NuWho's M.O since 2005. Ace's televisual escapades were unforgivably cut short when Doctor Who was controversially axed in 1989 (nope... still not over it!) and, although her story has since continued in the Big Finish audio adventures (seriously, where would Doctor Who fans be without them?!), it's probably high time to accept that Survival's final shot of them walking into the sunset is probably the last time Ace will been on our screens (ignoring 1993's Dimensions in Time charity special, of course, which has generally been all but forgotten by everyone anyway). There was a time, though, when Ace was actually being considered for her own series. It would eventually become The Sarah Jane Adventures, of course, with Elisabeth Sladen as its irreplaceable star, but Russell T Davies was still hell bent on introducing Ace to a new generation and Sophie Aldred had even signed up as a special guest for the CBBC show's fifth series. Unfortunately, Elisabeth Sladen's tragic passing meant that Ace's long overdue return never came to fruition but it's certainly exciting to think about what could have been. Sarah Jane and Ace together on screen would certainly have been a sight to behold.