10 Most Useless Doctor Who Characters

After Frazer Hines' historical companion Jamie McCrimmon became a big success, the Doctor Who production team attempted to repeat the feat by introducing another historical companion: Victoria Waterfield. The only problem was that she didn't have any notable skills beyond screaming and just having a terrible time of it.

The original plan was to make Pauline Collins' Samantha a full-time companion, but she turned down the role. Investigating her brother's disappearance in The Faceless Ones, Samantha proved herself to be a much more independent and forthright companion than Victoria. When she's introduced in Evil of the Daleks, Victoria is literally a damsel in distress.

This comes to define the character throughout her time with the Second Doctor and Jamie. While Deborah Watling is an incredibly likable actor, she's rarely given any substantial material to sink her teeth into, and whenever she does take some initiative, she ends up in deadly danger and needs to be rescued by the Doctor or Jamie.

Victoria's screaming became such a key part of her character that it played a crucial role in her final story. Attempting to defeat an outbreak of deadly, sentient seaweed, the Doctor realises that sound is the perfect weapon - and so he weaponizes the screams of his companion. It's an ending that's either a celebration of or an insult to Victoria, depending on your outlook.