10 Saddest Doctor Who Companion Departures
7. Ace
Ace's departure from the show was sad, not because of how it happened but because of how it didn't happen.
Ace was a great companion played by Sophie Aldred throughout the McCoy era. In fact, it can be argued that Ace became the blueprint for the modern companion. Instead of just being a pretty girl who screamed her way through the adventures, Ace would get involved, fight back and even had a large story arc which put her front and centre and made her an important person in the Doctor's life.
She was also the first obviously LGBTQ+ companion, which for the time was amazing representation considering things laws like Section 28 which made it illegal to teach LGBTQ+ issues in school, had recently been passed. Ace had a bright future ahead of her, which only hurt even more when Doctor Who was cancelled by the BBC in 1989. The last we saw of Ace, she wandered off with the Doctor in an open-ended finale. We never saw another televised adventure with Ace until this year's centenary special.