10 Times The Worlds Of Doctor Who And EastEnders Collided

3. Louise Jameson

Doctor Who fans of a certain generation will no doubt remember the first time Louise Jameson appeared on their screens as the leather-clad barbarian warrior Leela in the 1977 Fourth Doctor serial The Face of Evil. If you were watching it with your family, your face was probably blushing throughout! Much to the delight of that previously mentioned demographic, though (and no doubt their fathers, too, for whom the concept of sitting down with their children to watch Doctor Who had suddenly become much more appealing...), she subsequently stepped aboard the TARDIS to accompany the Time Lord on his ongoing adventures. The titular Time Lord was, of course, being portrayed by Tom Baker at this point, and it's no secret that he was far from satisfied with the choice of his new companion. Tom and Louise famously fell out during filming, so much so that their ongoing disagreements behind the scenes was one of the main reasons that contributed to Louise's decision to leave the role just over a year later in 1978. They have since made up, though, as they've put their differences aside to reprise their respective roles for the Big Finish audio adventures. Phew! Clearly not content with leaving her mark on one iconic British televisual franchise, Louise appeared in EastEnders as Rosa di Marco between the years of 1998 to 2000. Suffice to say, she lasted longer on Albert Square than she did in the TARDIS. Her character appeared in a grand total of 210 episodes (which kind of puts her 40 Doctor Who ones to shame, but in her defence the latter is only on once a week!) before she was axed along with the rest of her family by the soap's new executive producer. Her departure did pave the way for the arrival of the Slaters, though, so everything turned out for the best in the end... Probably.