The Companions
He should never travel alone, River told him. And she was right: he's always had someone by his side, throughout his life. Here are ten facts about those trusty companions that we grow to love as much as the Doctor... more so in some cases. 30. Alex Kingston and John Barrowman share a birthday. 29. Billie Piper is the only NewWho companion not to appear in the show before her first appearance as a series regular. Freema Agyeman played Martha's cousin Adeola in 'Army of Ghosts' before replacing Piper for Series 3, Catherine Tate's Donna appeared in 'The Runaway Bride' before becoming a regular in Series 4, Karen Gillan played a soothsayer in 'The Fires of Pompeii' a series before playing Amy, and Jenna Coleman's Clara alter-ego Oswin appeared in 'Asylum of the Daleks', five episodes before officially becoming a companion in 'The Snowmen'. Even Eve Myles, who played almost Jack's Torchwood equivalent to a companion, Gwen, appeared in Who episode 'The Unquiet Dead' first. 28. When the BBC auditioned for the part of Amy, they auditioned for the show "Panic Moon", as to keep the auditions secret; "Panic Moon" is of course an anagram of "Companion". 27. It was originally planned by scriptwriters to kill Sarah Jane Smith off. 26. Susan specifically didn't call the First Doctor "Grandfather" in The Five Doctors, to try and prevent the audience from imagining that the Doctor had, at some point, conceived a child.
25. 'Hide' features a joke in which the Doctor claims that because it's the 1970s, the term should be "assistant" and not "companion". 24. Who the longest-running companion is still comes under dispute; Jamie appeared in most episodes and Tegan in most screen-time, but Amy and Rory spent ten years of their lives travelling with the Doctor, on and off. 23. All three versions of Clara worked with children (Junior Entertainment Manager, governess, nanny) and all three had been in their current situation a year before the Doctor met them. Modern-day Clara enjoys tea, and has had a cup in 'The Bells of Saint John', 'Hide' and 'The Name of the Doctor'. 22. In the 1970s, an actress was hired for a whole series but sacked when the Who team realised she had no chemistry with Jon Pertwee. 21. John Barrowman has duel-citizenship between the UK and the US. He uses a Scottish accent as well as his American one.