Doctor Who: 10 Most Embarrassing Classic Series Companions

10. Tegan Jovanka

Let's be clear from the get go. Anyone who's watched the extras on various Fifth Doctor DVDs can attest that Janet Fielding is very obviously a lovely person who keeps her time on Doctor Who in perspective and clearly has a terrific sense of humour. But there's a significant segment of Doctor Who fans that can't stand her character, Tegan. For these fans, the Australian air stewardess's endless whining about returning to Heathrow was too much to bear. After a while, even the sound of her voice was enough to set their teeth on edge. They describe her character as "stroppy" and "a mouth on legs". Whilst there's an element of truth to these complaints, these Whovians are missing the point. Tegan was intended to be belligerent. She didn't start her travels through time and space willingly and had a perfect right to demand to be taken home. It wasn't Tegan's fault that the Fifth Doctor couldn't steer the TARDIS well enough to accommodate her quite reasonable request. No wonder the character got increasingly frustrated!