Season 7 is one of the classic era's best but even the biggest fan will acknowledge that giving the Doctor a scientist who was almost his equal didn't fit Jon Pertwee's expansive, patrician Doctor. However, Jo Grant, introduced in Terror of the Autons, instantly fits with the Doctor and provided one of the most enduring and popular partnerships of the classic series. Much of this is owing to Katy Manning, an actress that conveyed kookiness and sex-appeal in equal measure, somehow projecting innocence whilst wearing a mini-skirt that barely covered her knickers and thigh high boots. Though not as overtly women's lib as some of the other 70s companions, Jo is more than just a dolly bird, being resourceful, loyal and brave. Yes, she gets captured a fair bit and the Master gets one over her most days but Jo also bails out the Doctor more than once and her willingness to sacrifice herself for her friend caused Azael the Dæmon to blow a fuse. She takes the King of Peladon to task, stealing his heart in the process and constantly leaves poor Captain Yates in a spin. The real joy of Jo is her infectious sense of fun, something that Manning possesses in abundance. Forming a genuine, deep friendship with Jon Pertwee, the pair's camaraderie shines thorough on screen. You can see that these two love being in each other's company. Jo is also one of the few classic companions to deeply affect the Doctor, Jo leaving him to travel with Cliff Jones, in many ways a younger version of the Time Lord, obviously upsetting the old dandy. It was delightful to see her return in The Death of the Doctor over on the Sarah Jane Adventures. Time for her to appear in the main show again?
Writer of The Blog of Delights, a review site covering film, TV, cult TV, books and audio. Fan of Dr Who, Bond, X-Men and Marvel. Also the writer of e-book 'Fictional Legends: Doctor Who - the TV Adventures' for Collca.
