Doctor Who: 8 Spin Off Characters Who Became Canon

3. The Eighth Doctor's Companions

Between the 1996 TV Movie and Paul McGann's second TV appearance 17 years later, the Eighth Doctor became the most utilised incarnation in spin off media. Just as the War Doctor is now (with a charity anthology being published this weekend), McGann's Doctor was a completely blank slate and many spin off writers jumped on the chance to tell Doctor Who stories about an incarnation with no established characterisation, quirks or companions. In particular, McGann reprised his role in 2001 for Storm Warning, the first Eighth Doctor audio adventure by Big Finish. McGann has made dozens of Big Finish audio appearances in Doctor Who media since then, with a roster of companions that would rival the constantly rotating cast of the Tenth Doctor era. Steven Moffat, who penned The Night of the Doctor in which McGann regenerates into John Hurt's War Doctor, had the Eighth Doctor utter the names of his companions from the Big Finish audios shortly before drinking the elixir that would end his life and turn him into a warrior. Thereby making Charley, C'rizz, Lucie, Tamsin and Molly canon in the televised series and, by implication, bringing the spin off audio adventures into stronger standing within the Whoniverse. Hurrah!