Every Classic Doctor Who Companion Ranked From Worst To Best

22. Susan Foreman

Goodbye Susan
BBC

Susan was the very first companion of the Doctor, appearing with him in An Unearthly Child. Carole Ann-Ford was instructed to dance to her music in an 'alien' way as a clue to the audience that she was from another world. She was in fact the Doctor's granddaughter, although parts of her history have been slightly obscured.

Doubts arose as to whether she was blood-related to him or not and that she may in fact have been a descendant of Rassilon or The Other, both founders of Gallifrey. Regardless, she travelled with the Doctor for a long time in the TARDIS, including Akhaten and Earth. After landing on Earth and attending Coal Hill school, her teachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright were accidentally pulled into her adventures after wandering into the TARDIS.

While Susan was an essential part of the show, Ford was less than pleased with the direction the producers kept taking her character in and she quit after a couple of years, leaving before Hartnell did. She was last seen in The Dalek Invasion of Earth, when the Doctor forces her to stay behind after finding love.

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Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"