Every Classic Doctor Who Companion Ranked From Worst To Best

21. Katarina

Doctor Who Katarina
BBC Studios

Katarina is perhaps most famous for being the first of the Doctor's companions to die while travelling with him. She was a poor child from the outskirts of Troy, serving as a handmaiden to Cassandra. When the Doctor, Steven Taylor and Vicki Pallister arrived at Troy, Katarina was sent to spy on them. In particular, she was sent to spy on Vicki, who was taken to be a Greek spy.

She befriended the travellers after Steven was injured by a spear, taking Vicki's place in the TARDIS when the latter elected to remain behind. Katarina set off to see the stars but her travels would be incredibly brief.

While in Troy, she had foreseen her own death. This chilling prediction came to pass during the events of The Daleks' Master Plan. While making sure that the Spar was ready for take-off, she was held hostage in an airlock by Kirksen, who tried to use her as a bargaining tool to force the Doctor to serve him. Katarina, rather than allow herself to be used that way, activated the airlock and blew both of them out into space.

Her death would haunt the Doctor for a very long time to come.

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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"