How Much Money Doctor Who's Biggest Stars Got Paid

Our next companion is Leela, who joined the Fourth Doctor from 1977 to 1978.

Louise Jameson has since revealed that her starting salary was £120 per episode. By the time she left the show, this had increased to £150.

At first glance this seems like a significant improvement on the rates received by previous companions. However, the figures are deceptive: £120 in 1977 would've been worth just £44 in 1967. In other words, Jameson was valued about the same as a 1960s companion.

Across the 40 episodes she appeared in, she would've earned something like £29,000 adjusted for inflation (slightly more than Purves, slightly less than Wills, and around the same as Craze).

Not the most impressive salary then – though it did, at least, give Jameson a foot in the door at the BBC. “By the time I got to EastEnders I was on a pretty reasonable whack,” she recalled.

There have also been the customary conventions, Big Finish audios, and DVD/Blu-ray extras (most recently, the Season 15 Collection trailer The Final Battle) for her to generate some additional Who-related income.

The show has served as a springboard in other ways too, with a guest role in Toast of London coming Jameson's way purely because creator Matt Berry liked Leela.