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Elisabeth Sladen
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Elisabeth Sladen is perhaps one of the most famous of all the Doctor Who companions, having been a cornerstone of both the Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker eras of the programme. Her character of Sarah Jane Smith also appeared in a spin-off pilot in the 1980s, K9 and Company, and both she and the robotic pooch are returning to the series, for the first full season with new TARDIS incumbent David Tennant this year.
Elisabeth steadily built up to this role as companion, her big break came when she played Desdemona in a TV adaption of Shakespeare’s "Othello". There was also a short stint as barmaid Anita Reynolds in half a dozen episodes of Coronation Street in 1970.
In 1972 she played a terrorist in "Say Knife, Fat Man", an episode of Doomwatch. Elisabeth found herself on the right side of the law, playing a police woman in episodes of Special Branch and Public Eye. She also popped up in a trio of episodes of Z Cars as well as Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em.
Following her three and a half years in Doctor Who, Elisabeth went back to work in theatre in Liverpool. She was not off our screens for long, as she spent a couple of years as a presenter of the children's series Stepping Stones. Elisabeth then co-starred in Send in the Girls, a seven episode comedy about a Sales Promotion Team that also starred Floella Benjamin, Annie Ross, Andrew Sachs and Anna Carteret, and the six episode sit-com Take My Wife, playing spouse Josie in a vehicle designed for comedian Duggie Brown.
Other television appearances have included In Loving Memory, Play for Today, Dempsey & Makepeace, The Bill, Peak Practice and Faith in the Future.
In 1981, former Doctor Who producer Barry Letts cast Elisabeth as one of the leads in the BBC's production of Gulliver in Lilliput, and she worked with Letts again, playing the Dormouse in the 1986 adaption of Alice in Wonderland.
Elisabeth appeared as a bank secretary in "Silver Dream Racer", a movie written by Michael Billington (Foster in UFO) and starring David Essex.
Sarah-Jane Smith has never been too far away for Elisabeth – as well as the 20th anniversary celebration story "The Five Doctors", the Children In Need special "Dimensions in Time", as well as the BBV production "Downtime", there were also the BBC Radio plays "The Paradise of Death" and "The Ghosts of N-Space". Big Finish Productions is also currently releasing several audio adventures featuring Sarah-Jane. Elisabeth also appeared in the Bernice Summerfield story "Walking to Babylon", as Ninan-ashtammu, a member of that ancient civilisation.
Previously a celebrity guest at the Cult TV Festivals in 1996 and 1997, we were delighted that Elisabeth joined us once more in 2006.
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