“The universe has to move forward. Pain and loss, they define us as much as happiness or love. Whether it’s a world, or a relationship… Everything has its time. And everything ends”
— Sarah Jane Smith from the “School Reunion” episode of Doctor Who (2006)
Very sad news…. Elisabeth Sladen, who played the most popular of the Doctor’s companions, Sarah Jane Smith, died yesterday of cancer at the age of 63.
She appeared on Doctor Who from 1973 to 1976, working alongside Jon Pertwee’s third Doctor and Tom Baker’s fourth Doctor. She later guest starred in an episode of the rebooted series in 2006 alongside David Tennant’s tenth Doctor. This led to her getting her own show, the Who spinoff, The Sarah Jane Adventures.
On a personal note, she was the companion when I first started watching Doctor Who oh, so many years ago. And even after many many more years of Who, Sarah Jane has always been favourite non-Doctor character.