Yesterday the Doctor lost a companion and an old friend. Sarah Jane Smith you will be missed but never forgotten.
Elisabeth Sladen died yesterday after a very private battle with cancer. She leaves behind a husband, actor Brian Miller, and her daughter, Sadie. Some working close with her didn't even know she was sick. On his official website, Tom Baker said, "Sarah Jane dead? No, impossible! Impossible. Only last week I agreed to do six new audio adventures with her for Big Finish Productions."
When the news broke, the reaction was utter sadness in our house, as well as in the home of so many other Doctor Who fans. My two year old knows who Sarah Jane is, he even recognizes her sonic lipstick! Her charisma never altered from the old series in the 1970's to her more recent roles, it drew you in and made you want to know her.
The creator of The Sarah Jane Adventures Russell T Davies said: "I absolutely loved Lis. She was funny and cheeky and clever and just simply wonderful. The universe was lucky to have Sarah Jane Smith; the world was lucky to have Lis."
Steven Moffat, Doctor Who's Lead Writer and Executive Producer said: "'Never meet your heroes' wise people say. They weren't thinking of Lis Sladen."
Tenth Doctor, David Tennant, said: "I just can't believe that Lis is gone. She seemed invincible. The same woman who enchanted my childhood, enchanted my time on Doctor Who and enchanted generations who have watched her and fallen in love with her - just like I did. I feel very honoured to have shared a TARDIS with Sarah Jane Smith, and I feel very lucky to have shared some time with Lis Sladen. She was extraordinary."
Elisabeth was best known for her role as Sarah Jane Smith on the BBC series Doctor Who. She was a companion for the third and fourth Doctors (Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, respectively) companion from 1973-1976. Her popularity was never more evident then after her final episode in 1976 when she made the front page in papers, a spotlight generally reserved only for a change in Doctors. You can imagine everyone's glee when she returned to the Doctor Who spotlight in a 2005 episode with David Tennant and Billie Piper, "School Reunion". After the success of her appearance, she decided to continue her role as Sarah Jane Smith in a Doctor Who spin-off show geared towards kids called, "The Sarah Jane Adventures". She has since had four very successful seasons, and returned as a guest star in the final two episodes of Doctor Who's 2008 series(Season 4) "The Stolen Earth" and "Journey's End".
For more information, visit the BBC - Doctor Who official website.
