List of Doctor Who supporting characters

Over its nearly-thirty-year history, the television series Doctor Who had many changes of cast. In addition to seven different actors in the lead role alone many characters played ongoing supporting roles. This is an attempt to make a comprehensive list of supporting characters in Doctor Who. They may be monsters, companions or other creatures that appeared on the show, and may include the name of the actor playing the character.

with the First Doctor

 * Susan Foreman (Carole Ann Ford) (Seasons 1, 2 )
 * Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill) (Season 1-3)
 * Ian Chesterton (William Russell) (Seasons 1-3)
 * Vicki (Maureen O'Brien) (Seasons 2, 3)
 * Steven Taylor (Peter Purves) (Seasons 2, 3)
 * Katarina (Adrienne Hill) (Season 3)
 * Sara Kingom (Jean Marsh). (Season 3)
 * Dorothea "Dodo" Chaplet (Jackie Lane) (Season 3)
 * Ben Jackson (Michael Craze) (Seasons 3, 4)
 * Polly (Anneke Wills), (Seasons 3, 4)

with the Second Doctor

 * Ben Jackson (Season 4)
 * Polly (Season 4)
 * James Robert "Jamie" McCrimmon (Frazer Hines) (Seasons 5, 6)
 * Victoria Waterfield (Deborah Watling) (Season 4, 5)
 * Zoe Herriot (Wendy Padbury) (Season 6)

with the Third Doctor

 * Liz Shaw (Caroline John) (Season 7)
 * Josephine "Jo" Grant (Katy Manning) (Season 8-10)
 * Sarah Jane Smith (Elizabeth Sladen) (Season 11)

with the Fourth Doctor

 * Sarah Jane Smith (Season 12-4)
 * Harry Sullivan (Ian Marter) (Season 12)
 * Leela (Louise Jameson) (Seasons 14, 15)
 * K-9 Mark I (voice of John Leeson) (Season 15)
 * K-9 Mark II (voice of John Leeson [Seasons 16 and 18]), voice of David Brierley [Season 17])
 * Romanadvoratrelundar ("Romana") (Mary Tamm [Season 16]; Lalla Ward [Season 17, 18])
 * Adric (Matthew Waterhouse) (Season 18)
 * Nyssa (Sarah Sutton) (Season 18)
 * Tegan Jovanka (Janet Fielding) (Season 18)

with the Fifth Doctor

 * Adric (Season 19)
 * Nyssa of Traken (Seasons 19, 20)
 * Tegan Jovanka (Seasons 19-21)
 * Vislor Turlough (Mark Strickson) (Seasons 20, 21)
 * Perpugilliam "Peri" Brown (Nicola Bryant) (Season 21)
 * Kamelion (voice of Gerald Flood) (Season 20, 21)

with the Sixth Doctor

 * Perpugilliam "Peri" Brown (Nicola Bryant) (Seasons 21-23)
 * Melanie "Mel" Bush (Bonnie Langford) (Season 23)

with the Seventh Doctor

 * Melanie "Mel" Bush (Season 24)
 * Dorothy McShane, aka "Ace" (Sophie Aldred) (Seasons 24-26)

with the Eighth Doctor

 * Dr. Grace Holloway (Daphne Ashbrook) (1996 telemovie)

with the Ninth Doctor

 * Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) (Series 1)

Notes on companions
The Brigadier is thought to be a companion by some, though by others he is not. The argument over whether he is an acceptable companion continues to this day, although he is on the list of companions listed on the BBC Doctor Who site. Some fans also consider UNIT era regulars Sgt. Benton and Capt. Mike Yates to be "companions" although they, too, didn't fit the accepted definition.

Sara Kingdom died in the same story in which she first appears. Some fans define her as a companion and others do not. The same goes for the character Dr. Grace Holloway from the 1996 TV movie, who is offered the chance to travel with the Doctor but declines and therefore appeared only once.

Of the (arguable) companion characters, Katarina, Sara Kingdom, Adric and Kamelion all died on-screen.

Kamelion, an actual robot which had chronic technical problems on the set, appeared in only one story in Season 20 and a second in Season 21 and died in the second story (a brief appearance in-between was filmed but never broadcast). Because Kamelion could change shape into anyone, a number of actors played him.

Susan, Jamie, Harry and Sarah Jane have guest-starred in later stories. Zoe, Liz, Adric, Tegan, Nyssa, Turlough and Kamelion have appeared in cameo roles, played by the original actors rather than in stock footage or still photos. K-9 Mark III has also made a cameo.

Spin-off media have established Ace's surname as McShane. The production team had intended that if revealed in the course of a story Ace would either have the last name Gale (an allusion to the movie version of The Wizard of Oz) or whatever would suit the story. Various novels and audio dramas have offered at least three possible explanations as to how Ace's life progressed after the end of the series.

Among characters likely to have last names, none were ever established for Vicki or Polly. Mel's last name was never mentioned on-screen but comes from official background literature for the character.

Billie Piper, the most recent addition to the list of actors who have co-starred in the series, was only seven years old when Doctor Who last aired as a weekly first-run series in 1989.

Recurring or significant villains

 * The Meddling Monk (Peter Butterworth)
 * The Master (Roger Delgado; Peter Pratt; Geoffrey Beevers; Anthony Ainley; Eric Roberts)
 * Davros (Michael Wisher; David Gooderson; Terry Molloy)
 * Omega (Stephen Thorne; Ian Collier)
 * The Black Guardian (Valentine Dyall)
 * Sil (Nabil Shabin)
 * The Rani (Kate O'Mara)
 * The Valeyard (Michael Jayston)
 * The War Chief (Edward Brayshaw)

The Master appeared as a regular in Season 8 and has many guest appearances in subsequent seasons and the television movie. The Valeyard appeared in every episode of the Season 23, a season which contained just one, long, story.

Other recurring or important characters

 * Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney)
 * Sergeant Benton (John Levene)
 * Captain Mike Yates (Richard Franklin)
 * Borusa (John Arnatt; Philip Latham; Angus McKay; Leonard Sachs)
 * The Inquisitor (Lynda Bellingham)
 * Sabalom Glitz (Tony Selby)

Lethbridge-Stewart appeared as a regular in Seasons 7 and 8 (as well as making guest appearances before and since). Along with his role as Brett Vyon in The Daleks' Master Plan, his appearance in the charity special Dimensions in Time and his participation in the Eighth Doctor audio play Minuet in Hell, Nicholas Courtney has the distinction of having acted with every screen Doctor. Benton and Yates appeared as regulars in Seasons 8, again making other appearances before and after. The Inquisitor appeared in every episode of Season 23.

Enemies or alien species

 * The Daleks including:
 * the black Daleks
 * the gold special operations Daleks
 * the Supreme Daleks
 * the original Dalek Emperor
 * the Imperial Daleks
 * the Renegade Daleks
 * special weapons daleks
 * Glass Dalek
 * Leader of the Dalek Council
 * Kamikaze Bomb Carrying Daleks
 * Special Weapons dalek
 * Silurians
 * Giant Maggots
 * Zygons
 * Mars Ambassadors
 * Ice warriors (from Mars)
 * Varga (ice warrior)
 * Slaar (leader of warriors)
 * Meglos (cactus)
 * Zarbi (giant ants)
 * Menoptera (giant butterflies)
 * Sea Devils (related to the Silurians)
 * the Macra (giant crab-like creatures)
 * Master of the Land of Fiction (in fact an English author)
 * Sensorites (creatures harmed by noise)
 * Mind Parasite (inside Keller machine)
 * Nestene Conciousness (really consiousness of octopoids)
 * Autons (plastic constructs of the Nestene)
 * War Machines (under rule of WOTAN)
 * Axons (under rule of the Nestene Consciousness)
 * Space Pirates
 * Koquillon
 * the Voord (invaders of Marinus)
 * Krotons (crystaline creatures)
 * IMC Mining Robot (under control of IMC)
 * Quarks (not the same as the quantum particles)
 * The Dominators (owners of the Quarks)
 * Daemons
 * Sontarans
 * Cybermen
 * Cybermats
 * Zygons
 * Morbius
 * Robots of Death
 * Euxarius Primitives
 * Super Races Euxariu
 * IMC miners+
 * Giant Spiders
 * Pels
 * Peladon monster
 * Atlantis chronovore


 * + items with a plus sign next to them are humanoid race types.

Historic characters

 * Romans
 * Nero
 * Aztecs
 * French