Doctor Who boss pays tribute to late stars Elisabeth Sladen and Ian Marter as he talks rebooting classic characters
DOCTOR Who showrunner Chris Chibnall has discussed which classic characters he’d love to bring back to the show to meet Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor.
The telly boss named Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan, who were played by the late actors Elisabeth Sladen and Ian Marter, at the top of his list.
"People working on the show now worked with Lis Sladen, and everybody still remembers her so fondly and talks about her a lot," he began.
"I would love to see her with the Thirteenth Doctor."
He continued to BBC America: "I would love to have brought back Harry Sullivan too, played by the wonderful Ian Marter from Tom Baker's first season.
"I would have loved to see Sarah and Harry nowadays to check in with them.
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"It's a credit to those actors. They are indelible in my life and memories and those of many others.
"It's so sad that they're not with us anymore."
Chibnall also stated that he would bring back Ace (Sophie Aldred), Tegan (Janet Fielding), Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill) as characters.
He had nothing but praise for the past characters, who he claimed would always live on in the hearts of fans.
The showrunner also confirmed that he will be back with Jodie Whittaker for series 13.
Chibnall gushed about Doctor Who being filled with ‘amazing characters’.
"We have very big, ambitious plans for our third series together… It will be next year sometime, hopefully," he concluded.
Chibnall’s comments come after Sacha Dhawan defended the show’s storylines against criticism for being too ‘woke’.
The BBC recently announced that the show has no plans of stopping anytime soon so Chibnall’s hopes of seeing Whittaker with past characters may become a reality.
Doctor Who‘s season finale airs on BBC One on Sunday 1 March and will be available to stream on iPlayer.