Doctor Who fans pay tribute to late Sarah Jane Smith star as Russell T Davies drops moving new episode

DOCTOR WHO fans paid tribute to the late character Sarah Jane Smith in an emotional new episode written by showrunner Russell T Davies.

The special show said farewell to the legendary character, played by Elisabeth Sladen between 1973-1976 and 2006-2010.

Russell, 56, was Doctor Who's head writer for the show's relaunch in 2005 and was in the role until 2010.

He returned to produce the tribute episode of the sci-fi program's spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures, which focused on the character played by the iconic actress.

Sarah Jane Smith was a journalist who would become an ally for Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor and Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor, as well as guest starring alongside David Tennant.

Elisabeth passed away at the age of 65 after a battle with cancer.

Fans took to Twitter to praise the kind gesture, which they believed was an ideal way to remember the former character.

One wrote: "This story is so touching. I hope the Doctor can visit her grave sometime. Whether it is her past, her present or her future. #SubwaveNetwork#FarewellSarahJane."

Another commented: "Oh gosh, this just wrecked me. The Sarah Jane Adventures was my lifeline during some rough years, so this beautiful, touching, absolutely perfect ending was more than I could have ever asked for. #FarewellSarahJane."

Meanwhile, another fan tweeted: "#FarewellSarahJane proves exactly why @russelldavies63 is missed so much on #DoctorWho. His writing in 13 minutes proved more emotional than 8 seasons of the whole show since his departure. I find his writing just brilliant."

Another tearful fan wrote: "I'm genuinely gonna need 3-5 working days to recover from this #FarewellSarahJane."

The short video was made with her show's original cast, who filmed their respective scenes at home on their phones due to the coronavirus lockdown.

Characters such as Captain Jack Harkness, Luke Smith, Rani Chandra, and Sky Smith appeared in the farewell clip.

Rani, played by Anjli Mohindra, 30, ended the episode by declaring Sarah is out there somewhere, travelling the stars with The Doctor.

She said: "I honestly think, in my heart and soul, that he came back for her. Right at the end, the Doctor came back for his Sarah Jane."