Doctor(s): 1st Doctor (William Hartnell)
Traveled: November 1963 – June 1965
Actor: Jacqueline Hill (17 December 1929 – 18 February 1993)
Episodes & Stories
An Unearthly Child through The Chase, including The Aztecs, The Romans, and The Crusade.
Personality
A history teacher at Coal Hill School, Barbara is compassionate, principled and quietly assertive — often the moral conscience of the group, willing to challenge the Doctor when she disagrees with him.
Interesting Facts
- Jacqueline Hill was the first regular cast member ever seen on screen in Doctor Who.
- Her curiosity about pupil Susan Foreman is literally what kicks off the entire series.
- Hill returned 16 years later playing a different character, the priestess Lexa, opposite Tom Baker in “Meglos” (1980).
What Happened to the Character
Barbara leaves with Ian in The Chase (1965) when the pair find a working device to send them home. Later lore establishes they married.
The Actor Today
Jacqueline Hill largely retired from acting after 1965 to focus on family life. She died of cancer on 18 February 1993, aged 63.