Doctor(s): 1st Doctor (William Hartnell)
Traveled: November 1963 – December 1964
Actor: Carole Ann Ford (born 16 June 1940)
Episodes & Stories
An Unearthly Child, The Daleks, The Edge of Destruction, Marco Polo, The Keys of Marinus, The Aztecs, The Sensorites, The Reign of Terror, Planet of Giants, The Dalek Invasion of Earth. Also returned briefly for The Five Doctors (1983) and Dimensions in Time (1993).
Personality
Susan is the Doctor’s granddaughter and the very first companion introduced on the show. She’s intelligent, curious, and knowledgeable in ways that unsettle her 1963 schoolteachers, but also emotionally fragile and deeply attached to the Doctor as her only family.
Interesting Facts
- Susan was the Doctor’s original companion in the very first episode of Doctor Who ever broadcast, 23 November 1963.
- The nature of her relationship to the Doctor has never been fully explained on-screen, remaining one of the show’s oldest mysteries.
- She was the first of the original four TARDIS crew members to leave the series.
- Big Finish Productions has since explored her backstory extensively in audio drama.
What Happened to the Character
In The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964), the Doctor deliberately locks Susan out of the TARDIS, believing she needs to build a life of her own, and leaves her behind in a devastated future London with new love interest David Campbell.
The Actor Today
Carole Ann Ford has returned to the franchise many times for anniversary specials and Big Finish audio dramas reprising Susan, and remains a popular convention guest.