It was always the Doctor and Sarah.
2005, my first day on a new job. A long table scattered with scripts, water bottles, and paper name plates stretched the whole length of the room. What felt like hundreds of people milled around expectantly, chatting, checking Blackberries, casting sideways glances as I tried to keep breathing and affect an air of insouciant calm. I took my place in front of my little paper sign and glanced around the table. And there - just across from me and down to my left - a face from my childhood leapt out from among the throng.
Sarah Jane Smith was quietly leafing through a script and composing herself for the afternoon ahead. Perhaps she was sipping a glass of water or chatting to her neighbor, I don’t remember now. All I remember is the sense that in that moment, someone familiar, someone comforting, and someone slightly magical had come to make sure everything was going to be all right. If Sarah was here, there was nothing to worry about. Later that afternoon, she would be calling me Doctor. The little eight year old in my head, who was frankly reeling at the fact that I was in that room at all, was soothed and of course thrilled that the Doctor’s one true assistant was there to look out for him. Of course, later, I would get to know Lis and realize she was just as nervous as me that day, but in that moment she represented all that made me want the job in the first place. It was her voice that transported me. In one line she catapulted me back to Saturday tea times. The little catch in her voice as she confronted the latest intergalactic horror. The jeopardy was always palpable - everything seemed so real, almost raw. Everything Sarah did was alive and true. Lis’s absolute conviction in playing that role brought the world of Doctor Who to vivid, irrefutable life. There was no danger that a cheap set or a less than convincing rubber mask would puncture the magic when Lis was there, believing in everything around her with such passionate certitude.
And here she was, just the same. The same conviction, the same passion for it. She was utterly consummate. And of course, she looked the same. Everybody would say it, but Elisabeth Sladen never seemed to age, either in looks or sprit. As an actor. you’re not supposed to get star struck. It isn’t the done thing to be in awe of someone you’re working with. It wouldn’t be very helpful if you can’t look your co-star in the eye when you’re supposed to be playing their boss or their lover; it’s a professional necessity that you can at least pretend to be easy in the company of your colleagues. I would have to admit to a handful of instances where such professionalism has failed me, though, and that afternoon, when I finally met Lis, was one of them. Reading through the script was easy - doing scenes with Sarah Jane Smith, I’d played them out a million times on the playground as a kid. But actually meeting Elisabeth Sladen, who used to be on posters on my bedroom wall, and having to talk to her as an adult - it was all too much.
Except, of course, she was everything I could hope she would be. Charming, diffident, conscientious, giggly, determined, straightforward, a little crazy, and enormously warm. She inspired absolute devotion in everyone who worked with her. Through her largesse and openness, I very quickly moved from adoring fan to genuine devotee. I would quiz her for stories about Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, and after awhile she’d oblige, but always with absolute grace and generosity. She would never bore anyone with actorly anecdotes, she had way too much class; but if you could tease some out of her, they were always delicious.
That day, around that long conference table, was the beginning of a fantastic journey for me. For Lis, it was the continuation of a much longer one, albeit the beginning of a glorious new chapter for Sarah Jane Smith. Those scenes in the episode School Reunion, where the Doctor sees Sarah again after all that time, were some of the most thrilling I had on Doctor Who. It was the realization of a childhood fantasy I’d never imagined I would entertain. It could only have been with Elisabeth. It was always the Doctor and Sarah.
I loved my time on Doctor Who. I had the huge privilege of working with a host of remarkable, gifted, and often highly prestigious actors. My own traveling companions, Billie, Freema, and Catherine, were second to none. But the experience just wouldn’t have been the same if my TARDIS hadn’t been graced by the lady who lit up my childhood and helped me fall in love with it all in the first place. As a child, I was delighted to know Sarah Jane Smith. As an adult, I was privileged to know Elisabeth Sladen. - David Tennant
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