Caroline John

Of the many satellites that have orbited the eleven (to date) incarnations of 'the Doctor' between 1963 and the present, one of the brightest was Caroline John. Not only was she the most beautiful of the companions, but also stood out for her resourcefulness and intelligence. Having submitted a glamorous modelling shot of herself to the production office, Caroline successfully auditioned for the role and was first featured at the beginning of Season Seven in "Spearhead from Space", as UNIT scientist Dr. Elizabeth Shaw. Her character was developed as the intellectual equal of the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and also shared his moral principles. Her strong and independent personality contrasted markedly from the screaming, helpless scatter-brains who had preceded her, and from those that immediately came after. In a 1987 interview, Caroline revealed that she was on occasion given leeway to ad lib, if it helped to liven up a scene that didn't come off as originally written. Alas, new producer Barry Letts perceived it to be necessary to more fully explain the 'technobabble' to audiences. This required a suitably naïve character to ask the relevant questions. Consequently, Caroline was dropped from the show at the end of the season in favour of Katy Manning, a reversion to the show's standard format. Not until Freema Agyeman, as Martha Jones, would there be another 'assistant', rather than a 'companion', for the Doctor.The daughter of an actor and a dancer, Caroline John was trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, before making her stage debut with the Royal Court Theatre. She then acted in repertory and had a three-and-a-half year stint with the National Theatre Company under the auspices of its artistic director Laurence Olivier, performing in such plays as "Othello", "The Master Builder" and (as Ophelia) in "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead". Caroline joined Lambda in the late 1960's, touring through Italy, Yugoslavia and Romania with D.H. Lawrence's play "Daughter-in-Law". Post- Doctor Who (1963), she had a regular spot on Harry Enfield's Television Programme (1990) and guested in such shows as Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989), Silent Witness (1996) and Midsomer Murders (1997). Caroline occasionally reprised her role of Liz Shaw for direct-to-video spin-offs, an audio series and for the seminal 1983 reunion special 'The Five Doctors' (1983). She also maintained a steady flow of theatrical engagements, and was noted latterly for her solo performance as Mildred Asher in "Nightingale", a play written by Lynn Redgrave, which ran at the New End Theatre in London and at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in 2006. Show less «