April 09, 2025
We’d all love to travel with the Doctor, exploring time and space, fighting battles and saving planets... Wouldn’t we?
Although many of the Doctor’s friends have loved their adventures, and they’ve had plenty who longed for a quick trip in the TARDIS, there have been others who have found themselves travelling against their will — at least to start with.
Ahead of Belinda Chandra’s trip home “the long way round”, we’re having a look at some of the other companions who wanted the Doctor to “get them home”!
Donna Noble
Although she remains one of the Doctor’s most devoted friends, Donna’s adventures were bookended by two unintentional adventures.
Accidentally transported into the TARDIS, Donna badgered the Tenth Doctor to return her to her wedding. Having discovered the duplicity of her fiancé Lance, and the fact they’d had the reception without her, Donna helped the Doctor defeat the Racnoss. Her initial anger at not being returned home soon turned into a desire to find the Doctor again — which of course she did!
Having regained her memories during their battle with the Meep, the Fourteenth Doctor offered Donna a quick trip in the TARDIS to visit her granddad, Wilf. Donna, being Donna, spilt a coffee on the console, plunging them into a random adventure in time and space which led them to the ends of the universe. During this adventure, Donna wanted nothing more than to return to her daughter, Rose, which the Doctor eventually accomplished after their encounter with the No-Things.
Vislor Turlough
Turlough would never have encountered the Fifth Doctor if he hadn’t been banished from his home planet (as the result of a civil war) and manipulated by the Black Guardian into attempting to kill the Time Lord. The malevolent force offered Turlough a way off Earth, where he was forced to attend a boarding school as a cover.
Although he eventually overcame the Black Guardian’s influence and joined the TARDIS crew, he never stopped longing for a return to his home planet, although he seemed more resigned to his travels already being an exile.
Having encountered others from Trion on Sarn, including his brother, and discovering there was an amnesty on political prisoners, Turlough left the Doctor and Peri and finally made it home.
Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright
Susan Foreman’s two school teachers were intrigued by her unearthly knowledge and so decided to follow her home — and into the TARDIS. Taken by the First Doctor to prevent them revealing what they had seen, Ian and Barbara were unable to return home due to the Doctor’s inability to control the ship, even as he warmed to them.
The couple enjoyed many adventures with the Doctor but they always aimed to return home. After defeating the Daleks in an epic pursuit through time and space, they gained access to the Daleks’ time machine. Seemingly more reliable than the TARDIS, they persuaded the Doctor to help them operate it and to help them back to Earth.
They arrived safe and sound in London, 1965 — although this was two years after their initial disappearance.
Yasmin Khan, Ryan Sinclair and Graham O’Brien
Having helped the Thirteenth Doctor in the aftermath of her regeneration, Yaz, Ryan and Graham expected to see the last of her when she aimed to trace her missing TARDIS alone. Instead, her equipment malfunctioned and all four found themselves floating in the vacuum of space!
(Un)Luckily, they were picked up by Epzo and Angstrom, part of an intergalactic rally in a far-flung solar system. After finding the TARDIS and completing the rally, the Doctor promised to return them home - resulting in another detour to 1950s America.
After their adventure with Rosa Parks, the Doctor finally got her fam back to Sheffield, but following their battle against a plague of giant spiders, the team decided to join the Doctor for more adventures in the TARDIS — not a bad decision!
Tegan Jovanka
Travelling to Heathrow on her first day as an air stewardess, Tegan’s car got a puncture and, having entered a nearby police box for help, found herself in the TARDIS and travelling to Logopolis!
To his credit, the Doctor did make an effort to get her home, although when he landed in 1981 it was on Monarch’s ship, not Heathrow, and other attempts ended up with Tegan possessed by the Mara on the planet Deva Loka and encountering Terileptils in 1666.
Eventually, Tegan decided to stay on the TARDIS, and she enjoyed a number of travels alongside Nyssa and Adric. However, Adric’s death impacted her greatly and, when the Doctor finally emerged at Heathrow following the Master’s transportation of Concorde to the Jurassic period, Tegan stayed behind.
She rejoined the Doctor having encountered him once again whilst visiting her cousin in Amsterdam but became disillusioned with the nomadic nature of the TARDIS and the constant losses. Having helped defeat the Daleks, she remained in her own time period.
Her troubles in returning home remained a sticking point when she encountered the Thirteenth Doctor again at UNIT!
But will Belinda make it home too? You’ll have to watch Season 2 to find out...
