Carole Ann Ford, Last Surviving Original 'Doctor Who' Castmember, Pays Tribute To William Russell
Carole Ann Ford, Last Surviving Original 'Doctor Who' Castmember, Pays Tribute To William Russell
Together, they played the Doctor’s granddaughter Susan Foreman and her science teacher Ian Chesterton for 10 serials before her departure. Russell, who died Tuesday at 99, lasted another six.
Original Doctor Who star William Russell, who played Coal Hill School science teacher and first male companion Ian Chesterton, died Tuesday at the age of 99. Many a tribute poured in on social media from the show’s alums who have it. With First Doctor William Hartnell having passed in 1975 and Barbara Wright actress Jacqueline Hill passing in 1993, only Carole Ann Ford, who played the Doctor’s granddaughter and Ian and Barbara’s suspiciously knowledgeable student Susan Foreman, is still alive, and she put out a statement Wednesday.
Ford told RadioTimes “Russ was such a dear, lovely man, an outstanding actor who was dedicated to his craft, but with a wonderful sense of humour and a permanent twinkle in his eye. He was always looking out for me when I played Susan - I wanted to leap over things, fight the villains and do more action, and he got so worried that I would get hurt! I cherished working with him, and the many reunions we had over the years. Russ had such a rich and full life - television, films, theatre, the lot - and quite rightly received such warmth and affection from everyone who knew him. He will be missed."
She starred as Susan with Russell for the first ten serials, from An Unearthly Child to The Dalek Invasion of Earth, airing November 1963 to December 1964, the second serial of season 2. In it, Susan falls in love with David Campbell, a young freedom fighter in 2150. She almost gives up her chance to stay and pursue the relationship, feeling a duty to stay with and take care of The Doctor. He however believes she is grown and deserves her independence, so he locks her out of the TARDIS, leaving after an emotionally tearful goodbye. Russell would only last another 6 serials, where in The Chase, the Dalek story following The Dalek Invasion of Earth and third overall, Ian and Barbara took themselves home via a Dalek time machine. The episode aired six months after Susan’s goodbye, in June 1965.
While it took Russell a world record-earning 57 years to reprise the role of Ian onscreen, Ford also got to return as Susan, though with obviously not as egregious a wait. Her last canon appearance was the 20th anniversary special The Five Doctors, though it is devoid of any sort of exposition as to what her personal situation is like after so long away. She does appear in the 30th anniversary charity special Dimensions in Time but it is not canon.
Ever since, Susan’s fate has been left ambiguous. At first, it was because of the Time War and the believed wipeout of the Time Lords and destruction of their home planet of Gallifrey that it was believed she was a casualty. The Ninth and Tenth Doctors would frequently bring up having lost their family. However, the 50th anniversary special “Day of the Doctor” reveals that Gallifrey was simply hidden away and not wiped out. In the ensuing Twelfth Doctor era, companion Clara Oswald either still believed his family was missing or dead or adopted Twelve’s own belief that that was their status for an act, as in the moment in question she was pretending to be him. He had a picture of Susan on his desk during his tenure as a university professor situated next to his recently-deceased wife River Song’s. The spinoff Class saw her name displayed on the roll of honour at Coal Hill Academy, along with Clara and her boyfriend Danny Pink, both deceased at that point. However, the Master’s genocide of Gallifrey and the Time Lords in series 12 has replanted the Doctor’s belief even stronger that she is dead, as Fifteen, played by Ncuti Gatwa discusses with Ruby Sunday, played by Millie Gibson when in “The Devil’s Chord” he revisits 1963 and points out the First Doctor’s location.
Such a direct discussion of her has renewed fans’ desires for Susan to return alive, and give at least one last appearance, seeing as not only had Russell had his appearance in “Power of the Doctor”, which aired in October 2022, but Bernard Cribbins, who played Donna Noble’s grandfather Wilfred Mott, filmed his return in the second 60th anniversary special “Wild Blue Yonder” in May 2022 just three months before his death that August. Whether it actually brings closure is secondary to the assurance they’re at least still around. The Doctor had always promised that he’d come back for her. One never knows just how much time someone has left on this planet. On top of that, some are calling a Chekhov’s gun, believing she is coming back and involved in the whole mystery surrounding Ruby.
The official Doctor Who YouTube channel uploaded Susan’s ending from her final episode way back in 2013. It can be watched below.
Source: RadioTimes