Can it really be five years since we learned the terrible news that Elisabeth Sladen had died? Lis was, after all, something special. As plucky companion Sarah Jane Smith she appeared in 85 episodes of Doctor Who on TV between 1973 and 2010, and 53 episodes of her own series, The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007-11), six episodes of Sarah Jane’s Alien Files (2010), as well as K9 and Company (1981), Dimensions in Time (1993), the straight-tovideo release Downtime (1995) and various audio productions. Millions of viewers took her character to their hearts – as clearly demonstrated by the public response to Sladen’s death. Some 30,000 people left messages of condolence on the CBBC website.
“Oh, that was absolutely phenomenal,” recalls Elisabeth’s daughter, Sadie Miller, today. “It was just so unexpected. Mum would have been very surprised – and very touched as well. We had no idea that there would be such an outpouring of grief.”