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Elisabeth Claira Heath Sladen[2] (1 February 1946[3][4][1][5] – 19 April 2011) was an English actress best known for her role as Sarah Jane Smith in the British television series Doctor Who. She appeared as a regular from 1973 to 1976, opposite both Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, and reprised the role many times in subsequent decades, both on Doctor Who and its spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures. Contents [hide] 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 Early career 2.2 Sarah Jane Smith 2.3 Other work 3 Personal life 4 References 5 External links [edit] Early life Sladen was the only child of Tom Sladen, who fought in World War I and served in the Home Guard during World War II.[citation needed] Her mother Gladys' maiden name was Trainor,[3] which is a Northern Irish name commonly seen in Liverpool.[citation needed] Sladen developed an interest in performing at an early age, beginning dance lessons when she was five, and dancing in one production with the Royal Ballet. She was a primary school contemporary of future politician Edwina Currie (née Cohen), appearing in at least one school production with her; and a grammar school contemporary of Peter Goldsmith, the future Attorney-General, when both attended Quarry Bank School (now Calderstones School).[6] [edit] Career [edit] Early career After attending drama school for two years, Sladen began work at the Liverpool Playhouse repertory company as an assistant stage manager. Her first stage appearance was as a corpse. However, she was scolded for giggling on stage, thanks to a young actor, Brian Miller, whispering the words, "Respiration nil, Aston Villa two" in her ear while he was playing a doctor. Sladen was so good as an assistant stage manager that she did not get many acting roles, a problem she solved by deliberately making mistakes on several occasions.[citation needed] This got her told off again, but she started to get more on-stage roles. Sladen made her first, uncredited, screen appearance in 1965 in the film Ferry Cross the Mersey as an extra. Sladen eventually moved into weekly repertory work, travelling around to various locations in England. Sladen and Miller, now married, moved to Manchester, spending three years there. She appeared in numerous roles, most notably as Desdemona in Othello, her first appearance as a leading lady. She also got the odd part on Leeds Radio and Granada Television, eventually appearing as a barmaid in 1970 in six episodes of the long-running soap opera Coronation Street. In 1971, Sladen was in two episodes of Z-Cars. Then, in 1972, she was appearing in a play that moved down to London, and they had to move along with it. Her first television role in London was as a terrorist in an episode of Doomwatch. This was followed by guest roles in Z-Cars (again),[7] Public Eye, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em and Special Branch. [edit] Sarah Jane Smith In 1973, Doctor Who actress Katy Manning, who was playing the Third Doctor's assistant Jo Grant opposite Jon Pertwee, was leaving the series. Producer Barry Letts was growing increasingly desperate in his search for a replacement, when Z-Cars producer Ron Craddock gave Sladen an enthusiastic recommendation. Sladen arrived at the audition not knowing it was for the new companion role, and was amazed at Letts's thoroughness. She was introduced to Pertwee, whom she found intimidating at the time. As she chatted with Letts and Pertwee, each time she turned to look at one of them the other would signal a thumbs-up.[8] She was offered and accepted the part of investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith. She stayed on Doctor Who for three and a half seasons, alongside Pertwee as the Third Doctor and Tom Baker as the Fourth, receiving both popular and critical acclaim for her role as Sarah Jane. When she left the series, in the 1976 serial The Hand of Fear, it made front page news,[citation needed] where previously only a change of Doctors had received such attention. In October, 2009, Sladen paid tribute to her boss and friend, Barry Letts, after he died. She said Letts was her closest friend on Doctor Who. Sladen returned to the character of Sarah Jane Smith on numerous occasions. In 1981, new Doctor Who producer John Nathan-Turner asked her to return to the series to ease the transition between Tom Baker and new Doctor Peter Davison. She declined but accepted his second offer of doing a pilot for a spin-off series called K-9 and Company, co-starring K-9, the popular robot dog from Doctor Who. However, the pilot was not picked up for a series. Two years later Sladen appeared in the 20th anniversary special The Five Doctors. She reprised the role in the 1993 Children in Need special Dimensions in Time, and in the 1995 independently produced video Downtime alongside former co-star Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Deborah Watling as Victoria Waterfield. This was her last on-screen appearance as Sarah Jane Smith for some time. Sladen played Sarah Jane in several audio plays. Two of them were produced for BBC Radio, The Paradise of Death (Radio 5, 1993), and The Ghosts of N-Space (Radio 2, 1996), together with Jon Pertwee and Nicholas Courtney. Big Finish Productions has also produced two series of Sarah Jane Smith audio adventures set in the present day, released in 2002 and 2006. Her daughter Sadie has also appeared in the audios. In later years, Sladen had also participated re-visiting a few classic Doctor Who serials on DVD in doing audio commentaries and interviews (in the stories she starred in), but as of 2008 she stated in an interview that she was no longer doing them due to "contractual reasons with 2entertain".[9] Following the successful revival of Doctor Who in 2005, Sladen guest starred as Sarah Jane in "School Reunion", an episode of the 2006 series, along with John Leeson, who returned as the voice of the robot dog K-9, and David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. Sladen was ever faithful to the character and worked a lot of the characterisation herself, in the lead-up to the broadcast of "School Reunion" she was quoted in The Daily Mirror as saying: "Sarah Jane used to be a bit of a cardboard cut-out. Each week it used to be, 'Yes Doctor, no Doctor', and you had to flesh your character out in your mind — because if you didn't, no one else would." She also spoke favourably of the characterisation in the new series.[10] Following her successful appearance in the series, Sladen later starred in The Sarah Jane Adventures, a Doctor Who spin-off focusing on Sarah Jane, produced by BBC Wales for CBBC and created by Russell T Davies. A 60-minute special aired on New Year's Day 2007, with a 10-episode series commencing broadcast in September 2007. The programme was nominated for a prestigious Royal Television Society award[11] and was recommissioned for a second 12-episode series which was broadcast in late 2008.[12] The third series was broadcast in Autumn 2009, and again achieved audience ratings well in excess of the usual average figures for the time slot (sometimes even double). A fourth season began airing in October 2010. Sladen also read two original audio stories for The Sarah Jane Adventures,[7] which were released in November 2007 on CD: The Glittering Storm by Stephen Cole and The Thirteenth Stone by Justin Richards. This was the first time that BBC Audiobooks have commissioned new content for exclusive release on audio.[13] Two new audio stories ("Ghost House" and "Time Capsule") were released in November 2008, both read again by Sladen.[14] Sladen appeared in the final two episodes of Doctor Who’s 2008 series (season 4) finale "The Stolen Earth" and "Journey's End" and was credited in the title sequence of both episodes.[15] Her final appearance in Doctor Who was a cameo in the concluding part of "The End of Time", Tennant's last episode as the Doctor.[16] [edit] Other work After Doctor Who, Sladen returned to Liverpool with her husband and performed in a series of plays. This included a two-hander with Miller in Moonie and his Caravans. Notable appearances following that include a two-year stint as a presenter for the children's programme Stepping Stones, a lead role with Miller playing her husband in ITV drama Send In The Girls, a BBC Play For Today, a role as a stand-up comic's spouse in Take My Wife, and a small part in the movie Silver Dream Racer as a bank secretary in 1980, only her second motion picture appearance. In 1981, former Doctor Who producer Barry Letts cast her as the female lead in the BBC Classics production of Gulliver in Lilliput. She continued to appear in various advertisements and in another Letts production, Alice in Wonderland (playing the Dormouse), as well as attending conventions in the United States. After the birth of her daughter Sadie Miller in 1985, Sladen went into semi-retirement, placing her family first, but finding time for the occasional television appearance. In 1995, she played Dr Pat Hewer in 4 episodes of Peak Practice. In 1996, she played Sophie in Faith in the Future, and appeared in 15 episodes of the BBC schools programme Numbertime, which was repeated annually for around ten years. This was her last television acting appearance until the 2006 Doctor Who episode "School Reunion". In 1991, she starred as Alexa opposite Colin Baker in The Stranger audio adventure The Last Mission for BBV Audio. Sladen also appeared in a Bernice Summerfield audio drama, Kate Orman's Walking to Babylon. In 2008–09, Sladen appeared in a panto production of Peter Pan at the Theatre Royal Windsor, playing Mrs. Darling and a beautiful mermaid.[17] [edit] Personal life Sladen married actor Brian Miller in 1968 in Liverpool;[18] the marriage lasted until her death. Their daughter, Sadie Miller, appeared with her in the range of Sarah Jane Smith audio plays by Big Finish Productions. As a child, Sadie appeared alongside Sladen in the 1996 documentary, Thirty Years in the TARDIS, wearing a replica of the Andy Pandy overalls Sladen wore in The Hand of Fear. Sladen died early on 19 April 2011,[19] after having cancer for several months.[20][21][22] The first episode of series six of the revived version of Doctor Who "The Impossible Astronaut" aired on the Saturday following Sladen's death. The episode started with a screen announcing that it was dedicated to the memory of Elisabeth Sladen. Straight after 'Doctor Who', a special tribute called 'My Sarah Jane: A Tribute to Elisabeth Sladen' was aired on CBBC.[21] Sladen had also been interested in being involved in the Doctor Who Fourth Doctor Big Finish series.[23] [edit] References

Summary:
Back in March 1990, Jean Riddler interviewed the amazing Elisabeth Sladen for the Doctor Who Magazine (specifically DWM #163 – August 1990). Presented here, for the first time ever, is the full audio recording of that conversation.

Please note, this was recorded in the back room of Lis’ agent, so don’t be surprised to hear the odd phone ringing! Also this has been sat on an audio tape for the past 21 years, so please forgive the audio quality. We trust you’ll agree with us that this vintage recording is worthwhile despite these minor technical issues and join us in expressing thanks to our friend Jean for digging this tape out and digitising it for all to hear!

Vital Links:

• Staggering Stories.
• Wikipedia: Elisabeth Sladen.
• BBC: Doctor Who.
• BBC: The Sarah Jane Adventures.
• Doctor Who Podcast Alliance.
• Facebook: Staggering Stories Group.
• Twitter: Adam J Purcell.

 

today, we talk about the impossible astronaut and why we can comment about it.
i talk people from america and talk about how gallifrey base is the armpit of fandom
and a short tribute to sarah jane plus, we welcome our new member, erin from the philippines
download it here


diclaimers:

intro and out song:
Electrosonic by Delia derbyshire


artwork:
the pandorica artist rendering
copyright BBC

sarah jane tribute:
amy's theme by murray gold
audio from doctor who, bbc news and sarah jane adventures
copyright BBC

today, we talk about the impossible astronaut and why we can comment about it.
i talk people from america and talk about how gallifrey base is the armpit of fandom
and a short tribute to sarah jane plus, we welcome our new member, erin from the philippines
download it here


diclaimers:

intro and out song:
Electrosonic by Delia derbyshire


artwork:
the pandorica artist rendering
copyright BBC

sarah jane tribute:
amy's theme by murray gold
audio from doctor who, bbc news and sarah jane adventures
copyright BBC

today, we talk about the impossible astronaut and why we can comment about it.
i talk people from america and talk about how gallifrey base is the armpit of fandom
and a short tribute to sarah jane plus, we welcome our new member, erin from the philippines
download it here


diclaimers:

intro and out song:
Electrosonic by Delia derbyshire


artwork:
the pandorica artist rendering
copyright BBC

sarah jane tribute:
amy's theme by murray gold
audio from doctor who, bbc news and sarah jane adventures
copyright BBC

Nearly typed "planet" there.... What else would any self-respecting Doctor Who podcast be doing straight after Easter. Why, reviewing The Impossible Astronaut of course! The DWP is no different, and it is with a spring in our step and a thrill coursing our entire bodies that we review the season opener. We also announce the [...]

A double dose of Who this week. First a review of the classic First Doctor story, The Aztecs. Then the episode we have been waiting for months, The Impossible Astronaut.

Also, a look back on the life of Elisabeth Sladen, our Sarah Jane Smith.

And of course, your feedback.

Plus, please note, we are still in the process of moving our iTunes feed over to our new server. If you fail to get this week’s episode in iTunes, you can subscribe to the show by clicking the subscribe links on the right side of the page. Also, you can go to feeds.feedburner.com/travelvortex to update your subscription options. And you can download a copy of the show right here from this post.

Enjoy!

Links mentioned in the show;

Cyberman Bob by Mark Lee.

Nearly typed “planet” there…. What else would any self-respecting Doctor Who podcast be doing straight after Easter. Why, reviewing The Impossible Astronaut of course! The DWP is no different, and it is with a spring in our step and a thrill coursing our entire bodies that we review the season opener. We also announce the [...]

Just a spoonful of sugar.... (Episode 2 coming soon!!!)

Just a spoonful of sugar.... (Episode 2 coming soon!!!)

It was a week of wildly mixed emotions in the world of Doctor Who. Anticipation for the (staggeringly good) Series 6 premiere, The Impossible Astronaut, was stopped dead in its tracks by the tragic passing of Elisabeth Sladen - Sarah Jane Smith herself and companion extraordinaire to us all. The Three Who Rule heap praise on both The Impossible Astronaut and Sladen during this episode; hopefully we do justice in celebrating their many respective merits.

Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

It was a week of wildly mixed emotions in the world of Doctor Who. Anticipation for the (staggeringly good) Series 6 premiere, The Impossible Astronaut, was stopped dead in its tracks by the tragic passing of Elisabeth Sladen – Sarah Jane Smith herself and companion extraordinaire to us all. The Three Who Rule heap praise on both The Impossible Astronaut and Sladen during this episode; hopefully we do justice in celebrating their many respective merits.

Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

It was a week of wildly mixed emotions in the world of Doctor Who. Anticipation for the (staggeringly good) Series 6 premiere, The Impossible Astronaut, was stopped dead in its tracks by the tragic passing of Elisabeth Sladen – Sarah Jane Smith herself and companion extraordinaire to us all. The Three Who Rule heap praise on both The Impossible Astronaut and Sladen during this episode; hopefully we do justice in celebrating their many respective merits.

Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

Matt is joined by Mike from the Earth Station One Podcast ( http://esopodcast.com ), Wes from the Omega Podcast ( http://www.theomegapodcast.org ), and the Hurricane of Feedback Len Ramsey to discuss the Series 6 premiere of Doctor Who.

In a break from our usual schedule we pay tribute to the sadly departed Elisabeth Sladen and discuss the character of Sarah Jane Smith. http://www.justgiving.com/inmemoryofelisabethsladen

In this episode we'll be looking at the music of Norman Forber Kay focusing on his music from Series 1 of Doctor Who. In this episode we will look at his work on Serial A - Story 1 - The Unearthly Child, Serial E - Story 5 - The Keys of Marinus and Serial G, Story 7 - The Sensorites.

In this episode we'll be looking at the music of Norman Forber Kay focusing on his music from Series 1 of Doctor Who. In this episode we will look at his work on Serial A - Story 1 - The Unearthly Child, Serial E - Story 5 - The Keys of Marinus and Serial G, Story 7 - The Sensorites.

With the very sad news of the death of Elisabeth Sladen the Collective come together pay tribute to both the actress herself and our own Sarah Jane Smith. This is a second tribute following on from the Studio tribute by Ian, Mike & daveac

With the very sad news of the death of Elisabeth Sladen the Collective come together pay tribute to both the actress herself and our own Sarah Jane Smith. This is a second tribute following on from the Studio tribute by Ian, Mike & daveac

With the very sad news of the death of Elisabeth Sladen the Collective come together pay tribute to both the actress herself and our own Sarah Jane Smith. This is a second tribute following on from the Studio tribute by Ian, Mike & daveac

With the very sad news of the death of Elisabeth Sladen the Collective come together pay tribute to both the actress herself and our own Sarah Jane Smith. This is a second tribute following on from the Studio tribute by Ian, Mike & daveac

The Impossible Astronaut – by Steven Moffat Starring: Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill & Alex Kingston Four envelopes, numbered 2, 3 and 4, each containing a date, time and map reference, unsigned, but TARDIS blue. Who sent them? And who received the missing envelope numbered 1? This strange summons reunites the Doctor, Amy, Rory and River Song in the middle of the Utah desert and unveils a terrible secret the Doctor's friends must never reveal to him. Placing his life entirely in their hands, the Doctor agrees to search for the recipient of the fourth envelope and figure out just who is Canton Everett Delaware the Third? Also what is the relevance of their only other clue: 'Space 1969'? Their quest lands them—quite literally—in the Oval Office, where they are enlisted by President Nixon to assist enigmatic former-FBI agent Canton in saving a terrified little girl from a mysterious spaceman. Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. This video is for critical and educational purposes only and is protected under fair use.

5 days until Day of the Moon.

CATALYST:

5 days until Day of the Moon.

CATALYST:

Best series opener yet? Debatable, but "The Impossible Astronaut" definitely benefited from, for the first time since 2005, not having to establish a new status quo (which even "New Earth" had to do given Tennant's comparatively brief screen time in "The Christmas Invasion," but I digress…).

Where was I? Oh, yes — a series opener that, freed from having to Explain New Things, leaped straight into a story of heft and dread that will surely catch the attention of new viewers. Tick boxes were checked, and checked well — although there is ONE thing I'm disappointed about…

On this week show we gathered for a very special episode of the ESO Podcast where we are here to celebrate our 1st anniversary, and there's no better way to do it them talking about our favorite Cartoons growing up, both Saturday morning and the one's we caught after school. Join us for this week … Continue reading →

This week's show starts with the sad news of the passing of the actress Elizabeth Sladen who played iconic Dr Who companion Sarah Jane Smith, then after a bit of feedback from Andre T of The Happiness Patrol podcast it's the first of this year's mini reviews with the The Impossible Astronaut.

f you want to send me comments or feedback you can email them to tdrury2003@yahoo.co.uk or contact me on twitter where I'm @tdrury or send me a friend request and your comments to facebook where I'm Tim Drury and look like this http://www.flickr.com/photos/tdrury/3711029536/in/set-72157621161239599/ in case you were wondering.

This week's show starts with the sad news of the passing of the actress Elizabeth Sladen who played iconic Dr Who companion Sarah Jane Smith, then after a bit of feedback from Andre T of The Happiness Patrol podcast it's the first of this year's mini reviews with the The Impossible Astronaut.

f you want to send me comments or feedback you can email them to tdrury2003@yahoo.co.uk or contact me on twitter where I'm @tdrury or send me a friend request and your comments to facebook where I'm Tim Drury and look like this http://www.flickr.com/photos/tdrury/3711029536/in/set-72157621161239599/ in case you were wondering.

This week's show starts with the sad news of the passing of the actress Elizabeth Sladen who played iconic Dr Who companion Sarah Jane Smith, then after a bit of feedback from Andre T of The Happiness Patrol podcast it's the first of this year's mini reviews with the The Impossible Astronaut.

f you want to send me comments or feedback you can email them to tdrury2003@yahoo.co.uk or contact me on twitter where I'm @tdrury or send me a friend request and your comments to facebook where I'm Tim Drury and look like this http://www.flickr.com/photos/tdrury/3711029536/in/set-72157621161239599/ in case you were wondering.

The Hand of Fear - by Bob Baker & Dave Martin Starring: Tom Baker & Elisabeth Sladen The Doctor and Sarh return to Earth, but are plunged into danger as soon as they step from the TARDIS. They arrive in a quarry rigged with explosives, and the blast leaves Sarah unconscious in the rubble, a fossilised stone hand in her grip. What strange power does the hand have over Sarah Jane? Follow MrTARDISreviews on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/MrTARDISreviews Title card by MoonMenUnit42: http://moon-manunit-42.deviantart.com/ Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. This review is for critical and educational purposes only and is protected under fair use.

The Impossible astronaut & The Moonbase. Slight accident during recording ment the last third is rerecorded.

Doctor Who: Podshock - Episode 243
Running time: 1:39:24

Elisabeth Sladen's passing and other Doctor Who news, Anthony S Burdge and Jessica Burke report on the Doctor Who 2011 NYC Premiere event, feedback, and more.

Hosted by Louis Trapani, Ken Deep and James Naughton.

Presented to you by the Gallifreyan Embassy and is a production of Art Trap Productions.

This podcast is made possible in part by and is brought to you by Podshock Supporting Subscribers and from donations from listeners like you.

Get the DWP Podcast Companion App for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

This episode is also brought to you by Audible. Visit http://www.audiblepodcast.com/arttrap for your FREE audio-book download with free trial.

Do you want the Enhanced Podcast AAC file format? Get our Enhanced Podcast version of this episode using our feed at http://www.gallifreyanembassy.org/podshock/podshock.xml.

0 days until The Impossible Astronaut.

RIP:

Elisabeth Claira Heath-Sladen

1 Feb 1946 - 19 Apr 2011

0 days until The Impossible Astronaut.

RIP:

Elisabeth Claira Heath-Sladen

1 Feb 1946 - 19 Apr 2011