Happy Birthday to Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith)

In 1973, 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. She was offered and accepted the part of investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith.

Sladen stayed on Doctor Who from the start of Season 11 to mid-way through Season 14. She worked with both Pertwee as the Third Doctor and Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor. She received both popular and critical acclaim for her role as Sarah. When she left the series in 1976, it made front page news, where previously only a change of Doctors had received such attention. Bob Baker and Dave Martin intentionally left Sarah's departure scene in The Hand of Fear unwritten, and Sladen and Tom Baker co-wrote Sarah's departure scene themselves. She was sad to be leaving Doctor Who and cried on her last day.

Sladen stayed on Doctor Who from the start of Season 11 to mid-way through Season 14. She worked with both Pertwee as the Third Doctor and Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor. She received both popular and critical acclaim for her role as Sarah. When she left the series in 1976, it made front page news, where previously only a change of Doctors had received such attention. Bob Baker and Dave Martin intentionally left Sarah's departure scene in The Hand of Fear unwritten, and Sladen and Tom Baker co-wrote Sarah's departure scene themselves. She was sad to be leaving Doctor Who and cried on her last day.

On 25th July 2005, the BBC confirmed that Sladen would indeed be appearing as Sarah Jane Smith in Series 2 of the revived Doctor Who. The BBC subsequently announced that John Leeson would also be returning as the voice of the robot dog K-9. The episode, School Reunion, served to finally cement the link between the revival and the original series. The postive response to Sladen's appearance led to the BBC commissioning another attempt at a Sarah Jane spinoff series, this time created by Russell T Davies. Invasion of the Bane (not technically a pilot, as the BBC had already agreed to a season), a special premiere episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures, aired on 1st January 2007 and was followed by a ten episode series later in the year. Series 2 aired in 2008, followed by Series 3 in 2009, and Series 4 in autumn 2010. A fifth series has been confirmed.