# 65b: K9 and Company: A Girl's Best Friend (1981) – BBC – Writer Terence Dudley – Elisabeth Sladen, John Leeson & Bill Cole – Doctor Who Spinoff Special

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/general-witchfinders-the-british-horror-podcast-3516772/65b-k9-and-company-a-girl-s-best-friend-1981-bbc-writer-terence-dudley-elisabeth-sladen-john-leeson-bill-cole-doctor-who-spinoff-special
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Podcast: [General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/general-witchfinders-the-british-horror-podcast-3516772)
Published: 2025-12-31T01:01:00+00:00
Episode link: http://www.generalwitchfinders.com/
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/5fd77337c08ac45a2c50d003/e/69501aba09314afbec752dc4/media.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/general-witchfinders-the-british-horror-podcast-3516772/episodes/65b-k9-and-company-a-girl-s-best-friend-1981-bbc-writer-terence-dudley-elisabeth-sladen-john-leeson-bill-cole-doctor-who-spinoff-special
Duration seconds: 5154

## Resource

In this episode, we explore the 1981 television pilot K-9 and Company, a unique and historic entry in the Doctor Who universe. Produced as a proposed Doctor Who spin-off, K-9 and Company stars the legendary Elisabeth Sladen as investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith alongside the robotic dog K9, voiced by John Leeson. While both were iconic former companions of the Fourth Doctor in Doctor Who, they had never appeared together on screen until the K-9 and Company pilot episode, titled A Girl’s Best Friend. Broadcast on BBC1 as a Doctor Who related Christmas special on 28 December 1981, K-9 and Company remains a vital piece of the Doctor Who franchise history despite not being commissioned for a full series. The existence of K-9 and Company was largely due to Doctor Who producer John Nathan-Turner, who wanted to bring Elisabeth Sladen back to the Doctor Who family. His initial 1980 plan for the actress would have seen Sarah Jane Smith travel in the TARDIS during the Doctor Who transition from Tom Baker to Peter Davison. However, Sladen wanted a role that evolved beyond her previous Doctor Who narrative. Simultaneously, the Doctor Who production team was struggling with the logistics of K9. While K9 was a massive hit with Doctor Who viewers, the prop was technically awkward and made the Doctor Who heroes too capable. The solution was K-9 and Company, a child-orientated Doctor Who spin-off where Sarah Jane Smith would be the central heroic lead. Before K-9 and Company, Elisabeth Clara Heath Sladen built a career in theatre and television, appearing in Z-Cars and Doomwatch. Her work on Z-Cars led directly to her casting in Doctor Who. Interestingly, the Doctor Who role of the new companion for The Time Warrior was originally cast with April Walker. However, Doctor Who lead…

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