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Why Martha Jones cameo in Sarah Jane Adventures never happened

Russell T Davies revealed Martha was originally going to be the companion who was in all the shows – Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.

Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones in Doctor Who.

BBC

Published: Tuesday, 21 March 2023 at 9:38 am

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As Russell T Davies returns to Doctor Who and plans the next iteration of spin-offs, he has been reflecting on one of his original creations, The Sarah Jane Adventures.

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In doing so, Davies recently recalled why Freema Agyeman, who was at one point set to appear in the show as her character Martha Jones having already crossed over with Torchwood, was unable to appear in the series.

Speaking with this month's issue of SFX Magazine, Davies said: "She was going to be the companion who was in all the shows – she’d cross over into Torchwood, then The Sarah Jane Adventures. Then Chris Chibnall came along and offered her Law & Order: UK, and you can’t argue with that."

This meant that the scripts had to be re-written with Nicholas Courtney brought back as the Brigadier to fill Martha's role in the story.

The cast of The Sarah Jane Adventures.

The cast of The Sarah Jane Adventures. BBC

Davies continued: "Because of Nicholas Courtney's age, he wasn't in that story very much. Martha would have been sitting in that car with Sarah Jane, driving around solving crimes together."

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Davies is now in the midst of planning future spin-offs, while also acting as showrunner on Doctor Who once again. One of the spin-offs in development will reportedly centre on UNIT, with Jemma Redgrave reprising her role as the Brigadier's daughter Kate Lethbridge-Stewart.

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However, something which does seem unlikely at this point is a spin-off aimed at children as The Sarah Jane Adventures was, with Davies telling SFX: "It’s an ideal, but we’re coming back to a world in which money in children’s [TV] is in even shorter supply.

"Even with all the good will in the world, we’d find it very hard to do now, unfortunately. There are fantasy shows – they do do stuff. But our stuff is expensive."

SFX is on sale on Wednesday 22nd March with subscriber copies available from Saturday 18th March.

Episodes of Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures are available to stream on BBC iPlayer and BritBox – you can sign up for a 7-day free trial here.

Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage and visit our TV Guide or Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight.

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Authors

Black and white cut-out portrait headshot of James Hibbs, smiling against a lime green background.

James HibbsDrama Writer

James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.

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