As previously mentioned on The Doctor Who Companion, Candy Jar Books has now confirmed that its upcoming release, Just Sarah: More Than Fifty Years of a Doctor Who Companion, will include a long-lost interview with Third Doctor actor, Jon Pertwee.
The interview was conducted in the mid-1990s, shortly before the actor’s death, so is one of, if not the last interview with Pertwee. He passed away on 20th May 1996, before the interview could even be written up.
Anthony Forth, whose chapter in Just Sarah covers the 1990s audio dramas with Jon Pertwee and Elisabeth Sladen, also wrote up part of the interview for the DWC. In it, Jon spoke about how much input he had in Doctor Who; the success of The Paradise of Death; and his hopes for The Spare Part People, a Doctor Who story he co-wrote which he aimed to get published as a novel.
In his piece for the DWC, Anthony said:
“He was able to celebrate his successes, but there was a sense that he wanted more, and he had more to give. He appreciated the love of Doctor Who fans and the opportunity to be creative, even if it was tinged with a little frustration.”
Ultimately, the interview was used on Anthony’s website and in a New Zealand fanzine, but has been largely overlooked for almost two decades.
Just Sarah is a celebration of the character played by Elisabeth Sladen, including her time with the Third and Fourth Doctors, her return in twenty-first century Doctor Who, and spin-offs, K9 & Company, Big Finish’s Sarah Jane Smith audio series, and CBBC’s The Sarah Jane Adventures. It’s written by a number of people who write for the DWC, so if you like this site, you’ll probably like the book too! The non-fiction collection features chapters on Sarah’s introduction in The Time Warrior and her subsequent meetings with Sontarans; her career as a journalist and importance as a feminist symbol; her relationship with the Doctor; Sarah’s adventures during the “Wilderness Years”; Sladen’s career outside Doctor Who; and much more. The title, Just Sarah, comes from an introduction by Baz Greenland (UNIT: The Legacy of Doctor Who) which explains why, while many call her “Sarah Jane”, to us and to the Doctor, she’ll always be just “Sarah.”
Here’s the blurb:
On 15th December 1973, Sarah Jane Smith joined the Doctor on his travels and became one of the most loved companions throughout its initial twenty-six-year run. In 2006, she returned to Doctor Who, which led to her own spin-off series, The Sarah Jane Adventures – the most successful show on CBBC.
Half a century on from The Time Warrior, this essay collection celebrates not just this cherished character but also the remarkable person who played her, as well as those lives she touched.
Just Sarah: More Than Fifty Years of a Doctor Who Companion includes a guide to Sarah’s travels in the TARDIS and beyond; examinations of her relationship with the Doctor; a look at the horror tropes in tales like Planet of Evil and The Brain of Morbius; recollections of Sladen’s other roles (often for Third Doctor producer, Barry Letts); warm memories from artists, Colin Howard and Martin Geraghty; and much more.
Plus, of course, why she’s not Sarah Jane Smith – she is just Sarah.
