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Sarah Jane Smith is regarded by many as the first female Dr Who companion to be a help to the Timelord rather than just a screaming hindrance. Elisabeth Sladen played a journalist who became an assistant to the third and fourth incarnations of The Doctor alongside Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker.

Her last appearance with Tom Baker was in 1976 before the arrival of new companions such as the savage girl Leela (played by Louise Jameson).

She returned briefly in one-offs called K9 & Company and the Five Doctors special in the early 1980s, before a fully-fledged cameo with current Doctor David Tennant in 2006.

Not just a companion

The Sarah Jane Adventures is a 10-part series which starts on CΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ1 on Mondays and the CΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ channel on 24 September 2007. It follows the success of the one-off Invasion Of The Bane episode over New Year 2007 and now features SJS with her own sidekicks and with her own 'sonic lipstick'.

The executive producer is Russell T Davies, who was the man behind the revival of Doctor Who which began again in 2005: "This is a wonderful opportunity to use all our Doctor Who resources in Cardiff for the making of a brand new drama for CΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ. We hope brand new viewers join us for ten full-blooded episodes of excitement and danger, headlined by a truly excellent cast."

Elisabeth Sladen says it's a great to be back as Sarah Jane: "We're going to have some fantastic new adventures. There's still so much to find out about her after all these years. I hope that viewers have as much fun watching the series as I did making it.

"She's got a whole new world around her now. She's less lonely, she's still as brave, she's got an adoptive son and she's got to think before she leaps.

"I've got so much faith in Russell - I just look at him and think that if he thinks it can go, then I'm going to give it my best shot.

"It's just like a family feel down there - it's like I remember the classic series."

Elisabeth isn't looking too far in the future at the moment: "I'm not looking past these 10 new episodes. We'll see what the reaction to them is first."

The Sarah Jane Adventures is on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ1 on Mondays at 5pm.

Davros and a cyberman both put in appearances in the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Suffolk display at the Suffolk Show 2008. Click on the gallery on the right for pictures.