The Companions of Doctor Who were a series of original full-length novels related to the long-running BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 science fiction television

Science fiction on television

Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...

 programme Doctor Who

Doctor Who

Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...

. Published by Target Books

Target Books

Target Books was a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. The imprint was established as a children's imprint to complement the adult Tandem imprint, and became well known for their highly successful range of...

 in the 1980s, they were the first original novels based on Doctor Who. (Previous Doctor Who fiction had been either short stories in Annuals or novelisations based on television serials.) The books were based on characters who had appeared in the television series as the Doctor's companions

Companion (Doctor Who)

In the long-running BBC television science fiction programme Doctor Who and related works, the term "companion" refers to a character who travels with, and shares the adventures of the Doctor. In most Doctor Who stories, the primary companion acts as both deuteragonist and audience surrogate...

, and explored their lives after leaving the Doctor's company.

The first two books were Turlough

Vislor Turlough

Vislor Turlough is a fictional character played by Mark Strickson in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was a companion of the Fifth Doctor, being a regular in the programme from 1983 to 1984.-Character history:...

 and the Earthlink Dilemma by Tony Attwood

Tony Attwood (writer)

Tony Attwood is an expert in direct mail, who previously worked as a teacher and lecturer, and has written over 80 books on education...

, published in July 1986 based upon the character played by Mark Strickson

Mark Strickson

Mark Strickson is a British TV producer and actor best known for his acting role as the character of Vislor Turlough on the television series Doctor Who.Strickson was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England...

 in the early 1980s, and Harry Sullivan's War, written by Ian Marter

Ian Marter

Ian Don Marter was an English actor and writer, perhaps best known for his role as Harry Sullivan in the BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, from December 1974 to September 1975 as a regular, with a one story return in November and December 1975...

, who had actually played Harry Sullivan

Harry Sullivan

Harry Sullivan is a fictional character from the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who and is a companion of the Fourth Doctor...

 on the series a decade earlier, published in October 1986. These books sold well, but after a third attempt (a 1987 novelisation of the 1981 Doctor Who spin-off, K-9 and Company

K-9 and Company

K-9 and Company was a proposed television spin-off of the original programme run of Doctor Who . It was to feature former series regulars Sarah Jane Smith, an investigative journalist played by Elisabeth Sladen, and K-9, a robotic dog. Both characters had been companions of the Fourth Doctor, but...

) the series ended due to rights disputes between the publishers and the BBC. Other novels would have featured Tegan

Tegan Jovanka

Tegan Jovanka is a fictional character played by Janet Fielding in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. An Australian airline stewardess and a native of Brisbane who was a companion of the Fourth and Fifth Doctors, she was a regular in the programme from 1981 to...

, the Brigadier

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart

Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, generally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Nicholas Courtney...

, Victoria

Victoria Waterfield

Victoria Waterfield is a fictional character played by Deborah Watling in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A native of Victorian England, she was a companion of the Second Doctor and a regular in the programme from 1967 to 1968.-Character history:Victoria first...

 and Mike Yates

Captain Mike Yates

Captain Mike Yates is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Richard Franklin. He was adjutant of the British contingent of UNIT , an international organisation that defends the Earth...

.

Turlough and the Earthlink Dilemma

"My Companions novel Turlough and The Earthlink Dilemma got a very similar reaction to that of Blake's 7: Afterlife. The committed fans did not like it at all. Some of the people who just watched the series and who took the trouble to write, were more complimentary. But I began to think maybe the fans were right, and I just shouldn't be trying to write in this little niche of TV continuation that I had carved out for myself."
Tony Attwood, The Official Dr Who Website, May 2002

Harry Sullivan's War

"Writing Harry Sullivan's War was something Ian had wanted to do for a long time. It's great fun novelising other people's material but it can also be extremely frustrating. I never ceased to be amazed by the wealth of original and intelligent ideas Ian would come up with... Ian had a very good sense of what makes a rattling good yarn and for him the Harry book was a godsend, giving him the chance to create original characters and plotlines while at the same time producing a highly entertaining story."
Target editor Nigel Robinson in "A Tribute to Ian Marter", 'TARDIS' (volume 11, number 4), Winter 1987

K-9 and Company