As soon as the thrills of The Impossible Astronaut have faded from our television sets the BBC will reflect on the recent sad passing of Elisabeth Sladen – the actress who played perhaps the greatest and most worthy of the Doctors companions, journalist Sarah Jane Smith – with a 15 minute tribute entitled My Sarah Jane: A Tribute to Elisabeth Sladen.
Announced by the Doctor Who website and via DWM Tweets the programme will be both a tribute and a celebration of both the warmth, compassion and integrity that Elisabeth and her onscreen alter ego engendered in both family, friends and audiences alike.
It will also serve as a compendium of Sarah Jane’s life and times with the Doctor, from her first appearance opposite the Third Doctor in The Time Warrior, to her time fronting her own spin-off from the Doctor Who universe the award winning The Sarah Jane Adventures.
Produced by Gillane Seaborne (Doctor Who: Confidential) and Brian Minchin (Torchwood: Miracle Day) My Sarah Jane: A Tribute to Elisabeth Sladen will air on CBBC at 18:45 straight after The Impossible Astronaut has finished over on BBC one.
I would prefer it to be on BBC1 where it would get more exposure and also would prefer it to be longer but hey it’s nice they’re doing something to honour her. I still haven’t got over it yet.
I thought BBC 1 were doing something as well?
Don’t be silly. They can’t possibly have a 15 minute tribute on BBC1. Why, it would disrupt the scheduling of “So You Think You Can Dance” and the National Lottery programme…
It’s a pity they haven’t done something for Nicholas Courtney as well. But that should be a separate show.
I watched the tribute on iPlayer and although it was short I thought it did well in the short time they were given. Judging from the interviews with Matt Smith and David Tennant they appeared to be as shocked as the rest of us. Clearly, even if the production people of the SJA knew, her illness was kept quiet.
It’s now been a week since Lis’s death was announced and I still can’t believe it…