New Dr Who series for children
Thursday, 14 Sep 2006 16:17
Dr Who (Jon Pertwee) companion gets her own show
One of Dr Who's sidekicks is to have her own TV series aimed at children.
Investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith was one of the companions to the third and fourth doctors, Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, and was a regular in the series from 1973 to 1976.
Shown on the CBBC channel, The Sarah Jane Adventures will be set in the present day and stars the original Sarah Jane actress Elisabeth Sladen while Yasmin Paige plays her 13-year-old neighbour.
The two have to join forces to fight evil aliens at work in Britain.
Commenting on the return of her character, Elisabeth said: "I left Sarah Jane but she never left me. I can't wait to return to Cardiff to find out what's going to happen to her next."
The award-winning writer Russell T Davies has signed up to pen the series, which begins with a 60-minute special to be shown early next year and will be followed by the series later on in 2007.
He said: "Children's TV has a fine history of fantasy thrillers - I loved them as a kid, and they were the very first things I ever wrote. So it's brilliant to return to such a vivid and imaginative area of television."