It is with great sadness that we report the death of Elisabeth Sladen, known to many as Sarah Jane Smith from Doctor Who, who died this week.
Her illness was not public knowledge so the news of her death came as a shock to many, myself included.
It is no understatement to say that the character of Sarah Jane was one of the most popular (if not the most popular) companion in the history of Doctor Who and that was largely down to Elisabeth.
She joined Doctor Who in 1973 first appearing with Jon Pertwee's Doctor and continued alongside Tom Baker until 1976. She returned to the show on many occasions first in the 80s and more recently in 2006, 2008 and a brief appearance in David Tennant's final episode in 2010. Her appearances in the revived Doctor Who were popular enough to lead to her getting her own spin off series 'The Sarah Jane Adventures' which began in 2007 and has one final set of episodes due to air later this year.
Though none of us here ever met Elisabeth we know that the role of Sarah Jane was very important to her and we join the many fans worldwide in mourning her loss.
Rest in Peace Elisabeth.