Dodo Chaplet

[Peri-Peri]

Dodo Chaplet was a companion of the Doctor near the end of his first incarnation. He took to her within seconds of their first encounter, citing her physical similarity to his granddaughter. She was perhaps most notable for being the first female since Susan to have travelled alone with the Doctor, and the first female human to do so.

She had limited contact with other companions, only spending significant time with Steven Taylor. Dodo met and hit it off with Polly briefly in 1965's London, and was with her when Polly first encountered Ben Jackson. Neither Ben nor Polly had yet seen the TARDIS when Dodo chose to stop travelling with the Doctor, sending word of her decision to leave him via Polly.

After a brief travelling period, she and the Doctor arrived in 1966 London and discovered WOTAN and its War Machines, where WOTAN conditioned her to betray the Doctor. The Doctor broke her conditioning, and sent Dodo to the country to recuperate, but Dodo never returned. She sent her TARDIS key back with Polly, saying that she had decided to stay in London and that was the last that was seen of her.

[Exterminate]

I like Dodo a lot. I have no idea why she is so unpopular. The way she was written out of the show was bad for the character and really unfair for the actress.

[Aneurin]

I like Dodo too. I think she deserved better treatment and they should have had her back for at least a couple of minutes to have some sort of ending. Even if they had the Doctor meet her off screen it would have been better but to send a message through someone she'd known for an afternoon over something so big was just bizarre and sort of disrespectful.

[Twisted-Sister]

She wasn't the best companion. Maybe her time to shine just hadn't come yet or perhaps it never would, but she was by no means a bad companion or the worst companion. I think the way they got rid of her was shameful.

[Saber]

I think that Dodo was great. She was sometimes poorly written but I think there is a lot of people who jump on the bandwagon because it's sort of normal to call her awful.

[Nyki]

I was never that keen on Dodo, but I certainly wouldn't call her awful, and she deserved a much better departure.  I think the main problem with the character was she was a bit too much "more of the same" after Susan and Vicki.

[Scott]

I remember online about 2 years ago reading a copy of the telegram that was sent to Jackie Lane on her day off from filming telling her not to return. I'm pretty sure it was genuine but I just had a look and can't remember where I read it. I think she was quite bitter about it all though because I remember reading in another interview where she said as an agent she refused to get work for Innes Lloyd for sacking her. Sort of understandable I guess but no point holding on to grudges.

[Nyki]

I remember online about 2 years ago reading a copy of the telegram that was sent to Jackie Lane on her day off from filming telling her not to return. I'm pretty sure it was genuine but I just had a look and can't remember where I read it. I think she was quite bitter about it all though because I remember reading in another interview where she said as an agent she refused to get work for Innes Lloyd for sacking her. Sort of understandable I guess but no point holding on to grudges.

I don't know - as an agent she's supposed to look after her clients' interests, and if she knows he's capable of treating actors like that, it would make sense to boycott him.

[Peri-Peri]

I've read that interview. I think we have it on here somewhere actually. I always thought it seemed more tongue in cheek than actual bitterness. I'll see if I can find it now.

[Peri-Peri]

Found it. It's only a tiny snippet so I'll paste it all.

“I remember auditioning for the part of Susan, back in 1963. When I realised that it was going to be a long running part, I said I didn’t really want to read for the part. I don’t know if they would have offered it to me, but anyway, Dodo came along a couple of years later when I was more prepared to tie myself down to a television series. I was cast by John Wiles but he gave up being the producer after my first story, and Innes Lloyd took over.

“It was very friendly – although poor Bill Hartnell had put up with a lot of cast changes over a short space of time. It was really beginning to get to him. We got on very well, although I wouldn’t say I ever really knew him that well.

“Dodo was very much a Sixties character – I think I was one of the first girls on television to wear a mini-skirt. Because I am so small, it was quite difficult to find trendy clothes in my size, but I selected this Dylan cap and that really started the character off for me.

“I think (Innes Lloyd) had definite plans for the series which neither Steven nor Dodo really fitted, and half way through my last story I was told that Dodo was to be written out. I would have liked a dramatic ending and my farewell just two episodes into ‘The War Machines’, and not even on camera but in reported speech, was a bit of an anti-climax. Still, I got my revenge. I now run a voice-over agency and Innes Lloyd once asked me to find him work. I reminded him that he had once sacked me from ‘Doctor Who’ and said a very firm ‘no’!”

[Tardis-Console]

It was only during a discussion a little while back on here that I found out about the way Dodo was written out and I have to say I was pretty shocked. I don't think they would get away with that these days. She didn't have a bad run though and I like her a lot. I've seen her in this and The Ark and The Gunfighters (and a random episode of the one with the Toymaker) and I think she comes of quite likeble in all of them.

[Nyki]

It was only during a discussion a little while back on here that I found out about the way Dodo was written out and I have to say I was pretty shocked. I don't think they would get away with that these days. She didn't have a bad run though and I like her a lot. I've seen her in this and The Ark and The Gunfighters (and a random episode of the one with the Toymaker) and I think she comes of quite likeble in all of them.

In fact, that means you've seen every episode of hers that survives 

[Roranicus]

It was only during a discussion a little while back on here that I found out about the way Dodo was written out and I have to say I was pretty shocked. I don't think they would get away with that these days. She didn't have a bad run though and I like her a lot. I've seen her in this and The Ark and The Gunfighters (and a random episode of the one with the Toymaker) and I think she comes of quite likeble in all of them.

In fact, that means you've seen every episode of hers that survives 

When you think how little she was in it though compared to say Jamie for example, she's been pretty lucky with what she has surviving.