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For most New Series Doctor Who fans ("Whovians" for the ultra-dedicated) there is a rough familiarity with the Classic Series characters that have been revisited. Many will remember the Series (Season) 2 appearance of Sarah Jane (played by actress Elisabeth Sladen). It was a notable episode not just for nostalgia, but because it was also a cross-over with the British series The Sarah Jane Adventures. She also appeared at the end of Series (Season) 4 in a larger crossover that also included Torchwood (an anagram of Doctor Who by the way).
Elisabeth Sladen herself was a fan favorite when she became the Doctor's companion in 1973-1976, and her contribution to changed (seemingly forever) the Doctor/Companion relationship. It was because of her that the Companion role started to shift to a subtle romantic chemistry that was never fulfilled. This is something that Billie Piper and Freema Agyeman both later brought to the show as companions (and to a lesser degree the current companion Karen Gillan). How often are classic characters from rebooted series given their own modern spinoff because of fan interest, rather than a character being introduced with the intention of getting a spin-off?
The Doctor's Appeal to women has become something of a running gag in the series now and has helped drive more than a few episodes and all of this traces back to Sladen and her contribution, evolving the role of the Doctor/Companion relationship from a grandfatherly mentor relationship to partner and cohort relationship with the threat of romance. Sladen managed to have even more chemistry with the audience than she did with the Doctor and because of this left an indelible mark on a venerable franchise.
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