It’s hard to think of anyone but the late Elisabeth Sladen as playing the iconic role of Sarah Jane Smith on Doctor Who. Believe it or not, she was not the first choice for the role.

The companion who immediately proceeded Sarah Jane Smith(as played by Elisabeth Sladen) in the TARDIS was Jo Grant. Jo Grant was a blonde character with a sexier edge to her. Not exactly the girl next door type. (Modern Doctor Who viewers got to meet the character of Jo Grant when Katy Manning reprised her role on The Sarah Jane Adventures.) So, when producers back in the 1970’s went to cast the next companion in the chain, they wanted a different spin. It seems however that the casting didn’t quite work out.

The Radio Times has just revealed a piece of Whovian history.

Doctor Who producer Barry Letts cast April Walker when Katy Manning left the role of Jo Grant, the Doctor’s previous companion, and she worked in rehearsals for The Time Warrior. But allegedly the pairing of Pertwee’s Doctor and Walker’s Sarah Jane didn’t work: she was a tall and more obviously strong character, along the lines of Pertwee’s first companion, Liz Shaw (Caroline John).

It’s believed that Pertwee was unhappy with the decision but it would ultimately have been Letts who recast the role. Walker was reportedly paid for both The Time Warrior and the rest of that series.

In this video, you can catch a performance from roughly the time period in question. It’s a Faulty Towers episode entitled The Attractive Barmaid with Walker playing the title character.

The Radio Times further reports that though Lis Sladen (seen in the photo above with Jon Pertwee) knew the full background of having replaced another actress, she would never reveal who that was out of courtesy to Walker.

How do you feel about this latest bit of Doctor Who history?