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With a universe to explore, it can be a LONG wait for Doctor Who to revisit certain faces...
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00:00Although the universe is a vast place, the Doctor seems to bump into the same familiar faces with
00:05alarming regularity, whether it's Captain Jack Harkness or the latest incarnation of the Master.
00:10However, there are other characters who go about their daily lives for decades without ever bumping
00:15into the Doctor. So, with that in mind, I'm Ellie with WhoCulture, here with the 10 longest gaps
00:21between Doctor Who character appearances.
00:2310. Joe Grant, 13,639 Days
00:29Third Doctor companion Joe Grant was instantly recognisable to Doctor Who fans in The Power of
00:34the Doctor when actress Katie Manning's laugh could be heard during Graham's speech at the
00:38companion meeting. But of course, this wasn't the first Doctor Who return that Manning had made since
00:43she departed the role in 1973's The Green Death. Joe's departure is one of the most melancholic
00:48exits in all of Doctor Who, and it was only right that she made a return to the show.
00:52The Long Way Round
00:53After Matt Smith's first series, Russell T. Davis wrote what many believed would be his
00:58last script for the Doctor in the Sarah Jane Adventures two-parter Death of the Doctor,
01:02which featured the long-awaited return of Joe. Part 1 aired on 25th October 2010, just over 37
01:09years since Joe got engaged to Professor Clifford Jones in the final episode of The Green Death on
01:1523rd June 1973. Death of the Doctor also updated fans on the whereabouts of Ace, who missed out on this
01:21list by a few thousand days, and Ian, but more on him later.
01:25Number 9. The Movellons, 13,721 Days
01:30In one of those crazy rolls of the dice that only an exiting Doctor Who showrunner would attempt,
01:35The Movellons made a brief cameo at the start of Peter Capaldi and Stephen Moffat's final series.
01:41Making one appearance in Terry Nation's unloved final Dalek story, Destiny of the Daleks, the logical
01:47androids were pitched as the Daleks' greatest enemies. Not due to their strength, but due to
01:52the stalemate that was caused by the immovable forces of logic and hatred. They never appeared
01:57again, and probably never would have if it weren't for a mischievous aside from Mark Gatiss.
02:03Reading the script for the pilot, Gatiss observed that the Doctor, Bill and Nardole should arrive
02:08during a Dalek skirmish with the Movellons, just for the sheer hell of it. It was a fun reference that
02:13gave fans a laugh without alienating the casual viewer. Destiny of the Daleks concluded on the
02:1822nd of September 1979, leaving an almost 38-year gap before their cameo appearance in the pilot
02:25on the 15th of April 2017.
02:28Number 8. The Sisterhood of Khan, 13,810 Days
02:33Stephen Moffat was the king of the deep-cut Doctor Who reference, and so it was that the
02:38Sisterhood of Khan became recurring characters between 2013 and 2015. Originally appearing in
02:451976's The Brain of Morbius, the Sisterhood were the keepers of the Sacred Flame, which created the
02:51much sought-after elixir of life. The fourth Doctor found time during his busy schedule battling the
02:56resurrected Time Lord villain Morbius to reignite the flagging Sacred Flame. 37 years later, our time,
03:03the Eighth Doctor was in serious need of the Sacred Flame's healing properties in 2013's The Night of
03:09the Doctor, and it was the elixir of life that triggered his eventual regeneration into the War
03:13Doctor. Sisterhood member Ohila would later arrive on Gallifrey in the Series 9 finale Hellbent to
03:20chastise the Twelfth Doctor for his reckless behaviour. To this day, this is the last time the Sisterhood
03:25has been seen in a televised story. Number 7. The Zygons, 13,945 Days
03:33The Zygons were David Tennant's favourite villain growing up, so it was a surprise that they never
03:38appeared during his tenure. Brilliantly designed, they were one of Doctor Who's most iconic one-shot
03:44monsters until they finally returned in 2013. The inclusion of the Zygons in the 50th anniversary
03:50special The Day of the Doctor may have been an added sweetener to get Tennant back on board,
03:54but recent developments suggest that the actor will take any opportunity to slip back into the role.
03:59Between their first appearance in 1975 and their second appearance over 38 years later,
04:04the Zygons featured in comics, audio dramas and novels, and were even mentioned in 2010's
04:10The Pandorica Opens, but were never actually seen. Their ability to shapeshift would have made
04:15them ideal foes for Aliens of London slash World War 3, but for whatever reason we got the Slitheen
04:20instead. Thankfully, there was a much shorter gap between the Zygons' second appearance and their
04:24third, which came in 2015's The Zygon Invasion slash The Zygon Inversion. They're still out there,
04:30among us, so hopefully we won't have to wait until Doctor Who's 90th anniversary in 2053 to see them
04:36again.
04:376. Tegan – 14,101 days
04:41I mean, who can blame Tegan for staying away? Her aunt got shrunk by the Master, her grandfather got
04:46kidnapped, and her cousin was almost killed by the renegade Time Lord Amiga. Worse still, her
04:51travelling companion Adric crashed a freighter into prehistoric Earth, and she watched countless
04:56humans and Silurians die. It feels like over 38 years is a good amount of time to deal with that
05:01trauma. That's how long it was between Tegan's ghostly apparition in the Caves of Andrazani's
05:06regeneration scene, and her return in Jodie Whittaker's final story, The Power of the Doctor.
05:11Joining Tegan was Ace, who was last seen in Doctor Who 29 years ago in Dimensions in Time. Yes,
05:17it counts. So she doesn't qualify for this list. Even if you go with Ace's last regular appearance
05:22in 1989, Survival, she still doesn't quite make the cut. Tegan actress Janet Fielding, like many of
05:28the show stars do, maintained a connection with Doctor Who in her time away. Interestingly,
05:33she served as Paul McGann's agent when he was the 8th Doctor in the 1996 TV movie.
05:39Number 5. The Ice Warriors, 14,232 Days
05:44The Ice Warriors are one of Doctor Who's most fascinating creatures, because they're not always
05:49villains. Introduced as such in the 1967 serial of the same name, they later became allies of the
05:55third Doctor before falling back on bad habits, with their last appearance in the classic series
06:00coming in 1974's The Monster of Peladon. This wasn't the original intention, however, and both
06:06the 6th and 7th Doctors were supposed to face the Ice Warriors, until Doctor Who's hiatus and
06:11cancellation sadly intervened. The Martian Warriors didn't even appear in the rogues' gallery of foes
06:16menacing the Doctors and the cast of EastEnders in Dimensions in Time. Criminal! Therefore, it took
06:22almost 40 years for the Ice Warriors to make their return to televised Doctor Who in 2013's Cold War.
06:28Writer Mark Gatiss had always wanted to bring the creatures back, but was met with resistance by a
06:33sceptical Steven Moffat. Eventually, though, Gatiss got his wish, and would even bring them back again
06:38four years later in 2017's Empress of Mars.
06:42Number 4. The Macra, 14,624 Days
06:46In a display of how confident Russell T. Davis' Doctor Who was in its third series, it brought back a
06:52classic monster that nobody could have predicted. Mostly because the monsters in question were from a
06:571967 Patrick Troughton serial that has been lost from the archives. Thankfully, the Macra aren't that
07:02hard to realise, they're literally just giant crabs. Still, it was an incredibly ballsy move by RTD to
07:09just throw them in the climax of Gridlock. For hardcore fans, it was a proper drop your bacon
07:13sandwich moment, and for the less informed Doctor Who viewers, there were giant menacing crabs, the best
07:18of both worlds. The final episode of The Macra Terror aired on the 1st of April, 1967, making the gap
07:24between appearances just over 40 years by the time Gridlock aired on the 14th of April, 2007.
07:30Could the gap between their second and third appearances be even longer, or much shorter?
07:34Well, with RTD back at the helm, all bets are off.
07:37Number 3. Alpha Centauri, 15,751 Days
07:42In another cheeky Hail Mary by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, and once again in their final Doctor Who series,
07:49the duo brought back Alpha Centauri, a niche Doctor Who character who hadn't been seen or heard from
07:54in decades. The memorably designed character was once described by director Lenny Main as a giant
08:00green dick. Alpha Centauri appeared as such in the closing moments of Empress of Mars, and was again
08:05voiced by Issan Churchman, reprising the role after 43 years. Alpha Centauri wasn't a cheap bit of fan
08:11service either. It actually made sense to the context and themes of Gatiss's story, airing as Britain
08:17made plans to leave the European Union, it portrays the Great Martian Empire's decision to join the
08:22wider galactic community. The first representative they meet is Alpha Centauri, last seen in 1974's
08:28The Monster of Peladon. Aside from the political parallels, getting a giant green dick back on
08:33primetime BBC One was exactly the sort of mischievous move you'd expect from Moffat and Gatiss.
08:39Number 2. The Great Intelligence, 16,363 Days
08:44In a neat bit of foreshadowing for the return of almost all of The Web of Fear back to the archives,
08:49the big bad of Doctor Who's 50th anniversary year was revealed to be The Great Intelligence,
08:54Sun's Yeti. The Great Intelligence made two memorable appearances during the Patrick Troughton
08:59era as a malevolent, disembodied force able to influence those in its grasp. The best-loved
09:04Great Intelligence story, The Web of Fear, was top of fan lists of lost stories they wanted to see
09:09return, and they would eventually get their wish in 2013. Before that exciting day though,
09:14The Great Intelligence made its first appearance in 44 years, voiced by Sir Ian McKellen in the 2012
09:20Christmas special The Snowmen. Hilariously, the 11th Doctor has forgotten all about The Great
09:25Intelligence, given how long it's been since they crossed paths. This forgetfulness even leads to
09:30The Doctor accidentally giving The Intelligence the idea to take over the London Underground in The Web of
09:35Fear. It was another of Stephen Moffat's deep-cut Doctor Who references that hinted at the exciting
09:4050th anniversary year to come.
09:43Number 1. Ian Chesterton, 20,939 Days
09:48Ian Chesterton almost returned to Doctor Who for its 20th anniversary season in 1983,
09:53but actor William Russell was unavailable. Aside from a name check in The Sarah Jane Adventures and
09:58The Day of the Doctor, the former Coal Hill teacher and original Doctor Who companion hasn't returned to
10:04the show since he and his colleague Barbara Wright arrived in London 1965 at the end of the chase.
10:10After a hell of a long wait, 57 years, Ian returned to Doctor Who in the power of the Doctor as the
10:16elder statesman of Graham's companion support group. Hilariously, he's flummoxed by the idea of the
10:22grumpy old man he met in 1963 now being a young woman. It was the perfect nod to Doctor Who's enduring
10:28legacy and the importance of both William Russell and Jacqueline Hill to the show. Without Ian and
10:34Barbara, we wouldn't have the Doctor as we've known them in the 57 years since they left the TARDIS.
10:39Including Ian's cameo in a Doctor Who episode that celebrated 100 years of the BBC was doubly
10:45brilliant, given that at 97 years of age, William Russell has been around for almost the same amount
10:51of time. And that concludes our list. If there's some characters that haven't made a return that you
10:55would love to see back, then do let us know in the comments below. And while you're there,
10:59don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification bell so you never miss a Who
11:04Culture video ever again. Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there and Instagram as well. And I
11:09can be found across various social medias just by searching Ellie Littlechild. Don't forget to look
11:13for Sean Ferrick as well and Dan the Meigs too. I've been Ellie with Who Culture, and in the words of
11:18River Song herself, goodbye, sweeties.
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