Elizabeth "Liz" Shaw
Photo courtesy of the Doctor Who Image Archive.
Photo courtesy of the Doctor Who Image Archive.
After a succession of pretty young girls playing the Doctor's female Companion, producer Peter Bryant and script editor Derrick Sherwin decided to try something different. Since the Doctor was to be working with a military organization, they reckoned that the ensemble would need to include a scientific adviser, someone who could act as an assistant to the Doctor while being much closer to his intellectual level than previous Companions.
They came up with the role of Cambridge scientist Liz Shaw, reluctantly drafted into supporting UNIT, and cast Caroline John in the role. Caroline remembers the role as being a bit snooty:
I think she thought she was dabbling in something that was a little bit beneath her. I think she got on well with the Doctor because of his scientific knowledge which, of course, was way ahead of her own, whereas I think that she always felt UNIT was all soldiers and being silly boys.
The lower-level production personnel did not fully get the message that this was supposed to be a strong, professional female character and continued to dress Liz Shaw in attire more suited to a conventional Companion, with short skirts and stylish hairstyles. Caroline John knew that these were inappropriate, but since this was her first television role she was too nervous to protest.
Following the casting and setting up of the season, there was a changing of the guard as Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks took over the production office. Not surprisingly, the new team wanted to make some changes, and Liz Shaw ended up being one of the casualties. They decided that, since she did not need protection by or explanations from the Doctor, her ability to interact with the Doctor was more limited. Since Caroline John had become pregnant and was trying to figure out how to break this news to them, she was not too disappointed at her departure after only a season.
Her early departure makes her one of the shortest-term Companions and also the only one never to travel in the TARDIS. However, Liz Shaw is remembered out of proportion to her tenure as one of the few truly strong Companions, and the success of her character continues to be debated by fans.
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