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Elisabeth Sladen

Elisabeth Claira Heath Sladen, (1 February 1946 – 19 April 2011), was an English actress best known for her role as Sarah Jane Smith in the British television series Doctor Who. She appeared as a regular from 1973 to 1976, opposite both Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, and reprised the role many times in subsequent decades, both on Doctor Who and its spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures.
Sladen developed an interest in performing at an early age, beginning dance lessons when she was five, and dancing in one production with the Royal Ballet.
Sladen was married to actor Brian Miller from 1968 until her death. Their daughter, Sadie Miller, appeared with her in the range of Sarah Jane Smith audio plays by Big Finish Productions. As a child, Sadie appeared along-side Sladen in the 1996 documentary, Thirty Years in the TARDIS, wearing a replica of the Andy Pandy overalls Sladen wore in The Hand of Fear.
Sladen died early on 19 April 2011, after having cancer for many months.
R.I.P. Elisabeth Sladen!



What members say | Filmography

Elisabeth Sladen - what members say


  • Doctor Who - The Ark In Space
  • Doctor Who - The Ark In Space review by from London.
    Rated - 5.0 stars The Ark in Space 6 August 2004
    ...ended animation, but finding this out nearly gets inquisitive Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) asphyxiated in an airless processing lab, while a security machine attacks the...   Read customer review
  • Sarah Jane Adventures - Series 1
  • Sarah Jane Adventures - Series 1 review by williamsgwynfa from gwaenysgor
    Rated - 5.0 stars superb................................ 10 October 2008
    ...t was created by Russell T Davies (who created Dr. Who and Torchwood) and stars Elisabeth Sladen. The series focuses on the adventures of investigative journalist and former co...   Read customer review

Elisabeth Sladen - filmography


  • Doctor Who - Series 4 Vol.4 on DVD (2008)
    Starring: David Tennant,  Catherine Tate,  Billie Piper
    Director: Graeme Harper
    Certificate: Certificate: 12
    Hot on the heels of the acclaimed third series, Doctor Who returns for a fourth instalment with a familiar face alongside the Doctor. Award-winning comedienne Catherine Tate returns as the Doctor's new companion, revisiting her role as Donna Noble who featured in the 2006 Christmas special The ..read more »
    4.5 stars out of 5 86% from 3,034 members
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  • Sarah Jane Adventures - Series 1 (4 discs) on DVD (2007)
    Starring: Elisabeth Sladen
    Certificate: Certificate: PG
    In this exciting DOCTOR WHO spin-off, Maria Jackson's boring life collides with the excitement of that of Sarah Jane Smith, when the pair find themselves living next door to one another. Sarah inhabits a world of intrigue and adventure and Maria is about to tag along for the ride. Includes all the ..read more »
    4 stars out of 5 75% from 790 members
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  • Doctor Who - The Hand Of Fear on DVD (1976)
    Starring: Tom Baker,  Elisabeth Sladen,  Glyn Houston
    Director: Lennie Mayne
    Certificate: Certificate: PG
    The Doctor and Sarah return to Earth, but are plunged into danger as soon as they step from the Tardis. They arrive in a quarry rigged with explosives, and the blast leaves Sarah unconscious in the rubble, a fossilised stone hand in her grip. What strange power does the hand have over Sarah Jane?
    3.5 stars out of 5 72% from 1,545 member
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  • Doctor Who - The Ark In Space on DVD (1974)
    Starring: Tom Baker,  Elisabeth Sladen
    Director: Rodney Bennett
    Certificate: Certificate: U
    In this feature-length space story the Doctor, Harry and Sarah arrive on an artificial satellite where the survivors of Earth lie in cryo-genic suspension, waiting for a new life. But the Doctor soon discovers there has been a sinister intrusion and some of the survivors are not now what they seem...
    3.5 stars out of 5 71% from 2,325 members
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  • Doctor Who - Time Warrior on DVD (1973)
    Starring: Jon Pertwee,  Elisabeth Sladen,  Kevin Lindsay
    Director: Alan Bromley
    Certificate: Certificate: PG
    Journalist Sarah Jane Smith is impersonating her aunt, virologist Lavinia Smith, in order to gain access to a research centre where top scientists are being held in protective custody while UNIT investigates the disappearance of a number of their colleagues. The missing scientists have been ..read more »
    3.5 stars out of 5 73% from 1,045 member
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  • Doctor Who - Peladon Tales (3 discs) on DVD (1972)
    Starring: Jon Pertwee,  Elisabeth Sladen,  Ralph Watson
    Director: Lennie Mayne
    Certificate: Certificate: PG
    Two classic Doctor Who adventures set on the planet of Peladon, starring Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor, with Katy Manning as his companion in the first story and Elisabeth Sladen in the second. In the four-parter The Curse of Peladon (1972), the Doctor (Pertwee) finally seems to have escaped his ..read more »
    4 stars out of 5 76% from 367 members
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Elisabeth Sladen facts