Sarah Jane Investigates
Sarah Jane Investigates is the working title of a children's television series currently under development, to star Elisabeth Sladen and created by Russell T. Davies. The programme would be a spin-off of Doctor Who, and would focus on the adventures of investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith, a former companion of the Doctor's. It has been reported as being developed by CBBC, both at Outpost Gallifrey and The Stage. Russell T. Davies has confirmed some details to Doctor Who Magazine, in issue #373:
"It's a 60-minute pilot for BBC One with a view to a potential series. The pilot is being written by myself and Gareth Roberts, and will be produced by Susie Liggat and directed by Colin Teague. And obviously it features the return of the lovely Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah."
Background
The character of Sarah Jane, played by Sladen, was originally a companion of the Doctor, appearing in Doctor Who from 1973 to 1976; she appeared alongside Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor, and later Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor. A pilot for another Doctor Who spin-off series, K-9 and Company, made in 1981, featured Sarah Jane and the robot dog K-9; however, the option to make a series was not picked up. Sarah Jane and K-9 returned to Doctor Who in various media many times over the years, most notably in the 20th anniversary special "The Five Doctors" (1983) and in the 2006 episode "School Reunion."
Sarah Jane is frequently voted the most popular Doctor Who companion by both Doctor Who fans and members of the general public.
The prospect of a new television series focussing on Sarah Jane was first rumoured in The Sun in March 2006, prior to the airing of "School Reunion;" the report at that time suggested that Sarah Jane and K-9 would both appear in the series. The fact that a Sarah Jane series is being developed was first confirmed in the BBC's in-house newsletter, Ariel, in early August 2006.
Little is known about the programme's format or setting. It is also not known whether K-9 will appear, as the early rumours suggested. This question may be complicated by the concurrent development of K-9 Adventures, which is not associated with the BBC and will not feature any Doctor Who connections beyond K-9 himself.
Rumours
Doctor Who fan website Outpost Gallifrey was the first to report the name Sarah Jane Investigates. The same site later reported that CBBC's plan is to film a pilot before a full series is commissioned, and that a New Year's Day broadcast is tentatively scheduled.Although Outpost Gallifrey's news page is generally regarded as a reliable source for Doctor Who news, this information was credited to an unnamed source and so may not be fully reliable.
In the same week that Ariel reported the development of the Sarah Jane project, The Daily Mirror] reported that Sarah Jane and K-9 would be appearing in the 2006 Doctor Who Christmas special, "The Runaway Bride." This may reflect confusion with Sarah Jane Investigates.
