Ian Chesterton
Ian Chesterton, knighted as Sir Ian, Knight of Jaffa, was one of the earliest companions to travel with the First Doctor. Before meeting the Doctor, Ian was a science teacher at Coal Hill School in 1960s London.
Biography
Ian Chesterton was one of Susan Foreman's teachers at Coal Hill School, London. He was intrigued by her advanced scientific knowledge. In talking with another of her teachers, Barbara Wright, he found he was not the only one who had noticed. One evening as school was finishing, Ian and Barbara decided to follow Susan home. They were concerned and curious about her. When they saw Susan enter I.M. Foreman's junkyard in Totter's Lane, the two teachers became more concerned for her safety. Following her into the yard, they found a police box sitting incongruously amidst the junk. When they discovered Susan was inside, they barged their way in and discovered something unbelievable.
Ian's scientific mind made him sceptical of anything he had no proof of. When Susan and the First Doctor told him the police box was, in fact, a machine which travelled through time and space, he was doubtful. The TARDIS was a scientific dream he did not expect to see in a junkyard. However, when the Doctor displayed his disgust at Ian's arrogance and ignorance, Ian admitted he wanted to understand. Once he had proof that the TARDIS was indeed a space-time vessel, he accepted the fact and became the most practical of the travellers.
It didn't take long for Ian's practical side to show. When the travellers landed in Earth's Stone Age and ran afoul of the tribe they encountered, it was Ian who struggled to free them from their rope bonds and who 'discovered' fire by rubbing sticks against stone for friction in an attempt to win their freedom. (DW: An Unearthly Child)
Ian's curiosity about the TARDIS never left him, and he quizzed the Doctor about the TARDIS systems and how they worked while the travellers were on Skaro. Despite being so obviously interested in science and its practical applications, Ian was not lacking in common sense. While on Skaro he was acutely aware of Barbara's discomfort. He saw how much she wished to return to the safety of the TARDIS, rather than explore the Dalek City. He stood up to the Doctor in an attempt to ensure their safe return. Once Barbara had been captured by the Daleks, it was Ian who insisted the travellers could not leave without her.
Headstrong and stubborn, he insisted on being the one to return to the TARDIS for the anti-radiation drugs the they needed, though his legs had been paralysed in their encounter with the Daleks and the First Doctor and Susan were the only ones who could unlock the TARDIS doors. Eventually it was this stubbornness which prompted Ian to risk his life to warn the Thals about the Dalek ambush, and later persuade them to give up their pacifist ways and fight for their survival. (DW: The Daleks)
After the TARDIS sustained heavy damage from a fault, (DW: The Edge of Destruction) it landed in the Plain of Pamir in 1289. There, he met Marco Polo, who took the TARDIS and its keys on his caravan the breadth of Cathay to hand to Kublai Khan as part of a bargain for his return to Venice. Along the way, Ian discovered the Mongol warlord Tegana, also part of Polo's caravan wanted to take the TARDIS for Nogai as part of his plan to assassinate Kublai. In the chaos of Tegana and Polo's duel in Peking, the Doctor and his companions escaped in his repaired TARDIS. (DW: Marco Polo)
Ian's bravery and courage eventually gained the Doctor's respect. He was treated almost as an equal, almost as a friend. It was no doubt due not only to his bravery, but to his headstrong, stubborn loyalty. This loyalty extended to Susan and the Doctor as the travellers grew closer throughout their journeys.
Ian revelled in his new life and experiences. When the travellers landed in 12th century Palestine during the Crusades, Barbara was abducted in a Saracen ambush. Ian was knighted Sir Ian of Jaffa by Richard the Lionheart and sent as an emissary to search for her. Ian developed his skill as a swordsman during his travels. He was also capable at unarmed combat. (DW: The Aztecs, The Crusade)
On a number of occasions, Ian endured the severe test of facing his fears. No great swimmer, he had to overcome this when, during a visit to Rome in AD 64, he was sold as a galley slave. His galley sank in a storm and Ian, with his Greek slave friend Delos, escaped and made their way to Rome. (DW: The Romans) While searching for Barbara in Palestine, Ian was captured and staked in the desert, daubed with honey to attract ants. Ian's instinctive fear of ants may have been increased with his experiences on Vortis. (DW: The Web Planet) he suffered from seasickness aboard the Mary Celeste, but still managed to make it on deck twice. (DW: The Chase)
Despite his obvious enjoyment of his travels, Ian never lost sight of his desire to return to his own home and time. When the opportunity arose, Ian and Barbara risked travel in a Dalek time ship to return to 1960s London. When they emerged from the time machine, they were delighted to be back, despite discovering that two years had passed since their departure. (DW: The Chase)
Life after the Doctor
After their departure from the Doctor, Ian and Barbara got married. However, despite having left the Doctor behind, they again got 'caught up in his world' when they were contacted by UNIT in the 1970s to assist in a temporally related problem. (PDA: The Face of the Enemy) Ian and Barbara had a son, John Alydon Ganatus Chesterton. (NA: Timewyrm: Revelation, PDA: Byzantium!)
According to a rumour Sarah Jane Smith shared, Barbara and Ian had become professors at Cambridge by the 2010s and reportedly had not aged since the 1960s. (SJA: Death of the Doctor) However, Ian stated that he and Steven Taylor were more than a little bit older when he was brought into the alternative Death Zone on Gallifrey. He also mentioned that he had taken up teaching once again. Right before reuniting with Steven, he had taken out a Dalek and hid in its casing, as he had many years before. (DW: The Daleks) He met a new incarnation of the Doctor, who now looked younger than him. He also met fellow companions Sara Kingdom, Polly Wright and Nyssa for the first time. (CC: The Five Companions)
Personality
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Like Barbara, Ian was keen to return home, (DW: The Daleks) prompting him to depart from the Doctor's company at the first chance. (DW: The Chase) He usually put others' interests before his, especially Barbara, whom he always looked after. (DW: The Daleks, The Keys of Marinus)
Ian threatened Lobos, saying that killing him might be enjoyable. He may have been bluffing. (DW: The Space Museum)
Barbara noted that it was the quiet girls who interested Ian the most. (PDA: Byzantium!)
He was well-acquainted with music artists who were popular with his students such as John Smith and the Common Men (DW: An Unearthly Child) and even danced to "Ticket to Ride" by the Beatles. (DW: The Chase)
Appearance
Ian continued to wear parts of his Coal Hill School attire whilst travelling. (DW: The Daleks) His black and emerald green-striped tie (the school colours) was destroyed when the Doctor tested acidic water with it. (DW: The Web Planet) He wore a pinstripe shirt on one occasion. (DW: The Chase)
After visiting 13th century China, Ian received a Chinese-style gown. (DW: Marco Polo) He continued to wear it on Marinus. (DW: The Keys of Marinus) He also dressed for various historical occasions, including donning a toga with his hair (which almost always remained in its 'square', early '60s styling) combed forward by Barbara (DW: The Romans) and taking the guise of an Aztec warrior, complete with a bird-headed helmet. (DW: The Aztecs)
Behind the scenes
- The roles of Ian and Barbara as, respectively, science and history teachers were part of the series' original plan to alternate between science-fiction and historical stories. In one of the original format documents, Ian's age is listed as twenty-seven.
- In the early 1990s, William Russell reprised the role of an aged Ian for a series of links in BBC Video's restoration of DW: The Crusade.
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