Board Thread:The Panopticon/@comment-9435571-20140927221308/@comment-188432-20141102043055

Smeg Head wrote: Then, CZECHOUT, pray tell why Katarina had but a single trip in the TARDIS and is considered by this Wiki as a Companion and yet Courtney has had at least two trips (one of which is just a 'Trip Around The Block') and yet is not? Again, number of trips in the TARDIS has zero impact on whether a person is considered a companion. Otherwise, "Strike me pink!" guy from Black Orchid, and lots of people in Earthshock and, wait for it, Time and the Rani would be "companions". People travel all the time in the TARDIS; that alone isn't and cannot be the marker for "companiondom".

Please don't misunderstand me, though. I've never said she wasn't a companion — merely that we needed to wait to see how the series played out.

Why is Katarina a companion? It's largely because the production staff did originally tout her as one, and later production staffs have maintained her as a companion. She's also been on several lists of companions endorsed by the BBC.