Alison Cheney

Alison Cheney was a barmaid in England during the Shalka's attack on Earth. She encountered the Doctor when he came in for a drink, and was subsequently kidnapped by the Shalka, who modified her body to transmit the Shalka's screams.

She had a boyfriend called Joe.

The Doctor made a joke on whether she was related to Lon Chaney.

At the end of the Shalka incident, Alison accepted the Doctor's invitation to become his companion, and proceeded to travel with him, sharing a number of adventures (only one of which has been chronicled). (WC: Scream of the Shalka)

Behind the scenes

 * With the decision by the BBC to abandon the "Shalka Doctor" series of webcast stories in favour of the revived television series, the character of Alison was relegated to non-canonical status along with her Doctor.
 * That notwithstanding, Alison was the first non-Caucasian companion of the Doctor in an official BBC-produced Doctor Who production. On TV that distinction would be given several years later to Mickey Smith (although the Fourth Doctor had travelled with a black companion in the early Doctor Who Magazine comic strips).
 * Actress Sophie Okonedo's career was not hurt by her tangent into the world of Doctor Who; just over a year later, she would become one of the only actors in the franchise's history to be nominated for an Oscar; she was so honoured for her role in the film Hotel Rwanda.