English actress Jackie was born July 10, 1941 in Manchester, Lancashire, England, UK. She died June 23, 2021, only a few weeks away from what would have been her 80th birthday. Jackie Lane co-starred on the cult classic TV show Doctor Who as Dorothea “Dodo” Chaplet, Companion to the First Doctor, William Hartnell. She appeared in nineteen episodes in 1966, for five stories in the show’s third season. Due to the BBC’s habit of recording over old episodes to save money, only 11 of her 19 episodes still exist.

Prior to being cast as the Doctor’s Companion, Jackie Lane appeared in various BBC radio and television shows. In 1958 Lane was in the radio version of Wonderful Things. She appeared in Granddad Was A Wrestler in 1959. She had guest roles in The Protectors and Coronation Street. Lane had a recurring role on Compact as Rosemary Gray.

Jackie Lane was originally considered for the role of Susan, the Doctor’s granddaughter. She turned down the role which instead went to Carole Ann Ford, because she didn’t want to be tied down to a long-term contract. However, the producers kept her in mind and hired her as a Companion three years later. Her final television appearance was  in the Doctor Who: The Afterparty, celebrating fifty years of Doctor Who.

After leaving Dr, Who, she left acting. She became a theatrical agent, specializing in voice actors. She managed an agency called Jackie Lane Ad Voice. Her clients included Tom Baker, the Fourth Doctor, Janet Fielding, who played Companion Tegan Jovanka, and Nicholas Courtney, who played Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.

With her passing, a piece of science fiction history is gone.

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