Companions: Fifty Years of Doctor Who Assistants

A brand new Doctor Who book is now available from People's Book Prize winning publisher, Candy Jar Books. Companions: Fifty Years of Doctor Who Assistants is an unofficial and candid guide of the Time Lord's adventures in space and time. Drawing on plots from the TV series as well as other media, this book is fascinating reading for fans of both the classic and current series of Doctor Who.

Companions: Fifty Years of Doctor Who Assistants provides readers with an in-depth account of each Doctor's fellow travellers.

Andy Frankham-Allen has been a Doctor Who fan since his childhood and has relished the opportunity to write this book in celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the series. Andy, who penned several Short Trip stories for Big Finish, feels the time is right for a more detailed look at the journey of the Doctor Who companion. He said: "It's been a long time since there's been an honest and frank look at the Doctor's journey and the lives he changes. This book will challenge the notion that he always takes the best."

Gary Russell, former Doctor Who Magazine editor, Big Finish producer, BBC script editor and Doctor Who novelist, has provided the book's foreword. Gary said: "Of course there have been books about companions before — but few of them go into this amount of detail, display this amount of in-depth knowledge and above all, this amount of love. As a celebration of everything that makes the Doctor's (and therefore our) best friends unique and special, this book is essential."

David J Howe, noted Doctor Who historian and author of the last Companion guide book in 1996, said in his afterword: "In a way, we are all companions of the Doctor. Observing and participating vicariously in his adventures. Expressing opinions and asking important questions, journeying to far-flung places and times, and feeling the excitement and terror that those visits bring. And with writers like Andy to guide us, we are in good hands."

Doctor Who first appeared on our screens in 1963. The show continued until 1989 but the series was then re-launched in 2005 attracting old fans and new. Doctor Who is now one of the most prestigious shows on British television, loved and watched by millions.

Companions: Fifty Years of Doctor Who Assistants will be released on 27th June. The Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special is due to be shown in November.