The sailor who brought fists to a laser fight.
Character Overview
Ben Jackson (played by Michael Craze) made his debut in The War Machines (1966) as a Royal Navy sailor who got swept into the TARDIS after meeting Polly and the Doctor. While Polly brought mod style and a certain classiness, Ben brought working-class grit, Cockney slang, and a willingness to swing at anything that looked remotely threatening. Basically, if the TARDIS crew were the Beatles, Ben was definitely Ringo — scrappy, loyal, and occasionally wondering how on earth he ended up there.
Ben quickly became the “action man” of the crew. If something needed punching, restraining, or shouting at, Ben was your guy. Subtlety? Not so much. He once tried to fight a Cyberman with his bare hands, which is the kind of misplaced confidence that deserves either a medal or a padded cell. Still, his loyalty to the Doctor (and particularly to Polly, whom he affectionately called “Duchess”) made him one of the more endearing companions of the ‘60s.
When William Hartnell regenerated into Patrick Troughton, Ben served as the voice of the audience: highly suspicious of this scruffy new bloke who claimed to be the Doctor. While Polly adjusted fairly quickly, Ben kept muttering things like, “I don’t trust ‘im, Duchess.” Eventually he came around, because traveling through time and space tends to wear down even the strongest doubts — especially if you’re busy saving the Doctor’s life every other week.
Ben’s exit came in The Faceless Ones (1967), when he and Polly realized they’d been plucked out of London only a few hours earlier in their own timelines. Sensibly, they decided to just slip back into their lives as if nothing had happened. One moment you’re on a spaceship fighting rubbery aliens, the next you’re down the pub as if it were all just a weird fever dream.