The Edwardian orphan who proved that high-pitched shrieking is technically a survival skill.
Character Overview
Victoria Waterfield (played by Deborah Watling) stumbled into the Doctor’s life in The Evil of the Daleks (1967), and by “stumbled,” we mean: kidnapped, traumatized, and then promptly swept into a life of constant mortal danger. Daughter of scientist Edward Waterfield, Victoria was rescued from the clutches of the Daleks by the Second Doctor and Jamie — and because her dad didn’t make it out alive (typical Dalek hospitality), the Doctor more or less adopted her. It was either time travel or Victorian foster care, and really, the choice was obvious.
Victoria quickly became the designated “damsel” of the TARDIS team. She wasn’t stupid by any means — she was resourceful, compassionate, and could muster courage when it really counted — but her main contribution to most adventures was lung capacity. Seriously, her scream could peel paint off the TARDIS walls and probably sent more monsters scuttling away than the Doctor’s cleverness ever did.
But beneath the shrieks, Victoria was genuinely sweet. She served as Jamie’s frequent partner-in-crisis, and her bond with the Doctor was more paternal than most companions, giving their adventures a slightly different dynamic. Eventually, though, all the running, screaming, and near-death experiences wore her down, and in Fury from the Deep (1968), she chose to settle with a nice, normal family in the 20th century. Because after fighting Cybermen, Yeti, and sentient seaweed, anything is preferable to another episode of “scream at alien blob.”