The first American companion, at least the first one who pretended to be American.
Character Overview
Peri, played by Nicola Bryant, joined the TARDIS crew in Planet of Fire (1984) and immediately established herself as the most conspicuous American on British television. A botany student from California, Peri had a knack for plants, a low tolerance for nonsense, and a wardrobe that seemed designed by someone who hated fabric.
Her main role in the TARDIS? Shouting “Doctor!” a lot, tripping over alien terrain, and providing moral support in the form of exasperated eye-rolling. Unfortunately, she also had the misfortune of traveling with the Sixth Doctor during his “technicolor explosion” phase — meaning she spent most of her time either arguing with him, being bossed around, or staring at his coat and wondering if her retinas would ever recover.
Peri was constantly kidnapped, hypnotized, or nearly sacrificed in bizarre rituals, proving that in the Doctor Who universe, botany is apparently the most dangerous field of study imaginable. Despite this, she was brave, resourceful when needed, and never afraid to stand up to the Doctor — even if her complaints usually earned her nothing more than a huffy comeback.
Her “final” story, Mindwarp (1986), is one of the murkiest exits in the show. She was seemingly lobotomized and possessed by a slug-like alien warlord (yes, really), only for the Doctor to later reveal she’d actually survived, married King Yrcanos (Brian Blessed in full Brian Blessed mode), and lived happily ever after as space royalty. Which, honestly, is probably the best anyone could hope for after hanging out with the Sixth Doctor.