Character History
The Doctor and Susan had already been travelling for an unspecified amount of time, before they decide to settle in London to make repairs on the TARDIS; Susan states that she and her grandfather have been in London for five months. Susan also alludes to several previous adventures to Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright in the course of their shared adventures; both on various alien planets and on Earth in various past time periods (such as encountering a wrathful King Henry VIII). Susan begins to attend the Coal Hill School in Shoreditch, where her advanced knowledge of history and science attract the attention of schoolteachers Barbara and Ian. Attempting to solve the mystery of the "unearthly child," Ian and Barbara follow Susan back to the junkyard, where they hear her voice coming from what appears to be a police box. When they investigate further, they discover that the police box exterior hides the much larger interior of the TARDIS, and are whisked away on an adventure in time and space with the Doctor and Susan, against their will.
Susan continues to travel with the Doctor and her two teachers until the 1964 serial, The Dalek Invasion of Earth. During the events of that story, Susan falls in love with David Campbell, a young freedom fighter in the 22nd century. However, Susan feels that she has to stay with and take care of her grandfather. The Doctor, realizing that Susan is now a grown woman and deserves a future away from him, locks her out of the TARDIS and leaves after a tearful farewell. Carole Ann Ford had expressed a desire to leave the series as she felt the character of Susan was too limiting. Ford reprised the role of Susan on television in the 20th anniversary special The Five Doctors (1983), but no mention of David, or what became of him, was made.
In The Curse of Fenric (1989), the Seventh Doctor states that he does not know if he has any family, which may indicate uncertainty of Susan's whereabouts. In 2005's "The End of the World" the Ninth Doctor states that his home world has been destroyed and that he is the last of the Time Lords. Although Susan is not mentioned by name, the Doctor says in "Father's Day" that his "whole family" died, and in "The Empty Child" a character remarks he has been a father and grandfather, but no more, and the Ninth Doctor replies "I know the feeling."
Read more about this topic: Susan Foreman
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