Tegan Jovanka

Tegan Jovanka
Doctor Who character
Janet Fielding as Tegan in a publicity shot from the serial Resurrection of the Daleks
First appearanceLogopolis (1981)
Last appearance"The Power of the Doctor" (2022)
Portrayed byJanet Fielding
Sian Pattenden (young; uncredited)[1]
Non-canonical appearancesA Fix with Sontarans (1985)
Duration1981–1985, 2022
In-universe information
SpeciesHuman
AffiliationFourth Doctor
Fifth Doctor
Thirteenth Doctor
UNIT
RelativesAndrew Verney (grandfather)
Vanessa (aunt)
Colin Frazer (cousin) Adopted Son
HomeEarth
Home era20th and 21st centuries

Tegan Jovanka is a fictional character played by Janet Fielding in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. An Australian airline stewardess and a native of Brisbane who was a companion of the Fourth and Fifth Doctors, she was a regular in the programme from 1981 to 1984. Tegan appeared in 20 stories (65 episodes).

According to producer John Nathan-Turner, when he was thinking of a name for the character, it was either going to be Tegan, after his partner's niece in Australia, or Jovanka, after Jovanka Broz, the widow of Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito, so he wrote both down on a piece of paper. Script editor Christopher H. Bidmead mistakenly believed that Jovanka was the character's last name rather than an alternative, and so christened her Tegan Jovanka.[2]

  1. ^ Jean- Marc Lofficer 'Doctor Who Programme Guide' New Edition. Virgin Publishing 1994 ISBN 0-426-20342-9
  2. ^ John Nathan-Turner (17 January 1996). "Brighton Beach Memoirs". Doctor Who Magazine. No. 234. United Kingdom: Marvel Comics UK Ltd. p. 20.