Lots More Sarah Jane

The Sarah Jane Adventures is given the greenlight for two new series

Sarah Jane Smith will be adventuring for at least another two years, as the Beeb has commissioned a couple of new series (that’s 24 half-hour episodes!) of her Doctor Who spin-off.

Elisabeth Sladen and teen sidekicks Tommy Knight (Luke), Daniel Anthony (Clyde) and Anjli Mohindra (Rani) will start shooting the fourth series of The Sarah Jane Adventures later this month, and the Beeb’s press release promises that they’ll be facing “the usual mixture of thrills, scares and fun with enemies old and new”. Sounds just like an average day in the SFX office...

Already confirmed for the series are the Nightmare Man, the Shansheeth, the show’s first adventure to an alien world and a trip back in time – alas, no news yet on whether new Doctor Matt Smith will be making an appearance. Writers on the series (still overseen by Russell T Davies) include Who -niverse vets Phil Ford, Joseph Lidster, Gareth Roberts and Rupert Laight, and former Doctor Who magazine editor Clayton Hickman. The fourth series will air this autumn.

The fifth series will start shooting in 2011, and broadcast later that year.

Richard is a freelancer journalist and editor, and was once a physicist. Rich is the former editor of SFX Magazine, but has since gone freelance, writing for websites and publications including GamesRadar+, SFX, Total Film, and more. He also co-hosts the podcast, Robby the Robot's Waiting, which is focused on sci-fi and fantasy.