Mel Bush

Mel is an orphaned computer programmer from the 20th century who originates from the village of Pease Pottage in West Sussex, England. She has an eidetic memory, and a cheery, optimistic personality. She is a health enthusiast and a vegetarian, often encouraging the slightly portly Sixth Doctor to exercise more and drink carrot juice. Mel returns in the 2022 special, "The Power of the Doctor", alongside several other former companions, who gather together as a support group to talk of their experiences with the Doctor. Mel next appears in the 2023 special, "The Giggle", where it is revealed that she was recruited by UNIT, having returned to Earth after Glitz's death. After it is revealed that Triad is in fact a minion for Sutekh (Gabriel Woolf), an old enemy of the Doctor's, Mel helps the Doctor escape back to UNIT HQ, where she, the Doctor and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) use a special machine called a "memory TARDIS" to escape as Sutekh destroys the rest of the universe. Sutekh kills and possesses Mel, and animates Mel's body to return the Doctor and Ruby to the present day. After the Doctor defeats Sutekh and restores the universe, Mel returns to normal. Following the episode, Langford released a book starring Mel and Glitz titled Death in the Stars, which features the pair attempting to solve a murder in which they are the prime suspects. ==Development==

According to producer Eric Saward, series producer John Nathan-Turner had told him that he wanted to have a "redhead companion" on the series. Nathan-Turner had immediately suggested Bonnie Langford. Langford at the time was a well-known, veteran actor, which authors at SFX considered to be part of John Nathan-Turner's plans to get Doctor Who talked about in the press. Langford was also known for having a strong scream, which multiple authors believed was a factor in her casting. A new script editor was hired to the series following Season 24 who wished to take the series in a different direction. As a result, Mel's character was written to adapt to the episodes as written, and was given no character arc. with Mel's role in the original series being considered by Langford to be akin to a "diversion," which led to Langford feeling as though she couldn't "find her footing" in the role of Mel. Mel was eventually removed from the series; while it has been stated that poor audience reaction to Mel's role in the classic series led to the character's hasty removal from the series, co-star Sylvester McCoy has stated that the reason for her departure was because "[Langford] couldn't take it anymore," with Langford electing to leave the show of her own accord. In a later interview, Langford stated she left the series because producers had not asked her to stay on for another season, and Langford wished to guarantee she had another role lined up following her role on Doctor Who. The producers were originally content to let Langford leave according to McCoy; Mel had no departure scene in the original script of Dragonfire. She also stated that she preferred playing Mel in the revived series than in the classic series due to Mel's maturation, and also responded positively to the support she had received from fans for her role Davies originally planned to kill Mel at the end of "Empire of Death" (2024), but decided against it during writing of the episode. During the in-episode commentary for "Empire of Death", Davies hinted that the mystery of Mel's family would play a role in the future of the series. == Reception ==

Contemporary audiences strongly disliked Mel, The BBC's internal viewer reaction reports stated that Mel was a highly unpopular character, with a large number of viewers wishing the character had been eaten during the episode Paradise Towers (1987). Mel's role in the series was debated by authors of SFX; while her role was considered poorly written and underdeveloped, Langford's performance was stated to be enjoyed by children at the time, and Langford was praised for being able to give weight to Mel's weaker character. Mel's re-appearance in the series was highlighted for expanding her character, with her reappearances in Big Finish-produced audio dramas and the revived television series being praised by fans due to the further development of her character. Tantimedh additionally praised Mel's return to the series for adding depth to Mel's character and allowing the character to evolve past sexist tropes that had been present in her prior appearances. ==References==