Ian Chesterton - Appearances in Other Media

Appearances in Other Media

The novelisation of The Daleks by David Whitaker is written in first person from Ian Chesterton's perspective, and changes his initial meeting with the Doctor, Susan, and Barbara to a car accident involving the two ladies. The TARDIS then arrives on Skaro rather than prehistoric earth, with the story continuing much as the TV serial from then on. In this version, Ian is a chemist returning from an unsuccessful job interview, but his character is otherwise unchanged.

In the film adaptation Dr. Who and the Daleks, Ian Chesterton is the boyfriend of Barbara, granddaughter of Dr. Who. Rather than the man of action from the TV series, this Ian is a clumsy idiot who manages to survive more through luck than any degree of competence. In Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD, the character of Ian is replaced by Tom Campbell, who performs much the same role as Ian in The Dalek Invasion of Earth.

Since 1994, the character has also appeared in various novels from Virgin Publishing and BBC Books, set between televised adventures during his particular era of the programme. One BBC Books novel, The Face of the Enemy by David A. McIntee (1998), picks up the story of Ian and Barbara, now married to each other, in the early 1970s, the two of them collaborating with the Doctor's colleagues at UNIT and his enemy the Master when Ian is hired as the Third Doctor's temporary replacement while the Doctor is taking a trip away from Earth. In this book, they have a young son named John. Many of the novels mention a 1980s pop star named Johnny Chester or Johnny Chess, intended to be the same character. Chess is idolised by the Seventh Doctor's companion Ace and has apparently been romantically involved with the Fifth Doctor's companion Tegan.