K9 is one of Doctor Who’s most famous characters, but K9 rarely appears and there’s a reason k9 was never reunited with the Thirteenth Doctor. K9 is the product of the original Doctor Who, with writers Bob Baker and Dave Martin famously creating K9 for the 1977 story “The Invisible Enemy.” K9 was only meant to be a one-off character but Doctor Who producer at the time, Graham Williams, decided to make K9 a permanent character especially because of the appeal to children. K9 was a part of the Doctor Who team until 1981 and has had multiple spin-offs since, including in The Sarah Jane Adventures.
Despite K9’s popularity, the tin dog has not been seen in Doctor Who since its brief appearance during David Tennant’s reign as the Tenth Doctor. The 2006 season saw Doctor Who starting to link to the original series more, showing audiences that the lore and events of these initial stories were canon in the new Doctor Who era. K9 returned with Sarah Jane in season 2, episode 3, “School Reunion” as the first big link to the original Doctor Who as Sarah Jane was a companion of the Third Doctor from 1973-1976. K9 and Sarah Jane’s appearances were brief and K9 has not been seen since the series 4 finale “Journey’s End”.
Rights Issues Prevented K9 Appearing In Doctor Who
The reason K9 has not appeared since Doctor Who season 4 is not because there was no place for K9 but because of the obscure rights to the Doctor’s companion. In an interview with Radio Free Skaro, Chris Chibnall revealed that he would have loved to have the first female Doctor, Jodie Whittaker, reunite with K9 in a discussion about the Doctor’s companions. Talking about a weird rumor about a talking cat companion appearing in “The Power of the Doctor”, Chibnall revealed he would have loved to have seen Jodie and K9 together, but could not due to being unable to obtain K9’s rights.
K9 was created for Doctor Who but, bizarrely, the rights for K9 do not actually belong to Doctor Who or the BBC, but to K9’s original creators Bob Baker and Dave Martin. BBC does hold the rights to K9’s original design but not the character as a whole which is why K9 has appeared in multiple spin-offs separate from Doctor Who. Shows such as K-9 Adventures were able to use K9 but had to change its design, and are not able to mention the link to Doctor Who. These rights meant that Doctor Who showrunner Chibnall was not able to use K9 easily and would need permission from Baker and Martin to do so.
Why K9 Appeared With The Tenth Doctor & Sarah Jane
K9’s rights, however, did not stop its appearance in “School Reunion” alongside Sarah-Jane and the Tenth Doctor. The main reason was due to Bob Baker’s involvement in the episode, with Baker even requesting the appearance of K9 Mark IV at the end of the episode when the Doctor leaves Sarah-Jane the newest version of K9. A new take on K9’s character allowed the BBC to skirt around Baker and Martin’s ownership, as they own the original design, but Baker’s approval meant the BBC could easily include K9 in “School Reunion” and “Journey’s End”.
Also, K9 had been left with former Doctor Who companion Sarah Jane in a single episode story produced in 1981 called A Girl’s Best Friend. The episode was the pilot for a K9 spin-off, K9 and Company, so it only made sense for K9 to be with Sarah Jane when she reappeared in Doctor Who. K9 has not appeared in Doctor Who since due to other spin-offs, including The Sarah Jane Adventures and the 2009 show, K-9, written by Bob Baker. K9 has not appeared on TV since K9, but the complicated rights have restricted its appearance on Doctor Who since and there are no rumors about K9’s return for the new, highly anticipated Doctor Who season.