The Sarah Jane Adventures The Sarah Jane Adventures — often abbreviated as simply SJA — was a spin - off series of " Doctor Who " , produced by BBC Wales for CBBC . It ran from 2007 to 2011 , over the course of five series . All stories except for the initial one were presented in a serial format , with each serial being composed of two , 25 - minute episodes . Created by Russell T Davies after a positive experience working with Elisabeth Sladen on the " Doctor Who " episode " School Reunion " , it concerned itself with Sarah ' s life after her initial encounter with the Tenth Doctor . The series featured regular appearances by several teenaged cast members , their parents , a computer named Mr Smith , and K9 . Aimed at a younger audience than " Doctor Who " , its UK timeslot was typically around 16 : 30 on Mondays and Tuesdays . In its fourth year it spawned a one - series , " " spin - off of its own , named " Sarah Jane ' s Alien Files " . For 2010 only , there were some days where it was possible to find about an hour ' s worth of " SJA " programming on CBBC . In celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the show , a special one - off event was held by a group known as " the Attic " , to gather the cast and crew for celebration on 29th July , 2017 . Two months later a selection of episodes were aired on 24 September , 2017 . In 2018 every episode was re - released on the BBC iPlayer . Premise . The show followed Sarah Jane Smith some time after she met the Tenth Doctor in " School Reunion " . Like UNIT and Torchwood , Sarah had decided to deal with aliens in her own way . She was assisted by teenagers from her neighbourhood who unknowingly involve themselves in her life , such as Maria Jackson , Clyde Langer , and Rani Chandra . Also , through her adventures , Sarah entered motherhood by adopting former alien - created tools , such as her son Luke Smith and daughter Sky Smith . She was assisted in knowledge of alien life and technology by her super - computer , Mr Smith and robot dog K9 Mark IV . In detail . The series was set largely in and around Bannerman Road , Ealing — the street on which Sarah lived . As shown in the initial , New Year ' s Day special , Sarah was a wealthy and reclusive eccentric . Her somewhat lavish house , car and lifestyle were paid for by her work as a freelance journalist , and an inheritance from the aunt established in her first " Doctor Who " appearance and the pilot for Sarah ' s first spin - off series . In the opening narrative , she acquired an adopted son , a highly - evolved human , who had been manufactured by the Bane . Her hitherto lonely life was also invaded by a girl who had just moved into the house across the road . Once the series proper began , and her adopted son , Luke , started attending school with Maria , they picked up a third friend , named Clyde Langer . Initially , then , the format of the series was about the three school - aged kids having alien - fighting adventures with Sarah , whilst trying to keep Maria ' s divorced dad and mum unaware of their activities . Major subplots included : Maria and Alan Jackson ' s attempts to have a productive relationship with Chrissie , in the wake of the divorce ; Sarah ' s efforts to be a good mother ; Clyde ' s attempts to help the socially awkward Luke " be cool " ; the gradual uncovering of Mr Smith ' s true nature ; and Alan ' s discovery of what exactly happened at Sarah ' s house . Early in series 2 , however , the show obviously scaled back the importance of adults other than Sarah . The Jacksons were dropped from the series , replaced by Rani Chandra , and her parents Gita and Haresh . Unlike the Jacksons , however — who were almost always a significant part of the narrative — the Chandras were much de - emphasised , and often used as mere comic relief . For instance , it took Haresh two series to amass as many appearances as Alan had enjoyed in a single series . Also , the Chandras were often in just one of the two episodes of a story — as in " Death of the Doctor " — whereas Alan was typically in " both " parts . Moreover , the Chandras were all but unused in series 4 , appearing together in just one serial . Clyde ' s parents were featured in one story , but it was a story which hardly utilised Sarah . For the most part , parental involvement dropped significantly after Alan Jackson accepted a job in Washington DC early in series 2 , and was little more than incidental after the series 3 premiere . Over time , even Sarah ' s new , maternal role was scaled back . Luke Smith ' s presence began to be scaled back in series 3 , such that he was largely absent from several episodes . By series 4 , he was said to be in university a year earlier than the two other kids , and was thus reduced to a recurring guest star . Practically speaking , the show ' s format for the last two series featured Sarah , Clyde , Rani and Mr Smith as the major characters , with everyone else reduced to supporting roles . Common character " beats " that reverberated during the time that Rani was on the show included : the greater involvement of the Doctor in Sarah ' s life ; Haresh ' s role as the headmaster of the kids ' school ; the contentious relationship between Sarah ' s two computers , Mr Smith and K9 ; Luke ' s continued communication with an off - screen Maria ; the recurring threat of the Trickster ; and a certain level of subtle romantic tension between Clyde and Rani . Development highlights . The development of " SJA " never attracted the same level of minute coverage of its parent programme . Whereas the production of " individual Doctor Who " stories was often known in great detail , behind - the - scenes information about " SJA " was considerably harder to come by . The project appeared to have started in 2006 , slightly prior to the broadcast of " School Reunion " . At that time , the CBBC expressed an interest in producing a " Doctor Who " spin - off . Their initial idea was " a drama based on the idea of a young Doctor Who " , but Russell T . Davies vetoed this . " Somehow , the idea of a fourteen - year - old Doctor , on Gallifrey inventing sonic screwdriver s , takes away from the mystery and intrigue of who he is and where he came from , " said Davies . He suggested instead a series based on the Doctor ' s former companion Sarah Jane Smith . Reports of a spin - off series first emerged around the time of TV : " School Reunion " original airing , with the series having the working title of " Sarah Jane Investigates " . Indeed , Sladen herself was still calling the programme " Sarah Jane Investigates " as late as an October 2006 BBC interview . That said , some production milestones were known : Production team . Producers . The original executive producer s for " The Sarah Jane Adventures " were Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner . Susie Liggat produced " Invasion of the Bane " , but Matthew Bouch took over for Liggat for series 1 " proper " . Phil Collinson held the title of " Series Producer " during the first year . Gareth Roberts — a sort of " uncredited producer " — said of the initial series , Bouch remained in the producer ' s chair through series 2 . For the following year , Nikki Wilson replaced him , and Piers Wenger , Julie Gardner ' s replacement as Head of Drama at BBC Wales , joined Gardner and Davies as executive producers . By the fourth series , however , both Gardner and Wenger were no longer credited on the show . RTD was the only exec who remained of the initial main production team . Brian Minchin had become the producer and Nikki Wilson was now RTD ' s producing partner . She was also the only executive producer actually resident in Wales , since RTD was living in Los Angeles during the production of the last two series of " SJA " , executive producing " " . Other important production figures included Phil Ford , who was credited as " co - producer " after series 1 , and Debbi Slater , who served in a variety of key production positions over the five series , including those of associate producer and production manager . Other departments . The writing staff was fairly stable throughout the programme ' s run . The job of head writer was effectively shared between Phil Ford , Gareth Roberts and Russel T Davies for most of the five years — though none of these men actually got a " credit " as " head writer " . Davies did intend to write more stories for the show but on different occasions was forced to pull out being busy with writing Torchwood and Doctor Who , this meant he only ever was credited for writing two stories . Joseph Lidster , Clayton Hickman and Rupert Laight were also frequent contributors . Production design was handled in the first year by Ed Thomas , though these duties were eventually given to others in the " Doctor Who " art department — chiefly Arwel Wyn Jones , who formally succeeded Thomas , but eventually to Keith Dunne . Likewise , the initial casting director was Andy Pryor , but he , too , allowed primary casting responsibilities to eventually fall to his " Doctor Who " junior , Andy Brierley . Though the theme music was by Murray Gold , most of the incidental music was actually by Sam and Dan Watts , composer s not previously connected with the DWU . Similarly , cinematography was initially handled by " Doctor Who " regular , Rory Taylor , but the most prolific director of photography eventually came to be Mark Waters . Cast . Main . Ordered in terms of most number of appearances , the main cast consisted of Cast changes . Casting decisions were not routinely discussed in the press with anything like the ferocity that " Doctor Who " casting announcements were . As a result , many cast changes were often the subject of fan speculation more than fact . The kids . During the life of " SJA " , three kids were edged out of the production , but no official statements were issued by the British Broadcasting Corporation about any of these cast changes . Kelsey Hooper was apparently the original " third kid " in " Invasion of the Bane " , but she was quietly replaced in series 1 " proper " by Clyde Langer . No reason was ever given by the BBC for this cast change . However , it is possible to believe that Kelsey was never actually intended as a permanent cast member , since " Invasion " actually wrote her out as unable to handle the " Sarah Jane Smith lifestyle " in its final scenes . Maria Jackson was the next kid to go . Though she appeared on much of the series 2 publicity material , and appeared or was heard in three of that year ' s stories ( being referred to in two others ) , she ceased to be a regular after the first story of the second season . Though rumours have swirled for years about why this character — and , by necessity , her parents — were written out , the BBC have never offered up an explanation for the actor ' s departure . However , actress Yasmin Paige left the role during her GCSE year and decided she would concentrate on her studies , though it is not clear if she chose to dedicate herself to her scholarly life on a permanent basis and not return to the series . Finally , Luke Smith was absent for some episodes of series 3 and most of the rest of the ( he only appears in the series 4 opener and finale ) programme ' s run , though he was still touted as a main cast member in official BBC press packs through the end of the series . Actor Tommy Knight was also clearly part of what was essentially the last thing the BBC filmed about the series , the April 2011 Liz Sladen tribute , " " . This indicated , though perhaps didn ' t absolutely " confirm " , that Luke ' s reduced role was amenable to both the BBC and Knight himself . K9 . Another casting issue was never well understood . K9 ' s appearances were sporadic throughout the five year run of " SJA " . Since K9 was owned by writer Bob Baker , its appearances had to be specifically negotiated with the writer . Just as " School Reunion " had raised Sarah Jane ' s profile , it had also ignited interest in having a K9 spin - off . Baker may have withheld rights for K9 ' s use in " SJA " so as not to compromise then - ongoing negotiations for a K9 series . Why the dog was so heavily used in series 3 , but otherwise little more than a featured cameo in the other series , was never the subject of an official , public announcement . Series . " SJA " debuted on BBC One with a 60 - minute special on 1 January 2007 . A full series of ten 30 - minute episodes followed later in the year . The second series had twelve 30 - minute episodes and aired in the autumn of 2008 , followed by a third in late 2009 . A mini episode for charity also aired in early 2009 . Meanwhile , series four went into production in March 2010 . At the same time , what was expected to be the first half of the fifth series was produced as part of the Series 4 recording block , with the second half of the series initially planned for production in early 2011 . However , because Elisabeth Sladen died on 19 April 2011 , series 5 was truncated to just those three serials that had been completed in 2010 . The series therefore ended because Sladen died , and no parties to the production of the series wished to continue without her . International broadcasts . Series 1 aired on the Sci Fi Channel in the US and BBC Kids in Canada in 2007 . In January 2010 , Series 2 began airing on BBC Kids . No US broadcast of anything past series 1 ever occurred , and Canada never saw any episode past the second series . " Invasion of the Bane " was broadcast in Australia on ABC1 . Nevertheless in both Australia and New Zealand , the show started airing in January 2010 on Nickelodeon , though only Series 1 - 4 were broadcast . Merchandising . The programme attracted some manufacturing interest . Aside from the obvious retail of the episodes themeselves , " SJA " - themed product ranges included :