Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane ? ( TV story ) Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane ? was the fifth story of the first series of " The Sarah Jane Adventures " . It was comprised of episodes 7 and 8 of the regular series . It saw the introduction of the Trickster , a recurring villain of the programme , whose minions would also appear in " Doctor Who " and " Torchwood " . Additionally , Alan Jackson got exposed to alien activity yet again , to the point it was beyond Sarah ' s power to cover the evidence up . This left her no choice but to reveal her secret life before Alan and entrust her secrets to yet another person in her growing circle of friends . Synopsis . One day , Sarah Jane Smith exists . The next , only Maria Jackson knows of her . Andrea Yates takes her place , but Maria knows that Andrea has done something to remove Sarah from the space / time continuum . It is up to Maria to uncover the identity of the " Trickster " if the human race is to survive . But with Sarah and Luke wiped from existence and Clyde having lost all knowledge of his former adventures , Maria must save the world single - handedly . But she finds it may be time to tell her father about her secret life with Sarah if the whole world is to survive . Plot . Part 1 . Sarah Jane Smith and Alan Jackson pick up Clyde , Luke and Maria . They stop off in the " Ealing Palace Park " where Clyde practises his skateboard ing . Alan , disappointed at what he sees , tries to teach Clyde , showing off his own skills . Maria takes photos of everyone . While being photographed , Sarah becomes very cold and mutters that someone just walked over her grave . As they leave , a black - cloaked , hooded figure peers from behind a bush . Back in Sarah ' s attic , Sarah tells Maria , Luke and Clyde about a meteorite on course with Earth . She reassures them Mr Smith will deflect it the next day . After sending Clyde home and Luke to make tea , Sarah gives Maria an alien puzzlebox . It was a gift from a Verron Soothsayer , who told her to give it to the person she trusts the most and just to " remember " . Sarah says she chose Maria and sent Luke away so he wouldn ' t be offended . Maria tries to open it that night , but falls asleep holding it . A mysterious , cloaked figure approaches Sarah ' s house . He holds out a hand . The lights in the house go out , her car disappears and the puzzle block glows blue in Maria ' s hand . The next day , she tells her dad she is going to Sarah ' s . Alan has not heard of the woman . Maria takes this as a joke . He mentions Andrea and thinks Maria is joking when she asks who Andrea is . Across the street is a strange woman in Sarah ' s house who seems to know Maria , but neither Sarah or Luke are there . Her dad calls the woman Andrea . Maria rushes into the house but the layout is entirely different . Checking the attic , she finds it is filled with old junk and Mr . Smith is gone . Maria checks yesterday ' s photos . Sarah and Luke are not in them , but Andrea is . Sarah , Luke and Mr . Smith have vanished . She alone remembers them . Maria searches her mobile phone contacts , but Sarah , Luke , and Clyde ' s numbers have all vanished . She remembers the impending meteor , but no one will listen . Remembering Clyde ' s number from memory , she calls him , only to find that he is an acquaintance rather than one of her best friends . When Maria asks about Sarah and Luke , Clyde doesn ' t know what she ' s talking about and brushes her off . Maria decides to search for information on Sarah in the library . She and her father find a newspaper article from 1964 ; a thirteen - year - old Sarah Jane Smith drowned after falling from a pier , where she was larking around with her friend , Andrea Yates . Alan reasons that Andrea told her about the accident . As Maria watches , the names of the deceased and the survivor on the report switch for a second , though a bemused Alan claims he saw nothing . Realising that she can ' t get her father to remember anything about Sarah , Maria tells him she was lying to stop his worries . She goes to talk to Andrea . Andrea can ' t seem to recall her best friend ' s name until Maria mentions the incident in 1964 , at which point Andrea panics and throws Maria out . Andrea rushes to the attic and finds a second puzzle box . The cloaked figure reappears and reminds Andrea of their agreement . She can ' t bear the memory and begs him to help her . He offers to make Maria disappear . After Andrea accepts , he dispatches a Graske , who chases Maria into a dead end under a tunnel and teleports her away just after Alan picks up the first puzzle box , which Maria had dropped during the chase . When Chrissie comes round , she cannot remember Maria , although Alan can . Meanwhile , Maria escapes from the Graske and finds herself on a beach promenade near two girls in school uniform . She grabs a newspaper and sees the date : July 13th 1964 , the day of the accident . When Maria asks the two girls where she is , they introduce themselves as Andrea Yates and Sarah Jane Smith . Part 2 . After failing to dissuade Andrea and Sarah from going to the pier , Maria is recaptured by the Graske and is taken to join the adult Sarah on a white , misty plain called Limbo . The mysterious figure summons Sarah and explains that he has removed Sarah from Earth ' s timeline so the meteorite will destroy it and create the chaos on which he feeds . Luke also no longer exists , as in the altered timeline the Bane never came to Earth and thus he was never created . He removes his hood to reveal a featureless face and a mouth with sharp , pointed teeth . He tells her how her life was so important to the Earth , but he found just the right time to " snuff it out " . As he leaves , he also mentions that he will proceed to remove the Doctor from time as well , to ensure nothing can interfere with his plan . Chrissie becomes angry at Alan for making up that they had children , and Alan begins to realise that what Maria said was true . He accompanies Chrissie to Andrea ' s birthday party . Recalling Maria ' s suspicions , he questions Andrea , who takes him to the attic and sorrowfully reveals the truth . When Andrea was on a school trip in July 1964 , she and Sarah left the school group to explore on their own . After getting into the locked pier , they larked around for a bit before looking over the railings . However , the gate Andrea leant against was open and she tumbled down , grabbing hold of an overhanging girder . Sarah Jane tried to save her , but could not reach her . A hoarse voice offered to switch the girls ' places . Andrea , terrified , accepted . The two girls immediately swapped places and Sarah fell , with Andrea safe . The figure appeared and gave Andrea the puzzle box , then removed himself from her memory , promising to always be with her . Because of the figure , Andrea had forgotten about her friend ' s entire existence , but Maria ' s questions made her remember both Sarah and the deal she made with the figure . The figure then reappears in the mirror , though Alan cannot see him , and offers to remove Alan . Andrea apologises both for removing Maria and for what she is about to do . She grabs Alan ' s puzzle box as the Graske appears . Alan is chased into the street by the Graske , but he knocks it down on his skateboard and uses its snare device to bring back Maria . Maria returns to reality , leaving Sarah on her own in limbo . At Andrea ' s party , Clyde switches on the television . Everyone at Andrea ' s party learns that a huge meteorite is heading for Earth and the air force are planning a missile strike . Alan tries to fire the snare again to return Sarah , but she does not appear ; Maria deduce s that she returned to " her " home , so Sarah should be in her attic . The missile strike fails and the guests flee the party to watch the approaching meteor . In the attic , Sarah appears in the mirror and explains that she cannot return while Andrea is still there . Andrea grows angry when Maria says Andrea was " meant to die " , arguing that she has the right to live and she will be forgotten . Sarah agrees that neither of them should have died . . . it was a pointless death , something that Sarah never forgot . Witnessing Andrea ' s death gave her the resolve to fight pointless deaths herself . When the figure reappears ( called “ the Trickster ” by Alan ) , Andrea realises the error of her ways and , in an act of selflessness and courage , withdraws the agreement with the Trickster , throwing the puzzle box at the mirror which smashes both . Back in 1964 , Andrea whispers , " Remember me , " to Sarah just before she falls to her death , while Sarah and Luke reappear with Alan and Maria in the attic . Sarah activates Mr Smith to stop the meteor , now only metres from impact . The party guests have fled , but Clyde and Chrissie remain as targets for the incoming meteorite . Mr Smith activates the magnetic buffer and the meteorite diverts at the last minute . Clyde joins the others in the attic , where Alan demands an explanation of his daughter ' s involvement with aliens , monsters and supercomputers . The four look at each other and have no answer .