Ian Marter Ian Don Marter ( 28 October 1944 - 28 October 1986 ) played companion Harry Sullivan in " Doctor Who " from " Robot " to " Terror of the Zygons " and again in " The Android Invasion " . He wrote several books for the Target novelisation s , including two published posthumously . He also played the minor role of Lieutenant John Andrews in the " Doctor Who " story " Carnival of Monsters " . He sometimes wrote under the Ian Don . Biography . After graduating from Oxford University in 1969 , Marter worked at the theatre , where he was a stage manager and acted in various minor roles . To supplement his low actor ' s wages , he worked for a time as a milkman and a schoolteacher . In 1971 he auditioned for the regular role of Captain Mike Yates in the eighth season of " Doctor Who " . Although he was offered the part , he was unable to accept due to other commitments . He sufficiently impressed the production team to be kept in mind however , and was cast in a supporting role in the 1973 story " Carnival of Monsters " , broadcast as part of the tenth season of the programme . In 1974 , he was cast as companion Harry Sullivan , a character developed by the production team when they thought the Fourth Doctor might be portrayed by an older actor who would be unable to handle the more physical action scenes . However , after Tom Baker , who was forty , was cast , this was no longer an issue . Harry was written out after just one season , despite being a popular character and gelling with Baker and other lead Elisabeth Sladen . Marter was the third " Doctor Who " regular to be cast following a guest appearance ; the first two were Peter Purves and Nicholas Courtney . Marter remained involved with " Doctor Who " after his departure from the cast . He co - wrote the script for a potential feature film version , provisionally titled " Doctor Who Meets Scratchman " in collaboration with Baker and film director , although this never came to pass . The intention was to have Baker ' s Doctor come face to face with Scratchman , an ancient British word for the devil . The finale of the film would have taken place on a giant pinball table , the holes in the table portals to other dimensions . The project fizzled out due to lack of funding and the dire state of the British film industry . He also became involved with the writing of novelisations of " Doctor Who " stories for Target Books , penning nine adaptations in the late 1970s and early 1980s . Marter ' s novelisations were controversial , most notably for his use of the word ' bastard ' in his novelisation of " The Enemy of the World " . The last of Marter ' s " Doctor Who " novelisations was " The Rescue " , which was completed by range editor Nigel Robinson after Marter ' s unexpected death . Marter is , to date , one of only five " Doctor Who " actors ( the others being Colin Baker , David Banks , Glyn Jones and Mark Gatiss ; original series writer Victor Pemberton also appeared as an actor ) to write licensed fiction based upon the series . Marter also wrote an original spin - off novel for Target , " Harry Sullivan ' s War " , starring the character he had played on screen , published in 1986 , only weeks before his death ; this was the second original " Doctor Who " - related novel ever published , after " Turlough and the Earthlink Dilemma " . Marter planned a sequel and an adaptation of the unused " Doctor Who Meets Scratchman " script at the time of his death . In addition to his " Doctor Who " novelisations , he adapted several 1980s American films , such as and for Target and their Star Books imprint . Some of these books were published under the pen name ' Ian Don ' . Marter ' s acting career outside of " Doctor Who " consisted mainly of guest roles in series such as the BBC ' s " Bergerac " ( in 1985 ) and ' s ( in 1986 ) . He also had minor roles in films , such as ( 1971 ) and ( 1978 ) . Marter married Rosemary Heyland in 1968 and had two sons , Rupert and Toby . He died suddenly at his home in London on his forty - second birthday in 1986 ( some sources erroneously give his date of death as being two days later , 30 October ) after suffering a heart attack brought on by complications of type 1 diabetes . He has the sad distinction of being the first companion actor to pass away , and only the second major " Doctor Who " actor to die ( the first was William Hartnell more than a decade earlier ) . At the time of his death , Marter had completed work on two final novelisations , " The Reign of Terror " and " The Rescue " . Both were published posthumously .