Doctor Who‘s very first spin-off, K9 & Company, will soon be available on BBC iPlayer!

The 50-minute episode was a pilot to launch a full series starring Sarah Jane Smith (played by Elisabeth Sladen) and K9 (voiced by John Leeson), that ultimately never materialised. Nonetheless, this is the franchise’s first ever spin-off, predating the better known ones like Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures (which also starred Sladen and Leeson).

While over 800 episodes of Doctor Who, Doctor Who Confidential, Class, and more were announced as being added to the BBC’s streaming service to celebrate 60 years of the sci-fi giant, K9 & Company was missing from the announcement. Now, however, iPlayer promises it’s “available soon”, which we infer means it’ll be on there from 1st November alongside the aforementioned programmes. Wait a minute — 1st November?! That’s tomorrow!

The synopsis for the episode reads:

“Sarah Jane searches for her missing aunt in a sleepy Gloucestershire village. Luckily, the Doctor has sent her some help.”

Though both Sarah and K9 travelled with the Fourth Doctor, this was the first time the pair were seen together, and was followed up first by School Reunion, starring the Tenth Doctor, and then SJA soon after.

Dan McGolpin, director of iPlayer, said:

“We want everyone to be able to enjoy this breathtaking back catalogue, so we are making each episode on iPlayer as accessible as possible, with subtitles, audio description and sign language all available for the first time.”

It makes sense for K9 & Company to be added to iPlayer at the same time as the rest of the spin-offs, but it’s a little strange it was left off the initial press statements.

Either way, it is coming soon, and how wonderful that fans of all eras, viewers new and old, will be able to throw themselves into the whole Whoniverse with such ease!