Attempting to solve the mystery of this "unearthly child," Ian and Barbara follow Susan back home to a junkyard, where they hear her voice coming from what appears to be a police box.

His concern, above all, is for the safety of the TARDIS crew, and in the early stories he often takes issue with the Doctor's habit of placing the group in harm's way just to satisfy his own curiosity.

He manages to create fire (An Unearthly Child), rides a horse, knows how to fight with swords (The Romans) and is knowledgeable about pressure points that can paralyze an opponent (The Aztecs).

The character of Ian was intended by the production team to return for a guest appearance in the 1983 Doctor Who story Mawdryn Undead, but this plan fell through when Russell proved to be unavailable.

[7] Russell provided linking narration between the existing episodes in character as an aged Ian Chesterton reminiscing about the events of the story.

Ian was also mentioned in episode one of the 1993 Children In Need charity special Dimensions In Time and again in Death of the Doctor, a two-part story in the fourth series of The Sarah Jane Adventures.

In the 50th Anniversary Special "The Day of the Doctor", the sign for Coal Hill Secondary School identifies the Chairman of the Governors as "I.

"[9] In the spin-off series Class, it was revealed in the episode "Brave-ish Heart" that the Board of Governors had been removed when the school was refurbished as an Academy.

[2] The novelisation of The Daleks by David Whitaker is written in first person from Ian Chesterton's perspective, and changes his initial meeting with the Doctor, Susan, and Barbara to a car accident involving the two ladies.

When Susan is recruited for the Time War and given a diplomatic mission to form an alliance with the Sensorites, she requests Ian's help as an ambassador given their previous history with the species.

The character also appears in the Dell comic strip adaptation of the film and the short story The House on Oldark Moor by Justin Richards.