Mel is an orphaned[1] computer programmer from the 20th century who originates from the village of Pease Pottage in West Sussex, England.

[3] She is a health enthusiast and a vegetarian, often encouraging the slightly portly Sixth Doctor to exercise more and drink carrot juice.

[1] She appears in six stories following her debut, eventually departing the series in the episode Dragonfire (1987) alongside the recurring character Sabalom Glitz (Tony Selby).

Series producer John Nathan-Turner wished to depict Mel's first meeting with the Doctor on-screen in an episode which would have followed Trial of a Time Lord.

However, the subsequent departure of lead actor Colin Baker prior to production of the new season made an in-universe introduction between the Sixth Doctor and Mel impossible.

[1] Due to a lack of clarification regarding her backstory, many writers, including Gary Russell and Craig Hinton, have attempted to give her more detail in spin-off material for the series.

Langford at the time was a well-known, veteran actor, which authors at SFX considered to be part of John Nathan-Turner's plans to get Doctor Who talked about in the press.

[13] Langford explained that Mel's in-universe reason for returning was because "she had to stop travelling the universe and actually, literally, get back to down to Earth and face the things she's been running away from.

"[19] Davies originally planned to kill Mel at the end of Empire of Death (2024), but decided against it during writing of the episode.

[9] During the in-episode commentary for Empire of Death, Davies hinted that the mystery of Mel's family would play a role in the future of the series.

Her role, which was considered an outdated stereotype, was not liked by many audiences,[4] and the character became widely remembered for her high-pitched screaming when faced with dangerous situations.

[20] Adi Tantimedh, writing for Bleeding Cool, additionally stated that Mel was associated with the negative side of the classic series of Doctor Who due to her minimal story role and the low quality of the seasons she starred in.