Barbara Wright was the history teacher at Coal Hill School, where the Doctor's granddaughter Susan attended. Intrigued by her unusual pupil, she and science teacher Ian Chesterton followed Susan home one day. When they forced their way into the TARDIS, the Doctor kidnapped them so they would not reveal what they had seen.
Thanks to her wide historical knowledge, Barbara found herself relatively well-prepared for travelling with the Doctor. His many escapades into historical locations, often famous ones, gave her a chance to not only use the knowledge she had acquired, but add to it. Often Barbara found herself enthralled by the places the TARDIS brought her to, and sometimes - such as during her escapade with the Aztecs - she found it very hard to keep from attempting to change history.
Barbara is a very headstrong and stubborn woman, and she sometimes finds it difficult to hold her tongue when she is angered or confronted with some monstrous cruelty. Despite this, she is the mediator of the TARDIS crew. Ian and the Doctor frequently butt heads, and although she does not have the personal connection to him as Susan does, her cool and levelheaded manner usually enables her to calm him down. Sometimes she finds herself equally on the receiving end of the Doctor's bad temper, and when this happens, she gives as good as she gets. This is not to say that Barbara is unflappable - in fact, she can be quite emotional, particularly when she is frightened, and it usually takes Ian to calm her down.
Although she appreciates the way Ian and the Doctor look after Susan and herself, Barbara is an extremely capable woman. Sometimes she rebels against being treated "like Dresden china". In keeping with her analytical nature, Barbara is very good at making deductions from available facts, although she also has very reliable intuition. She also loves sailing ships, and knows how to cook, sew and drive a truck.
Barbara is relatively tall, with brown hair and eyes. Her hair is usually coiffed in a conspicuously large, and probably heavily lacquered, bouffant style. She is only persuaded to give this up during historical adventures where it would draw attention. Barbara usually wears something sensible, like slacks and a turtleneck or cardigan with flat-heeled shoes, but she has an absolute passion for dressing up in historical clothing - an understandable vice, given her background.
Despite the exhiliration she derives from time travel, Barbara feels that there is no place like home. After ages and ages of wishing that the Doctor could return them, she and Ian finally manage to usurp a Dalek time machine to get them back to London 1965. It is commonly believed that she and Ian married following their return, although there is no evidence for this within the series itself. Still, we can hope.
