Cult Spy Icon: Alan Jackson - 'Sarah Jane'

The cool father figure many of us crave, Alan Jackson is a man of many talents and fully deserving of Cult Spy Icon status after only one season of Sarah Jane.

What's most astonishing is not his ability to save the earth from Mr Smith in the season finale, but his extreme patience when dealing with ghastly ex-wife Chrissie. Such is her annoying nature and downright vacuousness, it's remarkable that Alan isn't an alcoholic. Surely he must have been drunk when he proposed?

In 'Eye of the Gorgon' he was temporarily turned into a statue, with his flesh becoming fossilised, yet tears emerged from his stony eyes when Chrissie entered the room to admire the work of art. Confessing her true feelings to what she believed was a genuine statue, we'll never know if Alan was crying at the heartfelt emotions on display or weeping at the prospect of having to fend off her horrible claws. For his sake, let's hope it's the latter.

'Whatever Happened To Sarah Jane?' propelled Alan Jackson to new levels of cool. Using actor Joseph Millson's own skills in the field, the character showcased some serious skateboarding skills on a local ramp, much to the glee of Sarah Jane and the gang. His talent even helped save the day, for he smashed into a Graske with the board and enabled him to escape. This particular story also foregrounded Alan as the main hero, with all the other characters taken out of their real existences by the sinister Trickster.

In addition, the season finale witnessed him finishing off Mr Smith by whacking a virus onto the evil super computer's hard drive. Perhaps he'd been inspired by the infamous plot contrivance in Independence Day? After all, who says aliens don't use Windows?

Above all, it's clear that Alan is a good, caring father to Maria. After learning about the dangerous extraterrestrial encounters that his daughter has been involved in, he understandably wants to leave the area. But a heartfelt plea from Maria, who now feels a real sense of belonging and community, wins him over. Whatta guy.