by Scott, Cavan
After winning the prestigious Shakespeare Memorial Prize, Louise Jameson left RADA in 1971 and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her long-lasting TV career began with four lines in a BBC production of Cider With Rosie, followed by appearances in Tom Brown’s Schooldays, Z-Cars, Emmerdale and Space: 1999. Following Doctor Who, Jameson remained a familiar face on television playing major roles in The Omega Factor, Tenko, Bergerac, EastEnders and Doc Martin.
When the Doctor first met Leela she was wild, untamed and had just been exiled from her tribe. After helping him defeat the mad computer Xoanon, the leather-clad Sevateem warrior insisted the Doctor took her with him. Despite his best intentions, this savage Eliza Doolittle often reverted back to her violent roots. Primitive but no fool, Leela never waited to be asked before jumping into action.
And another thing: Looking for a familiar face to bridge the move from Tom Baker to Peter Davison, producer John Nathan-Turner asked Jameson to return as Leela for the Fifth Doctor’s first season. As she was only happy to return for a maximum of three stories, the idea was dropped.
K-9 MARK I & MARK II
voiced by JOHN LEESON and DAVID BRIERLEY
First regular Doctor Who appearance: The Invisible Enemy Part 1 (1977)
Final regular Doctor Who appearance: Warriors Gate Part 4 (1981)
Final guest Doctor Who appearance: Journey’s End (2008)
A RADA graduate, John Leeson holds the distinction of being the original Bungle the bear in Rainbow. In the late 1970s, Leeson bumped into an old friend, director Derrick Goodwin, who subsequently asked him to play a couple of voices in The Invisible Enemy – namely an alien virus and K-9. Leeson temporarily left the series after The Armageddon Factor and was replaced by David Brierley. After an accident in rehearsal ended his ballet-dancing career, Brierley had moved into stage managing, picking up acting roles as he transferred from theatre to theatre. His TV work included three separate parts in Coronation Street, most notably as a friend of Ken Barlow in episodes 6 to 14 of the legendary soap opera. Brierley voiced K-9 for four stories, including the untelevised Shada, before Leeson was persuaded to return for K-9’s imminent departure. Brierley went on to appear in Threads, Juliet Bravo, The Tripods and Howard’s Way before passing away in June 2008, while Leeson made appearances in Minder, Doctors and ChuckleVision. He returned to Doctor Who in 2006 for School Reunion, reprising his role in the subsequent spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures, and again in Australian TV’s K9 series.
Given to the Doctor by his creator Professor Marius, mobile computer K-9 travelled on board the TARDIS until he opted to remain on Gallifrey with Leela. The Doctor had obviously been preparing for the possibility that his robot dog might leave – he already had a box containing the components for K-9 Mark II.
And another thing: John Leeson provided the voice of the Dalek Battle Computer in Remembrance of the Daleks.
ROMANADVORATRELUNDAR (ROMANA) I
played by MARY TAMM
First regular Doctor Who appearance: The Ribos Operation Part 1 (1978)
Final regular Doctor Who appearance: The Armageddon Factor Part 6 (1979)
After attending RADA, Mary Tamm joined the Birmingham repertory theatre in 1971 appearing alongside Ronnie Barker and Derek Jacobi. She made the move into television two years later, winning roles in The Donati Conspiracy and Coronation Street, where she played Hilda Ogden’s daughter-in-law. Her first major role after leaving Doctor Who was as Jill Frazer in the 1980 TV thriller The Assassination Run and its sequel The Treachery Game. Tamm would go on to appear as Penny Crosbie in Channel 4’s Brookside from 1993 to 1995 and guest starred in such popular series as Heartbeat, Jonathan Creek, Wire in the Blood and EastEnders. She passed away in July 2012.
Romana was thrust upon the Doctor by the White Guardian to help the Time Lord gather the six segments of the Key to Time. Hyper-intelligent yet naïve, the original Romana was a force to be reckoned with, glamorous and absolutely convinced of her own superiority. Several centuries younger than the Doctor, she still considered herself his intellectual and academic superior – although relations between the two Gallifreyans thawed over time.
And another thing: Mary Tamm attended RADA at the same time as Louise Jameson.
ROMANADVORATRELUNDAR (ROMANA) II
played by LALLA WARD
First regular Doctor Who appearance: Destiny of the Daleks Episode 1 (1979)
Final regular Doctor Who appearance: Warriors Gate Part 4 (1981)
Final guest Doctor Who appearance: Dimensions in Time Part 2 (1993)
Even though she was painfully shy and had never even taken part in a school play, the Honourable Sarah Ward dared herself to go to drama school. Winning a place at the Central School of Speech and Drama, she graduated three years later and immediately secured a role in Hammer’s Vampire Circus. She left Doctor Who in 1980, just prior to her brief marriage to Tom Baker, and worked extensively in the theatre before retiring from acting in 1992. Ward now balances a successful career as an illustrator with charity work.
After completing the quest for the Key to Time, Romana regenerated. Having tried on a few bodies for size, she settled on the image of Princess Astra of Atrios, despite the Doctor’s protestations. In her new incarnation, Romana was more playful but still brimmed with confidence, unable to resist any opportunity to rib the Doctor about his shortcomings.
And another thing: Lalla Ward met second husband Richard Dawkins at Douglas Adams’s 40th birthday party. They were married six months later.
THE FOURTH DOCTOR’S RULES FOR COMPANIONS
Rule 1: ‘Do exactly as I say.’
Rule 2: ‘Stick close to me.’
Rule 3: ‘Let me do all the talking.’
MUSTERING THE TROOPS – THE CREATION OF UNIT
‘We deal with the odd, the unexplained, anything on Earth or even beyond.’
The Brigadier, Spearhead from Space
Earth-bound military group UNIT has been a mainstay of Doctor Who since the late 1960s. What led to the creation of this much-loved facet of the Doctor’s lives?
When, in the summer of 1968, Patrick Troughton having announced his intention to leave Doctor Who, producer Peter Bryant and script editor Derrick Sherwin cast their eyes to the future, with a revamp for the series very much on the cards.
The scripts for the Cyberman story The Invasion provided the germ of an idea for that revamp, with Derrick Sherwin fleshing out the concept of UNIT and the return of the Lethbridge-Stewart character, now promoted to Brigadier.
Bryant and Sherwin saw in The Invasion the opportunity to revamp their series to a more contemporary setting, something that had proved popular in The Web of Fear the previous year. Time travel and alien planets were out, cheaper Earth-bound adventure was in, with UNIT as a central concept.
During production of The Invasion in September 1968, the production team sounded out Nicholas Courtney about returning to Doctor Who as the Brigadier on a regular basis for the following series. The actor readily agreed.
With a new Doctor, Jon Pertwee, in place and the series moving into colour, it was all change for Doctor Who on 3 January 1970, and UNIT and the Brigadier were firmly established as a core part of the series.
UNIT PERSONNEL
LENGTH OF SERVICE
The boys (and girls) of UNIT have come and gone, but who has served the longest on screen? Here we rank the great and good in order of the number of stories we’ve seen them defending the Earth as a member of the Unified Intelligence Taskforce. No guessing who’s top of the list…
Other UNIT personnel include:
Sir John Sudbury – the Doctor’s contact within department C19 (Time-Flight)
Major Walton – fought the Silurians on Wenley Moor under Lethbridge-Stewart (Doctor Who and the Silurians)
Mr Campbell – worked in the scientific supplies section during the second Auton invasion. Jo Grant thought he was a dolly Scotsman. (Terror of the Autons)
THE UNKNOWN SOLDIERS
&
nbsp; Not all UNIT squaddies and officers are lucky enough to have names. We salute the actors who played these unnamed protectors of Earth:
SQUADDIES
Brian Haughton, Mark Johnson, John Spradbury, Alex Donald, David Melbourne (Doctor Who and the Silurians)
Steve Smart, Geoff Brighty, Ron Conrad, Les Conrad, Tom Laird, Doug Roe, Roy Brent, David Aldridge, Clive Rogers, Alan Chuntz, Steve Kelly, Keith Simons, Derek Chafer, Ron Gregory, Rod Peers, Stewert Myers, David Pike, Jo Santos (The Ambassadors of Death)
Les Conrad (Terror of the Autons)
Charles Marrior, Stuart Fell, Nick Hobbes, Dennis Balcombe, Roger Marsden (The Mind of Evil)
Roy Brent, Bill Hughes, Douglas Roe, Clive Rogers, Pierce McAvoy, Michael Stainer (The Claws of Axos)
David Melbourne (Day of the Daleks)
Pat Gorman, Leslie Bates, Terence Deville, Terry Sartain, David Billa, David Melbourne (The Three Doctors)
Leslie Bates, David Billa (The Green Death)
David Cleeve, Stephen Ismay (The Time Warrior)
Brian Nolan, Geoff Witherick, Dennis Plenty, David Billa, Ian Elliot, Louis Souchez, Leslie Bates, John Cash, James Muir (Invasion of the Dinosaurs)
James Muir, Barry Summerford, Alan Clements, Rowland Greall, Patrick Glinter, David Selby (Terror of the Zygons)
Alan Clements, Christopher Woods, Alf Coster, Mark Allington, Pat Milner, Derek Hunt, Roy Pearch, Terry Sartain, Peter Brace (The Android Invasion)
Rowland Geall, Patrick Glinter, Tony Snell, Barry Summerford, Derek Wayland, Peter Bailey (The Seeds of Doom)
Stephen Woodhouse, Laurie Goode, Craig Gilmans, Mark Tony, Howard Buttress, Paul Dore, Andrew Davoile, Garry Haig, Adrian Bean, Garry Lovini, Mark Warren, Peter Davoile, Kevin Malfb y, Dean Foy, Anthony Hayworth, Phil Player, Daniel Spacer, Andrew Jones, Peter Oliver (Battlefield)
CORPORALS
Bill Horrigan (The Mind of Evil)
Clinton Morris (The Claws of Axos)
Derek Martin (The Claws of Axos)
Patrick Milner (The Daemons)
Pat Gorman (Invasion of the Dinosaurs)
Bernard G. High (Terror of the Zygons). Terrance Dick’s named High’s character Palmer in the novelisation, Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster.
SERGEANTS
Anthony Moss, Ken Lee (Battlefield)
CHAUFFER
Michael Ely (The Mind of Evil)
OPERATORS
Bara Chambers, Leon Maybank (Day of the Daleks)
RADIO VOICE
John Dearth (The Green Death)
TYPIST
Richard King (Invasion of the Dinosaurs)
RADIO OPERATOR
Gypsie Kemp (Day of the Daleks). Writer Gary Russell named her Corporal Maisie Hawke in his 1996 Doctor Who novel The Scales of Injustice.
RESEARCHER
David Hartley (The Power of Three)
Technician
Ellis Jones (Spearhead from Space)
UNIT CALL SIGNS
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF NICHOLAS COURTNEY
As Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, Nicholas Courtney played one of Doctor Who’s best-loved characters. Over a period of 40 years, he appeared on and off as the most gentlemanly of gentleman soldiers, never quite taking retirement – either on or off screen. Here is the Who-ology timeline of the actor’s unique contribution to Doctor Who.
16 December 1929 – William Nicholas Stone Courtney born in Cairo, Egypt
13 November 1965 – first appearance in Doctor Who as Space Security Agent Bret Vyon (The Daleks’ Master Plan)
17 December 1967 – films his first scenes as the then Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart for The Web of Fear, on location near Old Covent Garden in London
17 February 1968 – first full onscreen appearance as Lethbridge-Stewart (The Web of Fear Episode 3)
9 November 1968 – with a promotion to Brigadier, returns to Doctor Who as Lethbridge-Stewart, now heading up the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce – UNIT. A blueprint for the future is set. (The Invasion Episode 2)
3 January 1970 – Doctor Who moves into colour and a new era of Earth-bound adventures commences for the series. Nicholas makes his third appearance as the Brigadier, beginning a run of 40 episodes as a full series regular throughout Season 7 and into Season 8. (Spearhead from Space Episode 1)
19 June 1971 – the Brigadier utters his most famous line as he orders one of his men to tackle an advancing gargoyle: ‘Chap with the wings there, five rounds rapid.’ All in a day’s work for UNIT (The Daemons Episode 5)
20 September 1975 – makes what was to be his final ‘regular’ appearance as the Brigadier (Terror of the Zygons Part 4)
1 February 1983 – Nicholas makes his first appearance in eight years as the now-retired Brigadier, invited back as part of Doctor Who’s 20th-anniversary celebrations, adding Peter Davison to his checklist of Doctors. (Mawdryn Undead Part 1)
25 November 1983 – appears as the just-retired Brigadier in the Doctor Who 20th-anniversary special (The Five Doctors)
23 November 1988 – never one to miss an anniversary, Courtney creeps into the background of a scene set at Windsor Castle for Doctor Who’s 25th birthday as an uncredited extra. (Silver Nemesis Part 1)
6 September 1989 – Nicholas returns to Doctor Who as the Brigadier once more, this time adding Sylvester McCoy to his Time Lord tally. (Battlefield Part 1)
27 November 1993 – joins the cast of a Children in Need special to celebrate Doctor Who’s 30th anniversary – this time appearing with the Sixth Doctor (Dimensions in Time)
1997 – made honorary president of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society (DWAS)
17 April 2001 – Big Finish Productions releases Doctor Who audio adventure Minuet in Hell, starring Courtney alongside Eighth Doctor Paul McGann for the first time.
1 December 2008 – joins Elisabeth Sladen to make a guest appearance as the Brigadier – now a knight of the realm – in two episodes of The Sarah Jane Adventures. It’s the end of an era as the Brig makes his final Doctor Who appearance, 40 years and 10 months after the character’s first appearance in The Web of Fear Episode 3 in February 1968.
22 February 2011 – Nicholas Courtney passes away at the age of 81.
1 October 2011 – the Eleventh Doctor is devastated to be informed that his old friend Alistair has died peacefully. (The Wedding of River Song)
THE MEN FROM UNIT
COMPANION ROLL CALL: THE 1980s
ADRIC
played by MATTHEW WATERHOUSE
First regular Doctor Who appearance: Full Circle Part 1 (1980)
Final regular Doctor Who appearance: Earthshock Part 4 (1981)
Final guest Doctor Who appearance: The Caves of Androzani Part 4 (1984)
Former BBC news clerk Matthew Waterhouse made his acting debut in the 1980 TV adaptation of To Serve Them All My Days. A lifelong fan of Doctor Who, Waterhouse even entered a competition in TV Action to design a monster – although his creation didn’t win. A bigger prize came when he secured the role of boy genius Adric. Waterhouse stayed with the show until his dramatic exit in Earthshock, moving on to a career in theatre. In 1998, he moved to Connecticut, USA and has written two novels set in New York.
Adric grew up on the planet Alzarius in E-Space, a pocket universe only accessible via a Charged Vacuum Emboitment (CBE). A mathematical genius, Adric struggled to fit in with the inhabitants of the crashed Starliner and instead joined a gang with his brother, Varsh. When the chance came, Adric stowed away on board the TARDIS, eventually travelling back to the Doctor’s own universe. Awkward and arrogant, Adric proved his mettle when he made the ultimate sacrifice.
And another thing: At 18, Matthew Waterhouse was – and is – the youngest actor to play a Doctor Who companion. Not counting the performers who have played other companions as children, of course!
NYSSA
played by SARAH SUTTON
First regular Doctor Who appearance: The Keeper of Traken Part 1 (1981)
Final regular D
octor Who appearance: Terminus Part 4 (1983)
Final guest Doctor Who appearance: Dimensions in Time Part 2 (1993)
Sarah Sutton’s early stage debut in a West End pantomime led to a number of television appearances including the titular role in 1972’s Alice Through the Looking Glass. However, it was Sutton’s performance as a blind girl in The Moon Stallion by Doctor Who stalwart Brian Hayles that pushed the young actress into the spotlight. Originally hired to play Nyssa for just one story, Sutton so impressed producer John Nathan-Turner that she was invited to stay on as a companion. After Doctor Who, Sutton largely retired from acting to raise her daughter.
The daughter of Traken aristocrat Consul Tremas, Nyssa first met the Doctor as her father was preparing to become the new Keeper, with all the power and privilege that went with the position. Unfortunately, the Master had already arrived on Traken and was manipulating events to secure a new regenerative cycle. Skilled in cybernetics and bioengineering, Nyssa was orphaned when the Master absorbed her father’s body. Prior to the Fourth Doctor’s regeneration, the Trakenite was reunited with the Time Lord on Logopolis, thus saving her from the destruction of Traken itself.
And another thing: Sarah Sutton spent her honeymoon at a San Francisco-based Doctor Who convention.
TEGAN JOVANKA
played by JANET FIELDING
First regular Doctor Who appearance: Logopolis Part 1 (1981)
Final regular Doctor Who appearance: Resurrection of the Daleks Part 2 (1984)
Final guest Doctor Who appearance: The Caves of Androzani Part 4 (1984)