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
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)