Creator / Nicholas Courtney

When I look back on my career, I think I might have done more classical work, but I jolly well don't mind. A friend who's done a lot of that said, "Yes, but look, you're rich." Which is kind of true.

William Nicholas Stone Courtney (16 December 1929 – 22 February 2011) was an English actor widely known for his appearances in Doctor Who as the recurring character of Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart.

The son of a British diplomat, and educated in several places in Europe and Africa, he in fact performed national service in the British Army for 18 months before leaving to pursue a career in acting. Despite having guest appearances in well known shows and cult classics like All Creatures Great And Small, The Avengers, The Bill, Casualty, Doctors, Only Fools and Horses, The Saint, The Two Ronnies and Yes, Prime Minister, he became well known for his aforementioned recurring role in Doctor Who, where he made his debut as the Brigadier in "The Web of Fear". Despite this, he first appeared on the show alongside William Hartnell in "The Daleks' Master Plan" as a different character. He had been considered for the role of Richard the Lionheart in the episode "The Crusade" but impressed the director so much that he was kept in mind for future casting opportunities, leading to his casting as the Brigadier (then Colonel) soon after.

The majority of his appearances came alongside Jon Pertwee, during the Doctor's exile to Earth and subsequent working alongside UNIT between Seasons 7-11. It was here the catchphrase "Five Rounds Rapid" was first heard. (Amusingly enough, he would later use that for the title of his autobiography.) Even if his status as a companion is debated, his significance as a character is never in question. Despite limited appearances after those seasons he reprised the role in several audio plays, and would ultimately gain the distinction of being the only actor to work with every Doctor up to Paul McGann. When the series was relaunched he sadly never made an appearance alongside UNIT, although he was referenced via his tendency to get stuck in Peru. However he finally returned to the Whoniverse via The Sarah Jane Adventures in a reunion with Sarah Jane herself. An appearance in the episode The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith, which would have seen him meet the Tenth Doctor, had to be withdrawn due to him suffering a stroke.

It was a tragic day for the series and fans when it was announced he had passed away following a long battle with cancer on the 22nd of February, 2011. (As if that wasn't enough, his friend and co-star Elisabeth "Lis" Sladen would be claimed by the same disease barely two months later. Doctor Who lost two of its most beloved icons in a matter of weeks.) He is survived by his wife and two children. Most of the tributes remarked how he was an Officer and a Gentleman, with close friend Tom Baker saying, "We shall miss him terribly." Truer words were rarely spoken.

Works with pages on TV Tropes that he appeared in:

TV

• The Saint, episodes:
  • "The Contract" (1965) — Policeman
  • "The Abductors" (1965) — Alain
• The Avengers (1960s), episodes:
  • "Propellant 23" (1962) — Captain Legros
  • " Mission... Highly Improbable" (1967) — Gifford
• Doctor Who:
  • "The Daleks' Master Plan" (1965) — Bret Vyon
  • 102 episodes / 23 stories^{show list} "The Web of Fear", "The Invasion", "Spearhead from Space", "Doctor Who and the Silurians", "The Ambassadors of Death", "Inferno", "Terror of the Autons", "The Mind of Evil", "The Claws of Axos", "Colony in Space", "The Dæmons", "Day of the Daleks", "The Time Monster", "The Three Doctors", "The Green Death", "The Time Warrior", "Invasion of the Dinosaurs", "Planet of the Spiders", "Robot", "Terror of the Zygons", "Mawdryn Undead", "The Five Doctors", "Battlefield" (1968-89) — Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart
• The Champions: "The Experiment" (1968) — Doctor Farley
• Callan: "The Running Dog" (1969) — David Forbes
• Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased): "The Ghost Who Saved the Bank at Monte Carlo" (1969) — Max
• Jason King: "Wanna Buy a Television Series?" (1971) — Dr. Staymam
• Doomwatch: "Cause of Death" (1972) — Phillip
• The Two Ronnies, 1 episode (1973) — Dickie Chapman
• The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes: "Cell 13" (1973) — Hutchinson Hatch
• Whodunnit, 2 episodes (1977) — Peter Hampshire
• All Creatures Great And Small: "Matters of Life and Death" (1980) — Paul Cotterell
• Minder: "The Balance of Power" (1984) — Raymond Wilkins
• Yes, Prime Minister: "A Diplomatic Incident" (1987) — Police Commissioner
• Only Fools and Horses: "Dates" (1988) — Charles
• The Bill, episodes:
  • "Crown v Cooper" (1991) — Judge
  • "Good Cop, Bad Cop" (2007) — Dr. Nigel Botterill
• Screen One: "Born Kicking" (1992) — Tim Ayling
• Children in Need: "Dimensions in Time" (1993) — Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart
• Doctors: "Heart on His Sleeve" (2005) — Edmund Black
• Casualty: "The Fires Within" (2007) — Claude Devigny
• The Sarah Jane Adventures: "Enemy of the Bane" (2008) — Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart

Audio Play

• Third Doctor Radio Dramas: 2 radio serials^{show list} "The Paradise of Death", "The Ghosts Of N-Space" (1993-96) — Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart
• Big Finish Doctor Who:
  • Main Range: 3 releases^{show list} "The Spectre of Lanyon Moor", "Minuet In Hell" (2000-01) — Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart
  • Main Range: "Zagreus" (2003) — The TARDIS/Brigadier image
  • Doctor Who Unbound — 2 releases ^{show list} "Sympathy for the Devil", "Masters of War" (2003-08) — Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart
  • Companion Chronicles: 2 releases^{show list} "Old Soldiers", "The Three Companions" (2007-11) — Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart
  • UNIT: 3 releases^{show list} "The Coup", "Time Heals", "The Wasting" (2004-05) — Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart
  • Bernice Summerfield: "Oh No It Isn't!" (1998) — Wolsey the Cat

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