Actor who starred opposite five Doctor Whos as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
- Publication: The Daily Telegraph
- Date: 2011-02-24
- Author:
- Page: 31
- Language: English
NICHOLAS COURTNEY, the actor, who has died aged 81, was best known to Doctor Who viewers as Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, the longest-serving co-star of the popular science-fiction series, appearing opposite five television Doctors.
His earliest Doctor Who appearance was in 1965 as Special Space Security Agent Bret Vyon opposite the original Doctor, William Hartnell, in the epic "The Daleks' Master Plan". But for most Doctor Who fans, he will be remembered as Lethbridge-Stewart, stalwart of UNIT (United Nations Intelligence Taskforce), the organisation that kept Earth safe from alien invasion. The character is said to have been modelled on Lt-Col Colin "Mad Mitch" Mitchell, the colourful officer in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders who led the reoccupation of part of Aden in the late 1960s.
Originally intended to play Captain Knight in the 1968 episode "The Web Of Fear", with Patrick Troughton as the Doctor, Courtney was promoted to the role of Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart by the series' director, Douglas Camfield, when the original actor pulled out.
Courtney returned later that year in "The Invasion" promoted to brigadier. Camfield made him wear a series of false moustaches in order to appear older than he was, before Courtney finally grew his own.
Appearing as one of the main characters throughout the incarnation of Jon Pertwee as the third Doctor in the 1970s, Courtney also appeared in two stories featuring the fourth Doctor, Tom Baker, before returning - retired and teaching Maths at a boys' school - opposite Peter Davison (Doctor number five) and finally opposite Sylvester McCoy, the seventh Doctor, before the series was cancelled in 1989.
Courtney then reprised the part for two dramas on BBC Radio and a number of audio adventures released on CD. Although mentioned a number of times in the revived series of Doctor Who, Courtney made his final appearance in character in 2008 as Sir Alistair in the spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures.
William Nicholas Stone Courtney was born on December 16 1929 in Cairo, the son of a diplomat, and grandson of WL Courtney, a one-time leader writer and literary editor of The Daily Telegraph. He spent a peripatetic childhood as he followed his father's postings and was educated in Egypt, France and Kenya.
After completing his National Service in 1950, Courtney enrolled at the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art and in 1952 went into weekly repertory, his first job being actor-cum-assistant stage manager at Cromer, before a move to London took him into television.
His first appearance was as a warrant officer in the 1957 series Escape. He was King Charles II in Looking About and Mark Norman in an episode of No Hiding Place. From the 1960s he appeared regularly in shows like Callan and Sword of Honour, as well as popular fantasy genre titles like The Saint, The Champions, The Avengers, and Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased).
After his departure from Doctor Who, Courtney took parts in shows such as All Creatures Great And Small and Sink or Swim (both alongside the actor Peter Davison), Shelley, Yes, Prime Minister and Only Fools and Horses; in 1982 he also played Lt-Col Robert Witherton in Then Churchill Said to Me, which was postponed because of the Falklands conflict and only screened in 1993.
In 1997 Courtney became honorary president of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society. For more than 20 years he served on the council of the actors' union Equity.
He wrote two volumes of autobiography, Five Rounds Rapid! (1998) and Still Getting Away With It (2005); his memoirs were released on CD as A Soldier In Time in 2002.
Nicholas Courtney, who died on February 22, is survived by his second wife Karen, and his son and daughter.
GRAPHIC: Courtney as the Brigadier with the third Doctor, Jon Pertwee
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- APA 6th ed.: (2011-02-24). Actor who starred opposite five Doctor Whos as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. The Daily Telegraph p. 31.
- MLA 7th ed.: "Actor who starred opposite five Doctor Whos as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart." The Daily Telegraph [add city] 2011-02-24, 31. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: "Actor who starred opposite five Doctor Whos as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart." The Daily Telegraph, edition, sec., 2011-02-24
- Turabian: "Actor who starred opposite five Doctor Whos as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart." The Daily Telegraph, 2011-02-24, section, 31 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Actor who starred opposite five Doctor Whos as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Actor_who_starred_opposite_five_Doctor_Whos_as_Brigadier_Lethbridge-Stewart | work=The Daily Telegraph | pages=31 | date=2011-02-24 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=22 April 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Actor who starred opposite five Doctor Whos as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Actor_who_starred_opposite_five_Doctor_Whos_as_Brigadier_Lethbridge-Stewart | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=22 April 2025}}</ref>
