Doctor Who has paid a touching tribute to the late Nicholas Courtney in the series' latest episode, The Legend of Ruby Sunday.
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Courtney, who passed away in 2011, played character Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, one of the founders of UNIT. He first appeared in The Web of Fear in 1968, acting alongside Patrick Troughton's second Doctor.
While first reluctant to help the Doctor on his various adventures, the Brigadier eventually became one of the Doctor's greatest friends and often made appearances during the introduction of Jon Pertwee's Doctor and beyond.
Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor, Jean Marsh as Morgaine, Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart and Sophie Aldred as Ace pose with the Doctor's car Bessie. Arnold Slater/Mirrorpix/Getty Images
In The Legend of Ruby Sunday, there are several references to the beloved Brigadier, with the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and the Brigadier's daughter Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) reminiscing together.
Arriving at UNIT HQ, the Doctor introduces Ruby (Millie Gibson) to Kate, saying: "I knew Kate's dad – he was the best of men."
Later in the episode, Kate and the Doctor reminisce about the Brigadier, with Kate remembering: "My father… he'd tell me stories about you when I was a kid. He'd sit there in the firelight, telling tales of the Doctor, his eyes shining."
Doctor Who continues on Saturday 15th June on BBC iPlayer and BBC One.Previous seasons are available to stream on BBC iPlayer with episodes of the classic series also available on BritBox – you can sign up for a 7-day free trial here.
Katelyn Mensah is the Entertainment and Factual Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.
