Over the years a lot of actors have made multiple appearances on Doctor Who.
But only one actor worked on-screen with six of the first seven Doctors. That man was Nicholas Courtney, best known to Doctor Who fans as Brigadier Alastair Gordon Lethbridge Stewart. In his career, Courtney appeared 107 times on Doctor Who.
And while he’s been part of the spin-off series The Sarah Jane Chronicles, it appears he’ll never get a chance to reprise the role for the new series. Actor Nicholas Courtney has passed away at the age of 81.
Courtney first appeared on Doctor Who back in 1966 with the first Doctor William Hartnell. He played space agent Bret Vyon in the 12-part story “The Dalek Masterplan.” Fans interested in seeing the first appearance of Courtney in Who can see selected episodes as part of the Lost in Time DVD box-set.
But it was his next appearance on the show that created the character Courtney would most be associated with. Courtney first took on the role of Lethbridge-Stewart in the Patrick Troughton era story, “The Web of Fear.”
During the Jon Pertwee era, Courtney was part of the regular cast for the long-running sci-fi series.
In all, Courtney appeared on-screen with all of the original Doctors except Colin Baker. The two did eventually work together in a Big Finish audio.
Unfortunately, the first appearance of Lethbridge-Stewart is lost. But fans can see Courtney’s second appearance in the DVD release of “The Invasion.”
To see one of Courtney’s favorite stories from his time on Doctor Who, check out the seven-part Pertwee era story “Inferno” in which Courtney plays two versions of the popular character.
Born in Cairo, Egypt on Dec. 16, 1929 as William Nicholas Stone Courtney, Courtney served in the British Army before becoming an actor. Before breaking out on Doctor Who, Courtney was in several cult hit television series.
I once met him at a con nearly 20 years ago. He was a great gentleman who will be surely missed by Whovians around the world.
Loved it whenever he was on the show. He was always great fun and brought a real warmth to this tough military character. And beyond all that he was such a great spokesperson for the show. He will be missed.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
Courtney and Colin Baker teamed up on-screen in Dimensions in Time, which featured all of the then-surviving Doctors and many of their companions. It counts. And that also means he’s appeared onscreen with all seven original Doctors, and did audios with Eight. And it can be stretched further – he appeared in two of the Unbound audios, with David Warner as the Doctor, alongside David Tennant, pre-Tenth Doctor. So he’s appeared with nine of the first ten Doctors that way.
Tom Baker wrote a very sweet tribute to “The Brig” for his website: http://www.tom-baker.co.uk/pages/content/index.asp?PageID=159
It’s always sad when a beloved actor from one’s childhood passes away, but I’m glad that he’s not suffering anymore. Godspeed, old man.