Doctor Who: 10 Things You Didn't Know About UNIT

Those Whoniverse rumours aren't the only time UNIT has come close to getting a spinoff...

By Mark Donaldson /

As a top-secret military organisation, we really shouldn't know anything about UNIT. But since they insist on erecting huge signs outside unassuming country houses and building UNIT-branded skyscrapers in the centre of London, some information has slipped out over the years.

Advertisement

Introduced in the 1968 serial The Invasion, UNIT became an integral part of the fabric of Doctor Who throughout the 1970s, and continued to appear in the show until the classic series story Battlefield in 1989.

When Doctor Who returned in 2005, UNIT was seeded into the show gradually, with Torchwood doing much more of the alien-busting during RTD's first era.

UNIT has become a family business since then, with both Kate Stewart and Petronella Osgood descending from the Brigadier and The Daemons' Tom Osgood, respectively. In recent years, UNIT has opened the doors to the Doctor's extended family, with Tegan, Ace, and Mel on the payroll, and Donna's daughter Rose set to join them in Season 1.

So that's what's known about UNIT, but it'll take a deep dive into the Black Archive to tease out some more lesser-known facts about everyone's favourite giggle-thwarting army...

10. The Brigadier And The Tenth Doctor Almost Teamed Up

The Sarah Jane Adventures featured a number of appearances by UNIT, given Sarah's connections to the organisation. Series 2 finale Enemy of the Bane brought Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart out of retirement to help Sarah and the kids of Bannerman Road defeat Mrs Wormwood and a rogue Sontaran.

Advertisement

This was Nicholas Courtney's last appearance on TV as the Brigadier, driving off into the distance as Sarah waved him goodbye. The plan was to bring the Brig back in the following series for The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith, where he would be paired up with David Tennant's Tenth Doctor.

But sadly, Courtney suffered a stroke in the months leading up to filming, meaning that he had to be written out.

The fact that the Brigadier never got to meet any of the modern Doctors onscreen is a disappointment for many fans, including Tennant. In an HBO Max interview, Tennant discussed how he was sad that he missed the chance to star alongside Courtney in The Sarah Jane Adventures, due to the actor's declining health.

Although not a patch on the real deal, the Tenth Doctor and the Brigadier did team up in comic-book form in the 2007 Doctor Who Magazine comic-strip, The Warkeeper's Crown.

Advertisement