10 Classic Doctor Who Enemies Who Need To Return

Now this one's just a given, as fans have been waiting for her return for years. The Rani is a Time Lady and a scientist of morally dubious repute. Viewing most other species, including humans, as inferior life-forms, she's perfectly happy to use them as lab rats for her experiments. From the get-go, this is quite a unique characterisation compared to the Doctor's other enemies. She's not evil, just unethical. She doesn't want to conquer or destroy, she just wants to study and experiment.

Originally introduced in 1985's The Mark of the Rani, featuring the Sixth Doctor, she was intended to be a recurring foe who would serve as a female counterpart to the Master (who also appeared in her debut story). However, the show's hiatus between Seasons 22 and 23 saw her second appearance scrapped (along with the rest of Season 23's original scripts). She did make one more appearance though, in the Seventh Doctor's first story, 1987's Time and the Rani, as well as 1993's 30th anniversary Children in Need special, Dimensions in Time. In each of these appearances, she was played by the late Kate O' Mara.

Over the years the character has popped up in novels, comics and audios - with Big Finish introducing a new incarnation, played by Siobhan Redmond - but she's yet to make a return to TV. Which is a shame, because she could provide the perfect counterbalance to the more unhinged depictions of the Master/Missy that we've seen in recent years.