10 Doctor Who Deleted Scenes That Would Have Changed Everything
2. Briga-Dire Consequences (Battlefield)
Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (the Brigadier to his mates) was one of the most stable parts of Doctor Who's original run.
Though he appeared in The Sarah Jane Adventures in 2008, his last proper appearance in Doctor Who was in the final season serial Battlefield - and this was very nearly his final appearance full-stop.
The original plan for this serial (as approved by Nicholas Courtney himself) would've seen the Brigadier sacrifice himself during a battle with the Destroyer of Worlds. He would've called in an airstrike against the creature, getting himself killed in the process.
This would've changed so much about the show. Not only would we not have got the Brig's appearances in The Sarah Jane Adventures, or (potentially) in the Big Finish audio dramas, but we would've had to accept that one of the most beloved characters in the entire series died a brutal death.
Thankfully, the Brigadier's life was spared when the creators couldn't go through with it. Quite right too!