Doctor Who Symbolism: What 10 Famous Villains Really Mean

8. Helen A Was Margaret Thatcher

The Seventh Doctor is generally considered to be the absolute nadir of the show, marking as it did the lowest ratings in the series's history and its unceremonious cancellation as a consequence. Both of which it sort of deserved, because creatively, many of the episodes had completely run out of steam and not exactly blessed Sylvester McCoy with the most inventive stories. The Happiness Patrol certainly wasn't perfect. For one thing it featured that aforementioned Bertie Bassett monster, a confectionery creation called The Kandy Man who policed a deceptively utopian human society out in space. It turned out the jolliness masked a deep malaise and corruption that went right to the top! In this case the top was Helen A, who outlaws unhappiness and has anyone who disobeys put to swift and bloody death. The Doctor convinces the planet's drones to put down their tools and rise up against her, something which McCoy reflected on years later: "Our feeling was that Margaret Thatcher was far more terrifying than any monster the Doctor had encountered." So, that's what she represented. From the horse's mouth.