His first Doctor Who appearance was in 1965 opposite the original lead, William Hartnell. However the role he is perhaps best remembered was that of leader of the fictional United Nations Intelligence Task-force (UNIT), a role Courtney played from 1967 opposite Patrick Troughton. He then appeared regularly throughout the original "classic" tv run working with the first 7 Doctors, with the exception of Colin Baker.
Although mentioned a few times in the reborn Doctor Who, he did not get to appear in the new series and Courtney's final tv appearance as the (retired) Brigadier was guest starring in 2008 in a two part story for The Sarah Jane Adventures, first shown the BBC's CBBC channel.
Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. A real hero, BBC style.
My own lasting memories of the character are tied with "my Doctor," the one I grew up with, Jon Pertwee and the Earth based UNIT stories of the 1970's. You might even argue it was a vital part of my childhood: The Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith and The Brigadier, fighting (weekly) alien invasions of the English country-side and the odd chalk quarry. Happy days.
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