After almost two decades away, Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart is back in the Whoniverse and helping his old pal Sarah Jane Smith in her latest adventure 'The Enemy Of The Bane'. Read ahead for a look at the character's rich history in Doctor Who. It's not hard to see why fans have been clamouring for his return for such a long time.

1968

Colonel Alastair Lethbridge Stewart heads up a UNIT taskforce that teams up with The Doctor to tackle Yeti on the London Underground. At least the train delays that ensued had a more plausible excuse than 'leaves on the line'.

He quickly ascends the ranks and became a Brigadier, and is propelled back into battle to successfully repel more alien threats from below ground - this time hordes of Cybermen using the sewers.

1970

After the newly regenerated Doctor convinces the Brigadier of his identity, he becomes UNIT's official scientific advisor. The Gallifreyan is exiled on Earth after contravening Time Lord laws and a multitude of malevolent monsters seem to follow him there.

The Brigadier helps to destroy the Autons, but his trigger happy ways incur the wrath of The Doctor, for he blows up the underground lair of the Silurians shortly after a peaceful resolution and 'planetshare' with the humans looked a possibility.

Although solid and dependable, a different Brigadier is seen in a parallel universe. Sporting an eye patch and sadistic ways, Brigade Leader Lethbridge-Stewart runs the 'Republican Security Forces' and helps to send a power plant into green slime-related meltdown.


1971

Battling the devilish Master occupies plenty of The Brigadier's time. Axons and Daemons are some of the monsters he encounters, although he only meets the latter after a night at the opera. He could have wiped out the Autons when they returned for another invasion attempt, as they were on board a bus with The Doctor. But The Brigadier wisely calls off an airstrike at the last moment to spare his friend.

1972

The Brigadier plays a large part in ensuring that delegates of a global peace conference aren't blown up or exterminated. He also ges to gun down an Ogron, a Dalek slave, in the process.

Soon after, he is rendered unable to do anything while being frozen in a time bubble when The Doctor and The Master try to use time against each other.

1973

Finally, The Brigadier is transported somewhere other than Earth - namely an antimatter universe controlled by the evil Time Lord Omega. He also meets up with the previous Doctor again, although he can only interact with the First Doctor via a television monitor.

The Doctor is again infuriated by the UNIT honcho's propensity to blow things up. This time it is some rather overgrown maggots at a Welsh mine.

For the first time, undercover reporter Sarah Jane Smith meets both the Brigadier and The Doctor, although the UNIT man dosn't make the trip back in time to battle a lone Sontaran.

1974


Lethbridge-Stewart is on hand to size up a bunch of dinosaurs who popped up in present day London, and does his best to protect The Doctor during a government conspiracy that involves discrediting the Time Lord.

An encounter with giant spiders on Metebelis 3 causes The Doctor to regenerate, but The Brigadier is on hand to ease Sarah Jane through the transition period. "Well, here we go again!" he remarks.

1975

A giant robot is on the roam and slays UNIT troops, but The Brigadier also has to contend with the freshly regenerated Doctor's extremely erratic behaviour.

One year before he retires to take up a teaching post, The Brigadier does his best to hunt down the Loch Ness Monster (in reality a beast deployed by the dreaded Zygons). He even claims that he can use his influence to hush up the fact that the water-borne creature made its way up the River Thames.

1983

The Fifth Doctor pays The Brigadier a visit, but it isn't strictly a social visit. Now teaching mathematics at a top public school, The Brigadier cannot remember his former friend at all. This dates back to a previous encounter in 1976 that involved two versions of The Brigadier from different times meeting each other, with their body contact leading to a massive discharge of energy that wiped out one of The Doctor’s foes called Mawdryn.

Shortly after, he is transported to Gallifrey alongside the Second Doctor. The pair face a lengthy trek along the mountainous terrain, but manage to outwit the Yeti again along the way.

1989

Called out of retirement after some knights from another dimension start raining down on Earth, The Brigadier plays the hero and risks his own life ahead of the Seventh Doctor's in a battle to defeat The Destroyer.

He accomplishes this with the help of some silver bullets and is soon reunited with his lovely wife Doris. At first though, The Doctor believes him to be dead and remarks that he was originally destined to die in his sleep.

2008

The Doctor discovers that his old friend is now entitled Sir Lethbridge Stewart and is on a trip to Peru while UNIT tackles the Sontaran invaders.

The Sontarans, coupled with the Bane, soon coax the iconic figure out of the shadows, albeit with the help of a walking stick. A reunion with his old friend Sarah Jane Smith ensues, but how will the pair find saving the universe so many years after their last encounter?

Catch The Brigadier's return in the Sarah Jane Adventures on Monday December 1 at 17.15 on the CBBC channel