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Kate Lethbridge-Stewart
Doctor Who character
First appearance	Downtime (1995)
Last appearance	"Empire of Death" (2024)
Created by	Marc Platt
Portrayed by	Beverley Cressman Jemma Redgrave
Shared universe appearances	Downtime (1995) Dæmos Rising (2004) The War Between the Land and the Sea
Duration	1995, 2004, 2012–2015, 2021–2024
In-universe information
Species	Human
Affiliation	UNIT Petronella Osgood Colonel Ibrahim Eleventh Doctor Twelfth Doctor Thirteenth Doctor Fourteenth Doctor Fifteenth Doctor
Children	Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (son)
Relatives	Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (father) Fiona Lethbridge-Stewart (mother)
Home	Earth
Home era	21st century

Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, also known as Kate Stewart, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. She was initially created by writer Marc Platt and played by Beverley Cressman in the independent direct-to-video spin-offs Downtime (1995) and Dæmos Rising (2004). Kate was re-introduced in the 2012 Doctor Who episode "The Power of Three" played by Jemma Redgrave, who continued to reprise the role in a recurring capacity through 2024. She will star as a lead character of the spin-off programme The War Between the Land and the Sea, which is set to begin filming in September 2024.

Kate is one of the longest-running recurring characters in the revived series, appearing alongside the Eleventh Doctor, Twelfth Doctor, Thirteenth Doctor, Fourteenth Doctor, and Fifteenth Doctor. Within the series narrative, she is the Chief Scientific Officer and later the Commander in Chief of the Unified Intelligence Taskforce (UNIT), an organisation that defends Earth from alien threats, and a chief ally of the Doctor. Kate is the daughter of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, a recurring character during the original run of Doctor Who who initially led UNIT. Her character also appears in a number of extended universe material including the Big Finish Productions audio drama series UNIT, for which Redgrave reprised her role.

Character history

According to the direct-to-video spin-off Downtime (1995), Kate Lethbridge-Stewart grew up not knowing of her father Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart's work fighting extraterrestrial threats in UNIT and believed he had a more ordinary military job. Blaming his work for the disintegration of their family, she becomes estranged from him and lives on a narrowboat with her only son, Gordon. However, a shared experience fighting the Great Intelligence alongside the Brigadier and Sarah Jane Smith allows her to reconnect with her father and develop a closer relationship. Later, Kate battles a Dæmon alongside ex-UNIT operative Douglas Cavendish in the sequel direct-to-video spin-off Dæmos Rising (2004).

Kate first meets the Eleventh Doctor in "The Power of Three" (2012), at which point she has become the Chief Scientific Officer of UNIT. She goes by the name of Kate Stewart, so that she would be judged by her own merits rather than that of her father's, and opts to lead the organisation towards a more science-based approach. She and the Doctor face the Year of the Slow Invasion, during which cubes are sent by the Shakri to observe the human race in advance of an impending attack, and manage to stop them. In "The Day of the Doctor" (2012), Kate and UNIT's scientific advisor Petronella Osgood encounter the Eleventh Doctor alongside his earlier incarnations, the War Doctor and the Tenth Doctor. They confront shape-shifting Zygons in the Black Archive, UNIT's secret vault in the Tower of London, and negotiate a peace treaty allowing the two species to coexist on Earth.

Kate works alongside the Twelfth Doctor for the first time in "Death in Heaven" (2014). When Cybermen are released onto the streets by Missy, Kate and Osgood arrive with UNIT officers and take Missy and the Doctor into custody on the plane Boat One. However, Missy escapes when Cybermen attack Boat One, during which a part of the fuselage blows off and Kate is sucked out of the plane. She is saved and returned safely to the ground by her father, who was converted into a Cybermen. Later, Kate summons the Doctor's companion Clara Oswald to UNIT headquarters in "The Magician's Apprentice" (2015) when Missy freezes all planes on Earth, which turns out to be her way to get UNIT's attention to arrange a meeting with Clara. In "The Zygon Invasion" / "The Zygon Inversion" (2015), Kate goes to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico to investigate a splinter group of Zygons who start an uprising after rejecting the peace treaty made with humans, and survives an attack by a Zygon rebel. She reconvenes with the Doctor in the Black Archive, where a standoff ensues between her and the Zygon rebel leader Bonnie with two Osgood Boxes that could unmask or destroy every Zygon on the planet. Aided by the Doctor, the conflict ends with both sides re-affirming the peace treaty.

Kate re-appears in "Survivors of the Flux" (2021), which reveals that an alien by the name of the Grand Serpent infiltrated UNIT over several decades and aids in its shutting down in 2017. When Kate threatens to expose him, she is forced to go on the run after a failed assassination attempt. During the 2021 Sontaran invasion of Earth in "The Vanquishers" (2021), Kate emerges to lead the human resistance and triumphs with the help of the Thirteenth Doctor. By 2022, Kate is able to re-establish UNIT. She takes the Master into custody in "The Power of the Doctor" (2022), but UNIT's headquarters are overrun by Cybermen and blown up. Kate attends a companion support group meeting and discusses recruiting them to UNIT.

Kate begins using her full surname Lethbridge-Stewart again and has rebuilt a new headquarters for UNIT by the time she meets the Fourteenth Doctor in "The Giggle" (2023). Together, they face and defeat the Toymaker, a battle which causes the Doctor to bi-generate into the Fifteenth Doctor. During an alternate timeline in "73 Yards" (2024), the Doctor's companion Ruby Sunday goes to Kate for help regarding a mysterious woman following her and causing all others who approach the woman to flee; in her attempt to capture the woman, Kate befalls the same fate and abandons Ruby. In "The Legend of Ruby Sunday" / "Empire of Death" (2024), the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby return to UNIT for help regarding the recurring face of Susan Triad, whom they discover is actually the harbinger of the god of death, Sutekh. Sutekh destroys all of Earth, killing everyone including Kate, but she is brought back to life after his defeat at the hands of the Doctor.

List of television appearances

• "The Power of Three" (2012)
• "The Day of the Doctor" (2013)
• "Death in Heaven" (2014)
• "The Magician's Apprentice" (2015)
• "The Zygon Invasion" / "The Zygon Inversion" (2015)
• "Survivors of the Flux" / "The Vanquishers" (2021)
• "The Power of the Doctor" (2022)
• "The Giggle" (2023)
• "73 Yards" (2024)
• "The Legend of Ruby Sunday" / "Empire of Death" (2024)

Other appearances

List of other appearances

Video

• Downtime (1995)
• Dæmos Rising (2004)

See also

• United Nations Intelligence Taskforce
• Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
• List of Doctor Who supporting characters

External links

• Kate Stewart on Tardis Wiki, the Doctor Who Wiki

[Category:Doctor Who audio characters]] [Category:Doctor Who companions]] [Category:Fictional brigadiers]] [Category:Recurring characters in Doctor Who]] [Category:Television characters introduced in 1995]] [Category:UNIT personnel]]