Leela

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Leela was the daughter of Sole and a member of the Sevateem, a tribe whose name is a corruption of "survey team." They descended from the crew of an Earth starship from the Mordee Expedition that crash-landed on an unnamed planet. Though often labeled a noble savage, Leela grasped advanced concepts easily, translating them into terms she could cope with. She usually dressed in animal skins and was armed with a knife or poisonous Janis thorns, which she used against threats despite the Doctor's disapproval. Her travels took her through encounters with killer robots in The Robots of Death, murderous homunculi in The Talons of Weng-Chiang, the Rutan Host in Horror of Fang Rock, and the Sontaran invasion of Gallifrey. In the latter adventure, she met Andred, fell in love, and decided to remain on Gallifrey with him, taking the first K-9 with her.

In Their Own Story

In Image of the Fendahl, Leela demonstrated empathy by not pushing Mother Tyler too hard. During The Robots of Death, she protected and comforted Toos, while in Underworld, she comforted the slave Idas. She also helped Rodan to safety in The Invasion of Time. Her departure was finalized when she met Andred on Gallifrey; Louise Jameson had announced her intention to leave, prompting this exit. Following her departure, the Doctor mentioned her twice: in Full Circle, he admitted, "I'm so looking forward to seeing how Leela and Andred are getting on." Later, in Arc of Infinity, upon finally arriving on Gallifrey, he asked, "Tell me, what of my former companion Leela?" He was told she was "well and very happy," to which he responded, "I was so sorry to miss her wedding."

Reader's Guide

Leela's characterization began with producer Philip Hinchcliffe and script editor Robert Holmes wanting a companion like George Bernard Shaw's Eliza Doolittle: bright but unsophisticated. Writer Chris Boucher reused the character from his unproduced proposal The Mentor Conspiracy, naming her after Palestinian hijacker Leila Khaled and viewing her as a mix of Khaled and Emma Peel. Jameson won the role over 26 other actresses between August 10 and 25, 1976; Emily Richard was the first choice but unavailable. Initially wearing red contact lenses to make her naturally blue eyes brown, Jameson's performance defined a warrior who valued the Doctor's gentleness yet remained strong-willed. In spin-off media, she explored Gallifrey as Romana's bodyguard in Big Finish audios, surviving civil wars and regaining vision with vampire blood. She also appeared in Jago & Litefoot, various audio dramas with Tom Baker, and a 2017 War Doctor story where she was erased from timelines but drawn back by her will.

Did You Know?

• Leela's name was inspired by Palestinian hijacker Leila Khaled.
• Louise Jameson won the role over 26 other actresses auditioned between August 10 and 25, 1976.
• The Sevateem tribe's name is a corruption of the word "survey team."
• Leela initially wore red contact lenses to change her naturally blue eyes to brown.
• In the Virgin New Adventures novel Lungbarrow, Leela and Andred are expecting the first naturally conceived baby on Gallifrey in millennia.