Q is for... Quillam

Quillam was the sadistic technical director and deviser of programmes on the planet Varos, which had once been a penal colony for the criminally insane. His role was to come up with new forms of torture and execution which would be broadcast to the public as a means of social control. Varos now relied entirely on its mineral wealth - a substance named Zeiton 7, which was essential for space / time vessels. The populace worked under harsh conditions in the mines. The government of the planet were hoping to add the sale of their punishment videos to other planets as an extra source of income.

Quillam's latest experiments were with a transmogrifier, which mutated people into whatever their subconscious desired. Early tests on himself had led to his face becoming horribly scarred, and he wore a mask to conceal his disfigurement. The transmogrifier owed its existence to the observation that the miners grew claws to help them dig better. 

It was tested on the Doctor's companion Peri and her friend Areta, wife of rebel leader Jondar. The latter began to transform into a reptile, whilst Peri became bird-like - assumed to be a desire to fly away from her ordeal.

Pursuing the Doctor and his friends into the very heart of the Punishment Dome, Quillam and the Chief Officer of Varos fell into a trap and were killed - the Doctor having tied up highly toxic vines which were then cut free and swung into their faces.

Played by Nicholas Chagrin. Appearances: Vengeance on Varos (1985)

• Quillam only appears in the second episode of the story.
• Chagrin is the son of composer Francis Chagrin, who wrote the music for The Dalek Invasion of Earth.
• Other TV work included the BBC Shakespeare adaptation of The Comedy of Errors and the 2001 made-for-television version of Murder on the Orient Express.