C is for... Cessair

An alien criminal from the planet Diplos. She committed acts of murder, employing a number of blood-drinking stone Ogri, and stole the Great Seal of Diplos before being captured. Whilst being transported in a prison ship, the craft became stranded in hyperspace and Cessair escaped down to Earth in prehistoric times. To mark the location of the portal to hyperspace she had a stone circle built, seeded with her Ogri servants. She never left the area, establishing herself in positions of power through a series of guises. She disguised herself as the pagan goddess the Cailleach. In mediaeval times she was the Mother Superior of the nearby Convent of the Little Sisters of Saint Gudula. Later she was landowner Lady Morgana Montcalm, and the reclusive Mrs Trefusis. Then she was Senora Camara, whose husband did not survive the voyage from Brazil. By the 1970's, she was living as Vivien Fey, dwelling in a cottage near the stone circle. She had as her guest the noted archaeologist Prof. Amelia Rumford, who was studying the circle. She continued to pose as the Cailleach, and had influence over a local Druidic group led by a man named De Vries, who lived at Boscombe Hall, built on the site of the convent. She used them to feed the Ogri with blood sacrifices.

The Doctor, Romana and K9 arrived nearby, in search of the third segment of the Key to Time. This turned out to be the Great Seal, which Vivien wore around her neck.
The Doctor found a number of portraits hidden in the cellars of the Hall, which all looked like Vivien, proving that she was a long-lived alien.
Cessair abducted Romana and took her to the spaceship in hyperspace. The Doctor followed, and inadvertently released the Megara - justice machines which were to have judged Cessair thousands of years ago. The Doctor had to find a way to prove to the Megara that Vivien was Cessair, and did so by seizing hold of her as the Megara were about to execute him. They used a mind probe to check that she had not been damaged, and so learned of her true identity. She was taken to the circle and turned into one of the standing stones, though not before the Doctor had managed to obtain the Seal.

Played by: Susan Engel. Appearances: The Stones of Blood (1978).

• Cessair seems to have influenced local Cornish mythology - using the names Morgana and Fey from Arthurian legends. She may have been the inspiration for the Arthurian witch character.
• The Cailleach is a Celtic goddess, with legends in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. In Scotland she is also known as the Queen of Winter, and is supposed to have created a number of mountains when she dropped rocks from a basket whilst striding across the landscape. The Corryvreckan whirlpool is said to be caused by her washing her plaid. She's generally seen as an old woman or hag, herding deer in the mountains.