H is for... Hepesh

High Priest of the Temple of Aggedor on the planet of Peladon. He and fellow councillor Torbis had acted as father figures for the young King Peladon when he came to the throne at an early age on the death of his father. On Torbis' advice, just before his coronation, King Peladon was encouraged to apply for membership of the Galactic Federation, in order that their world could modernise. Hepesh was fiercely opposed to these moves, fearing that membership would bring alien interference and the loss of their traditional ways. Torbis' views prevailed, but on the eve of the arrival of a Federation delegation, come to assess Peladon's suitability for membership, he was killed in the corridors of the royal palace, struck down, according to Hepesh, by the angry spirit of Aggedor. This bear-like creature was the royal symbol of the planet - creatures long thought to be extinct. The Time Lords redirected the TARDIS to Peladon at this time, and the Doctor was mistaken for the expected delegate chairman from Earth. Several acts of sabotage occurred, including an attack on the delegate from Arcturus. The Doctor initially thought these the work of the Martian delegates - Ice Warriors Izlyr and Ssorg. Hepesh employed the King's Champion, Grun, to lure the Doctor into a trap - leading him to the Temple. Setting foot within this sacred space carried a sentence of death. Hepesh attempted to force the Doctor to flee, claiming that he had no wish to bring down retribution on his planet from aliens. The Doctor elected to stay, and beat Grun in mortal combat. He was almost killed by Arcturus, however, but it was destroyed by Ssorg. It transpired that Hepesh had been in league with Arcturus all along, to keep Peladon out of the Federation. Hepesh would be allowed to maintain their ancient traditions, whilst Arcturus would have sole mineral rights. Hepesh also had one of the Aggedor creatures hidden in the cave system beneath the palace, and had used it to attack and kill Torbis. The Doctor befriended it through hypnotism, and when Hepesh led some of the guards in open revolt, taking the King hostage in his own throne room, the Doctor used Aggedor to scare the rebels into submission. Hepesh ordered Aggedor to kill the Doctor, but it struck him down instead, after its years of mistreatment by him.

Played by: Geoffrey Toone. Appearances: The Curse of Peladon (1972).

• This wasn't Toone's only Doctor Who related role. He had earlier played Thal leader Temmosus in the 1965 film Dr Who and the Daleks.