L is for... Lakertyans

The people of the planet Lakertya were humanoid in appearance but exhibited reptilian and bird-like features, including a bony ridge across the top of the skull. They dressed in bright pastel coloured robes.

They were a pleasure-seeking race for the most part, almost to the point of indolence - spending their days relaxing in their centres of leisure. This meant they were easily conquered by the Rani and her Tetrap allies. She had discovered an asteroid composed of incredibly dense Strange Matter orbiting the planet. She devised a scheme to destroy this with a missile fired from Lakertya, as part of a complicated plot to create a time manipulator.

The leader, Beyus, and his daughter Sarn were made to work for her, whilst his wife, Faroon, and the rest of his people were fitted with ankle-bracelets which would kill them if they attempted to remove them. The centre of leisure was also fitted with a large metal sphere containing hundreds of insects whose sting was deadly - which would be released if the Lakertyans tried to rebel. 

A young male Lakertyan named Ikona refused to bow to the Rani and became an outcast from his people. He joined forces with the Doctor and companion Mel to fight against her and the Tetraps. 

Beyus was eventually forced to stand up for his people following the death of Sarn in one of the Rani's booby-traps. He sacrificed himself to ensure that the Rani's missile missed its target, and was blown up along with her base.

After the Tetraps had fled with the Rani as their captive, the Doctor offered the Lakertyans an antidote to the poisonous insects, but Ikona poured it away - stating that his people had to take responsibility and devise their own solutions to their problems from now on.

Played by: Mark Greenstreet (Ikona), Donald Pickering (Beyus), Wanda Ventham (Faroon), Karen Clegg (Sarn). Appearances: Time and the Rani (1987).

• The name Lakertyan derives from 'lacertian' - meaning lizard-like.
• Writers Pip and Jane Baker had intended the planet to be forested, instead of a grey quarry.
• Pickering and Ventham had appeared together in a Doctor Who story before - 1967's The Faceless Ones.
• He had also appeared in The Keys of Marinus, and she in Image of the Fendahl.
• Ventham is the mother of actor Benedict Cumberpatch.
• Mark Greenstreet is the great-nephew of Hollywood star Sidney Greenstreet, of The Maltese Falcon fame.