Mandrel was an inhabitant of Megropolis One on the planet Pluto. He had previously worked in the city's main control room but now led a band of rebels who dwelt in the subterranean undercity, engaged in various petty crimes. This included defrauding the Consum Bank. A citizen named Cordo took the Doctor and his companion Leela to the undercity where he intended to join the rebels, having previously considered suicide due to his debts. Mandrel did not trust the new arrivals, and forced the Doctor to use a newly created fake bank card - holding Leela hostage. The Doctor was caught when the card failed. Mandrel ordered his gang to kill Leela, but he and they proved to be afraid of her. When the Doctor safely returned later, despite having been captured, Mandrel assumed he must have been in league with Gatherer Hade, who ran the Megropolis. The Doctor was able to show the weakness of Mandrel's position and instead encouraged a proper rebellion. Mandrel helped take over the control room thanks to his previous experience there, and the authorities were prevented from producing any more PCM gas, which had been keeping the people in check.
Hade was killed and the alien Collector, who ran the entire planet, was overpowered - leaving Mandrel to help lead the now free human population of Pluto.
Played by: William Simons. Appearances: The Sun Makers (1977).
- Simons, who died in 2019, was best known for his long-running role as police officer Alf Ventress in the ITV drama Heartbeat (appearing in most episodes between 1992 - 2009). Even after retiring as a police sergeant, his character remained in the series running the local pub. He also featured in spin-off series The Royal.
- Simons had earlier played police sidekicks in Cribb (1980 - 81) and The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries (1990 - 94).
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