P is for... Packer

Bullying and sadistic security chief and henchman of IT billionaire Tobias Vaughn, who ran International Electromatics. This company provided components for millions of electronic devices globally.

Packer's brutality was often matched by his incompetence, a source of constant irritation for his employer.

The Doctor and Jamie were able to run rings round him and escaped from his clutches on more than one occasion. Vaughn had allied himself with the Cybermen, who sought to invade the planet and raid its natural resources. Vaughn believed that he would be permitted to rule on their behalf as a dictator - forcing the human race to conform to his personal ideals. He had ensured that Cyberman technology was hidden within all I.E. products which, when activated, would incapacitate anyone in their vicinity, allowing for an unopposed invasion.

Despite his lack of intelligence, Packer did frequently caution Vaughn about his alliance with the aliens, fearing that they would not uphold their agreement. He was also uneasy about his employer's reliance on the Cerebration Mentor device, which could generate emotional impulses which could cripple the Cybermen.

The Cybermen did indeed turn on Vaughn, though only when they thought that he had failed them - the Doctor helping UNIT avoid the paralysing effects of their technology.

The Cybermen broke into Vaughn's London headquarters and Packer died at their hands.

Played by: Peter Halliday. Appearances: The Invasion (1968)

• This is the most prominent of the four on-screen roles Halliday undertook in the series - the others being Pletrac in The Carnival of Monsters, the Florentine soldier in City of Death (in which he also provided Jagaroth voices) and the blind vicar in Remembrance of the Daleks.
• As well as these he voiced Cybermen in this story, the Silurians in their initial 1970 appearance, and the alien captain in The Ambassadors of Death.
• He was the male lead in the classic BBC science fiction series A For Andromeda (1961) and its 1962 sequel, The Andromeda Breakthrough.
• Frazer Hines wears Packer's jacket in The War Games.