P is for... Polo, Marco

A Venetian adventurer, encountered by the Doctor and companions Susan, Ian and Barbara, on the desolate Plateau of Pamir near the Himalayan mountains. The Tartar warlord Tegana wished them killed as he feared they may be mountain demons, but Marco intervened to save them. He was escorting Tegana to meet with his employer, the mighty Kublai Khan, to discuss a peace treaty between him and the Tartar ruler Nogai. Also in his caravan was a young girl from Samarkand named Ping-Cho, on her way to an arranged marriage with one of the Khan's elderly courtiers.

Having been in the employ of the Khan for may years now, Marco's only wish was to get back home to Venice. Confronted with the Doctor's magic caravan, which could transport him and his companions without horses or even wheels, he decided that he would make a gift of it to his master - in the hope that this might please him enough to let him go home. He withheld the TARDIS key, initially claiming that Tegana and the soldiers accompanying them still thought them demons and the blue box held their magic.

The Doctor later discovered his true motive for keeping them from the ship. 

Tegana began actively attempting to sabotage the caravan, seeking to kill the party. The Doctor's companions realised this, but Marco stubbornly refused to heed any arguments against him for fear of jeopardising the peace mission.

The Doctor was permitted to stay one night in the TARDIS after Tegana had destroyed their water supply. The extreme heat of the day combined with the cold of the night to cause condensation to form within the ship, providing enough water to get them to a nearby oasis. Initially Marco was furious - thinking that the Doctor had hidden a supply of water in his caravan. He and Ian were able to inform him of how the water had formed.

Marco was later disappointed when Ping-Cho stole the key from him to give to Susan, whom she had befriended.

Having seen many wonders on his travels, Marco still could not bring himself to accept that the TARDIS could travel through time as well as space.

Once the caravan had reached its destination, Marco finally came to accept the warnings that the others had been giving him about Tegana. When the warlord attempted to assassinate the Khan, Marco fought a duel with him and defeated him - though Tegana took his own life rather than face capture.

Realising the disservice he had shown the Doctor, Marco elected to return the TARDIS key to him - but the Khan was philosophical about this and said he could return to Venice soon.

Played by: Mark Eden. Appearances: Marco Polo (1964)

• Marco Polo (1254 - 1324) - was born in Venice and travelled to Cathay with his brother and uncle - Niccolo and Maffeo - in 1269. On his eventual return home after 24 years in the Far East, he found Venice at war with Genoa and was imprisoned by Genoese troops after taking up arms against them. It was whilst in prison that he related his adventures to a fellow captive named Rustichello da Pisa. A professional writer of romances, it is widely believed that he embroidered many of Polo's tales, purely to satisfy a sensation-seeking public.
• Polo was released from prison in 1299 and spent the remainder of his life a wealthy merchant in his home city. He is buried in the church of San Lorenzo.
• Eden is best known for playing the villainous Alan Bradley in Coronation Street - a character who tried to bump off Rita but ended up falling under the wheels of a Blackpool tram.
• He, Darren Nesbitt (Tegana) and Martin Miller (Kublai Khan) all featured in the same episode of The Prisoner together - "It's Your Funeral" - in 1967.
• He returned to the world of Doctor Who in 2013 to play the BBC's Donald Baverstock in the anniversary drama An Adventure in Space and Time. This would be his final TV role. He died, aged 92, in 2021.