R is for... Rebec

Around the year 2540, the Thals sent a mission to the planet Spiridon to investigate a Dalek scientific outpost which had been established there. The ship crashed and the commander was killed, and next in seniority was the medical officer Taron. The Thals then learned new intelligence about the Daleks' activities on the planet but contact with the first mission had been lost, and so a second ship was sent. A young woman named Rebec was a member of this party.

They had come to warn Taron's group that there was actually a huge army of Daleks being gathered on Spiridon, some 10,000 strong. The Daleks were experimenting with invisibility techniques -  a natural ability of the natives on this hostile world.

It transpired that Rebec was the lover of Taron, and had so volunteered for the second mission to be with him. However, he proved unhappy that she had come - explaining that his feelings for her might adversely affect his decision-making and ability to lead. The second spaceship had also crashed, so for all they knew this had become a suicide mission. Taron had reconciled himself with this likely outcome, but Rebec's presence now complicated matters for him personally.

The Thals were able to get into the Dalek base with help from the Doctor. At one point Rebec hid inside a captured Dalek casing, with some of the others disguised using the huge furry cloaks the Spiridon slave workers were compelled to wear.

A well-placed bomb activated an ice-volcano, which flooded the chamber in which the Dalek army was stored - and the Thals were able to escape the planet by stealing the spaceship of the visiting Dalek Supreme.

Played by Jane How. Appearances: Planet of the Daleks (1973)

• Rebec was named after Terry Nation's daughter Rebecca.
• Jane How is best known for playing Jan Hammond, the mistress of Den Watts, in EastEnders.