I’m a child of Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker era Dr Who. I had the whole “hide behind the couch” childhood experience and the stories still resonate with me today. I see past the low production values and my imagination still runs wild inside the stories.

Now when it comes to my current writing, one of my characters is inspired by my 70s Dr Who experiences. I have an indigenous character, who is “wild” and “savage”. Who else to inspire this character but Leela….

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Leela is a hunter, a warrior, a survivor, she acts on her instincts and she has a big cool knife. She is a “fish out of water” in the modern space world with the Doctor, willing to use violence in worlds where violence is not the first response. Her costume also inspired the clothing for my “savage” character, although my character is only in her mid-teens, so there’s a bit more fabric in her dresses. She’s not quite the “dad’s wet dream” that Leela is, but my character is clad similarly in leather and boots.

It’s no coincidence that Leela also appears in my all time favourite Dr Who episode; Talons of Weng Chiang.

Any Leela love out there?