Darkel

Darkel
Main aliases:	The Inquisitor
Place of origin:	Gallifrey
Appearances:	DW: The Trial of a Time Lord DW: The Mysterious Planet (trial sequences only) DW: Mindwarp (trial sequences only) DW: Terror of the Vervoids (trial sequences only) DW: The Ultimate Foe BFG: The Inquiry BFG: Spirit BFG: Pandora BFG: Insurgency BFG: Imperiatrix BFG: Fractures BFG: Warfare BFG: Appropriation BFG: Mindbomb
Main actor:	[[actor::Lynda Bellingham|Lynda Bellingham]]

Inquisitor Darkelatraquistahastrad (Darkel for short) served on the High Council of Gallifrey.

Biography

Involvement in the Doctor's trial

Darkel presided over the Sixth Doctor's trial on the Time Lord Space Station Zenobia. The Valeyard acted as prosecutor. (DW: The Mysterious Planet, DW: Mindwarp) The Doctor acted as his own defence lawyer. (DW: Terror of the Vervoids)

An honest woman, Darkel presided over a show trial meant to draw attention away from the corrupt High Council. With political unrest demanding a new Lord President and the Doctor unwilling to take the job himself, he gave a symbolic vote of confidence to Darkel before departing in his TARDIS. (DW: The Ultimate Foe)

Later events

By the time of Romana's Presidency, Darkel had become a deeply conservative and ferociously ambitious figure in Gallifreyan politics. She vehemently opposed Romana's reforms, particularly her invitation to off-worlders to become students of the Time Lord Academy. She began her campaign innocuously when she was invited by Coordinator Narvin, another opponent of Romana, to undertake an inquiry into Romana's actions. (BFG: The Inquiry) After a mutually satisfactory resolution to the inquiry, Darkel conspired with Narvin and also with the disgraced Andred to overthrow Romana by any means. She allowed Andred to escape and had Narvin frame him for the murder of the Archivist. (BFG: Lies) During this period, Darkel received advice and guidance from a disembodied voice in the Vaults; unknown to her it was the voice of Pandora.

She continued to plot against Romana with anyone she thought useful. When she learned that Romana's genetics had been shaped by Pandora, she tried to convince Braxiatel it was too great a risk for her to be president. Darkel manoeuvred Braxiatel into exile when he absorbed aspects of Pandora into his mind. With him out of the way, she challenged Romana for the presidency. She also plotted with Commentator Antimon to plant bombs aimed at the alien students. Antimon, however, was a follower of the Free Time movement, using Darkel's patronage to his own ends. He tried to kill Romana, Darkel and the High Council when they met for the election. The plot foiled, Romana declared herself Imperiatrix, effectively dictator, denying Darkel the election. At that moment Pandora took physical form and also claimed the Imperiatrix title. Darkel realised too late that she he had been duped by Pandora. (BFG: Imperiatrix)

Desperate for survival, Darkel sided with Pandora and prosecuted the civil war against Romana on her behalf. She proved to be a ruthless and determined war lord, but her arrogance led to her capture by the enemy and being on the losing side. (BFG: Warfare) She was pardoned. With Romana incapacitated, she was appointed by acting President Valyes as his successor. The disputed presidency again had to be put to a vote, but again Darkel was thwarted, this time by the returning Braxiatel. Provoking him into releasing the Pandora entity, Darkel discovered that Pandora had been targeting her all along, and that Brax had been protecting her. Darkel's subsequent possession by Pandora destroyed her mind and killed her. (BFG: Mindbomb)

Behind the scenes

• On-screen Darkel had no name given to her, other than "the Inquisitor". The name Darkel was given to her in the Big Finish Productions Doctor Who audio spin-off series Gallifrey.