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Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 (TV: Tooth and Claw) until at least 1987 (TV: Father's Day). Her predecessor was James Callaghan of the Labour Party. (AUDIO: The Oseidon Adventure) According to the Eighth Doctor, Thatcher served between Williams and Major. (PROSE: Interference - Book One)
She was the leader of the Conservative Party. Her party won the general election on 9 June 1983 in a landslide victory over Labour. (AUDIO: Rat Trap)
The Seventh Doctor, Roz Forrester and Chris Cwej lived for a short time in a housing estate in 1987, during her time in power. (PROSE: Damaged Goods)
The Sixth Doctor served as an advisor or consultant to her. He referred to her disdainfully as "that woman" and admitted that she terrified him. (AUDIO: The Ultimate Adventure) In both his ninth (TV: Father's Day) and tenth incarnations (TV: Tooth and Claw), the Doctor expressed further distaste for her.
In contrast to her Indian counterpart and contemporary Indira Gandhi, Peri Brown did not consider her to be an effective female leader. (AUDIO: The Eye of the Scorpion)
Behind the scenes
Continuity
The reference to a female prime minister in Terror of the Zygons was an ad-lib by Nicholas Courtney, according to the DVD commentary for Frontier in Space. It could suggest that in the Doctor Who universe either Thatcher was elected PM earlier than in real life or that, as intended by the production team, the UNIT stories took place in the near future. The BBC's Doctor Who Classic Series website, however, claims that the Prime minister was Shirley Williams, with Labour taking over from a collapsing Jeremy Thorpe government. [1] In real life, Thatcher resigned as prime minister in 1990, but this has yet to be confirmed in the continuity of the franchise.
Satirical portrayals
Margaret Thatcher inspired some unflattering portrayals in the Whoniverse. The misguided dictator Helen A from TV: The Happiness Patrol is widely supposed to be based upon her, whereas the villainess Rehctaht, the female villain of Turlough and the Earthlink Dilemma, has the name Thatcher, spelled backwards.
A villainess named "Thatchos" (a Cyber-Leader in a fright wig) appeared in a Doctor Who parody on The Lenny Henry Show.
