Margaret Thatcher, neé Roberts, (PROSE: The Assassin's Story) was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979, (TV: Tooth and Claw) until at least 1987. (TV: Father's Day) According to one source, her predecessor was James Callaghan of the Labour Party. (AUDIO: The Oseidon Adventure) According to the Eighth Doctor, Thatcher served between Shirley Williams and John Major. (PROSE: Interference - Book One)
Biography
In March 1965, Lady Catherine Waverly believed that Thatcher, then in opposition, already showed a great deal of promise while Sir Toby Kinsella predicted that she would make her mark. (AUDIO: Manhunt)
On Saturday 27 September 1980 Thatcher visited London Zoo with the Chinese Ambassador and the British foreign minister. (PROSE: Downtime: Child of the New World)
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)
In 1984, London Zoo had a female Tibetan Yeti named Mahamaya, which was successfully bred with a male from Peking. Their offspring was named Margaret after Thatcher, whom she bit at a photocall. (PROSE: Downtime)
In the same year, the Kin used Thatcher as a disguise. (PROSE: Nothing O'Clock)
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; AUDIO: Damaged Goods)
In 1987, posters from the Socialist Worker read, in block letters, "No Third Term For Thatcher". (TV: Father's Day)
Some time in the late twentieth century, Romana II met with her to discuss the impending arrival of the Krikkit fleet. She remembered the Doctor fondly as "an outlandish white-haired figure who'd spent the entire evening insulting civil servants" at a dinner at Auderly House. To stop the fleet from Krikkit, Thatcher suggested "always moving, never arriving", so Romana used the energy from the world's nuclear arsenal to freeze the Krikkitmen in place. She wondered what "Ronnie" would think of that. (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen)
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) His tenth incarnation showed further distaste for her. (TV: Tooth and Claw)
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)
An android replica of Thatcher was the last of a succession of android British Prime Ministers from Robert Walpole created by Tasq. (PROSE: Time Wake)
The Twelfth Doctor briefly mentioned Thatcher as a possible candidate to the Landlord when asking him who the current Prime Minister was. (TV: Knock Knock)
Alternative timeline
In an alternative timeline, Thatcher was assassinated by her fellow Conservative politician Heathcliffe Bower in 1984. However, the proper timeline was restored by the Fifth Doctor. (PROSE: The Assassin's Story)
Behind the scenes
She was played by Maureen Lipman in About Face, Sylvia Syms in Thatcher: The Final Days, Anna Massey in Pinochet in Suburbia and Lindsay Duncan in Margaret.
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. A section on "Party Politics" in REF: The Discontinuity Guide (later reprinted on 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. In real life, Thatcher resigned as prime minister in 1990, but this has yet to be confirmed in Doctor Who universe continuity.
Satirical portrayals
Margaret Thatcher inspired some unflattering portrayals in the Whoniverse. The misguided dictator Helen A from The Happiness Patrol is widely supposed to be based upon her[1], 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.
Doctor Who: The Ultimate Adventure
- The Doctor Who: The Ultimate Adventure stage play featured, at various times, the Third Doctor, the Sixth Doctor and a unique stage-only Doctor. During the production, Thatcher was played by Judith Hibbert.