Alpha Centauri, played on-camera by

Stuart Fell Stuart Fell is a professional actor and stuntman. Prior to this career, Fell served in the Parachute Regiment. He has appeared on British television many times, with his earliest role being in the LWT comedy series '' Hark at Barker'', in which ...

and voiced by Ysanne Churchman, is a fictional

alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

delegate for the Galactic Federation in the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

television series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

''. The character appeared in two serials during the

Third Doctor The Third Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord fro ...

era in the early 1970s, before making a surprise cameo towards the end of "

Empress of Mars "Empress of Mars" is the ninth episode of the tenth series of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was written by Mark Gatiss and broadcast on 10 June 2017 on BBC One. "Empress of Mars" received generally positive re ...

" in 2017.

Character traits

Alpha Centauri is a

hermaphroditic In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrates) do not have separ ...

hexapod from

Alpha Centauri Alpha Centauri ( Latinized from α Centauri and often abbreviated Alpha Cen or α Cen) is a triple star system in the constellation of Centaurus. It consists of 3 stars: Alpha Centauri A (officially Rigil Kentaurus), Alpha Centaur ...

and, being effectively genderless is referred to as "it" as opposed to "he" or "she". It is tall, green, has one large blue/green/hazel/brown eye, six arms and a high-pitched voice, wears a long yellow

cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

and walks with a nervous

gait Gait is the pattern of movement of the limbs of animals, including humans, during locomotion over a solid substrate. Most animals use a variety of gaits, selecting gait based on speed, terrain, the need to maneuver, and energetic efficiency. Di ...

. It is prone to cowardice and hysterics. It has a low opinion of Earth, describing it as a "'remote and unattractive" planet, but regrets that its appearance can frighten

humans Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

. It regards females as unimportant. Alpha Centauri is also the name of Alpha Centauri's native

star system A star system or stellar system is a small number of stars that orbit each other, bound by gravitational attraction. A large group of stars bound by gravitation is generally called a '' star cluster'' or '' galaxy'', although, broadly speak ...

. The Alpha Centauri binary star system is second only to

Proxima Centauri Proxima Centauri is a small, low-mass star located away from the Sun in the southern constellation of Centaurus. Its Latin name means the 'nearest tarof Centaurus'. It was discovered in 1915 by Robert Innes and is the nearest-kno ...

in proximity to the

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...

, home to the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

Character history

Alpha Centauri arrives on Peladon in ''

The Curse of Peladon ''The Curse of Peladon'' is the second serial of the ninth season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 29 January to 19 February 1972. The serial is set on ...

'' (1972) as a delegate overseeing Peladon's admission to the Galactic Federation. Half a century later, Alpha Centauri is on Peladon during the events of ''

The Monster of Peladon ''The Monster of Peladon'' is the fourth serial of the 11th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 23 March to 27 April 1974. It was Jon Pertwee's pen ...

'' (1974) now as Galactic Federation Ambassador to Peladon. Alpha Centauri makes a small cameo in ''

'' (2017) as an ambassador for the Galactic Federation welcoming the newly-awakened Ice Warriors to the universe, again voiced by Ysanne Churchman.

Production

Ysanne Churchman was instructed by director Lennie Mayne to make the creature sound like a "

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

". The same costume was worn by Stuart Fell for both appearances as the character (albeit with two different cape designs). The character reappeared in ''The Monster of Peladon'' in order to help recreate the atmosphere of Peladon depicted in the earlier serial ''The Curse of Peladon''.

Other appearances

Alpha Centauri appears in ''

Legacy In law, a legacy is something held and transferred to someone as their inheritance, as by will and testament. Personal effects, family property, marriage property or collective property gained by will of real property. Legacy or legacies may refer ...

'', a '' Virgin New Adventure'' spin-off novel set on Peladon, meeting the

Seventh Doctor The Seventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', and the final incarnation of the original Doctor Who series. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy. W ...

and

Benny Benny or Bennie is a given name or a shortened version of the given name Benjamin or, less commonly, Benedict, Bennett, Benito, Benson, Bernice, Ebenezer or Bernard. People Bennie Given name *Bennie M. Bunn (1907–1943), American Marine offic ...

. Alpha Centauri and Benny appeal against the Doctor's death sentence for the murder of Lady Lianna, former handmaiden to Queen Thalira, to no avail, although the Doctor is later saved. Alpha Centauri also features in Big Finish audio dramas ''

The Bride of Peladon ''The Bride of Peladon'' is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Plot On the planet of Peladon the young King awaits his bride, a princess from Earth, whom he ha ...

'' (2008), '' The Prisoner of Peladon'' (2009) and the audio boxset ''Peladon '' (2022), this time voiced by Jane Goddard.

References

{{Reflist, 2 Alpha Centauri in fiction Television characters introduced in 1972

Fictional androgynes Doctor Who aliens Fictional cyclopes