Top 10 Female Villains
- Will Sanger
- Mar 8
- 11 min read
Updated: Mar 20
Doctor Who has historically underrepresented female characters outside the companion role, a shortcoming the show has begun to address. That being said, there have been a variety of female characters who have contributed to the show's history, including female villains. The Doctor has met a variety of female antagonists which have challenged them and presented some interesting characters and delightful performances. I thought I’d take a look.
10.) Kaftan played by Shirley Cooklin
Tomb of the Cybermen is a simply legendary story of Doctor Who and one of the heights of the Patrick Troughton era. You have the frightening presence of the Cybermen themselves and a very confined horror driven plot, along with some very effective human villains with Klieg and Kaftan. Klieg is a character of intellectual superiority with a heartless and unbalanced nature. However, Kaftan, played by Shirley Cooklin, makes for a marvellous contrast to Klieg’s character as she is villainous in an entirely different way. Klieg is ambitious and cruel, whereas Kaftan is meticulous and incredibly cunning. She identifies the threat which the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria pose to her immediately, and you can see her manipulating the situation to her advantage. Cooklin’s performance has a cold-hearted and ruthless intent, and I like her harshness towards Victoria. The way she subtly drugs Victoria and traps everyone beneath the hatch to give Klieg the time he needs shows the skilled and villainous trickery which she is capable of. The Doctor clearly picks up on her ulterior motives and is very suspicious of her. She has the brutal strength of her henchman Toberman to use to her advantage and I love the way she uses her rationality and tactics to fuel the egomania of Klieg. In the end, it is her overconfidence against the Cybermen which brings her down.
9.) Florence Finnegan played by Anne Reid
Anne Reid had played a part in Doctor Who before in the Curse of Fenric, but it's her role as Florence Finnegan in Smith and Jones that gives her an alive mixture of emotions to play with. It's fitting for an energetic series opener to have a campy and absurd villain. You already have a very silly plot with space rhinos on the moon and the addition of a space vampire disguised as an old lady feels like the icing on the cake. Anne Reid plays the role of the kindly old lady perfectly. She plays an unsuspecting and friendly persona in a way that goes completely under the radar. However, Anne Reid has just the right blend in her performance and can automatically flip to a vicious evil streak. The scene when she sucks Mr Stoker’s blood is a horrifying and brilliant moment for her as a villain. You see her slowly transition into her true character of wickedness, and Anne Reid is relishing in the fun and amusement of the part. There is also a clear logic and cunning side to the character that I really like. It makes sense for her to shield herself from the police forces of the Judoon by drinking the blood of humans and appearing as an innocent old lady. There is a wilful oversight when it comes to the lives of others, and she takes joy in cruelty and inflicting terror. It’s a very overtly evil part, but Anne Reid rightly dials up the evil and silliness of the character with just the right mixture of energy. She’s the right kind of villain for a story like Smith and Jones and feels dangerous.
8.) Lady Cassandra played by Zoe Wanamaker
The End of the World isn’t given enough credit anyway for what it did to humanise and modernise modern Doctor Who, but Cassandra is rarely spoken about when it comes to villains in Doctor Who. It's an absurd, strange and brilliant concept and Zoe Wanamaker’s performance somehow grounds the whole idea and puts it into a human perspective. I love the irony of the last human being so far removed from something that we recognise as human. It has a strangeness but taps into relatable ideas about high beauty standards and the dangers of plastic surgery going too far. Cassandra is an idea that takes a societal issue and pushes it to the extreme with science fiction. Zoe Wanamaker finds the right blend in her personality between a narcissistic cruelty and a cheekiness and humour. Cassandra is detestable with inhumane, and capitalist aims but an enjoyable and fun villain to watch at the same time. There are elements of superiority and a bigoted racism to her viewpoints and perspective, which makes her cruel and vindictive and a developed character. What will always bring Cassandra down is her second appearance in New Earth. She had a perfect ending which feels undermined by her return. Not only is the body swap humour uncomfortable and irksome, but the redemption storyline feels forced and not earnt in the slightest. Cassandra never showed any affection for anybody but herself and hasn’t earnt the sympathy of the audience.
7.) Morgaine played by Jean Marsh
Battlefield features a merging of science fiction and fantasy and mythic elements. The villainous presence of Morgaine elevates the story. We are all familiar with the legend of King Arthur and I love the idea of Doctor Who giving its own take on the ancient story and the Doctor being Merlin is a very clever idea. Morgaine or Morgan Le Fay is a well-recognised arch-enemy in the King Arthur story and it made sense to include her. She is an incredibly fearful female figure whose power feels unmatched and dangerous. Jean Marsh had previously appeared in Doctor Who both as Princess Joanna and Sara Kingdom during the William Hartnell era and she has a natural authority and dominance as an actor where she commands the screen whenever she is present. Jean Marsh fits perfectly into the role of a villainess and is a formidable witchlike figure with untold powers. I also really like the cunning nature of Morgaine and her rivalry with the Doctor. There is a history and rivalry from Morgaine’s point of view, but the intelligence and deviousness of both characters creates a very interesting relationship. What makes Morgaine most interesting is the honour of the character. She is motivated by victory but has a respect for the honour of war. Her grieving for the death of the soldiers from the World Wars and her sadness at the death of Arthur adds depth and nuance to her character. Morgaine is an evil and scary force, but the history of her rivalry with Arthur and her motivations grounds her.
6.) Cessair of Diplos played by Susan Engel
During the Graham Williams era, there was a significant rise in the number of female villains; I believe the Cessair of Diplos was the best. They live under the guise of the persona of Vivien Fay at the start of the story and I think there is a mastery of how she flies under the radar when paired with the eccentric Professor Rumford character. Vivien is portrayed by Susan Engel as a pleasurable, kind and decent person but once you discover her villainy, it re-contextualises the front half of the story. You see all the ways she was trying to misdirect the Doctor and Romana and there are rewarding breadcrumbs and indicators to her identity. There is also a fascinating backstory to the Cessair of Diplos cleverly baked into history, folklore and superstition. The way her character has been hiding as different historical figures, always controlling the land of the stone circle and the Ogri brings depth to her character. Susan Engel does a marvellous job of playing the character and switching between personas, with always an undercurrent of darkness and malicious intent. There is a ruthlessness and danger to the Cessair of Diplos. Susan Engel has a glamour but an alien darkness and dominance. She has horrid intent and lying and manipulation is second nature to her. I really like the courtroom scenes and seeing her pleasure at the manipulation of the Megara and the flawed justice system. She is an expert criminal with an arrogance and revelling greed. It's enjoyable to see her get punished at the end of the story.
5.) Matron Cofelia played by Sarah Lancashire
With an actor like David Tennant as the Doctor you do need villains which can match him and Sarah Lancashire as Matron Cofelia has the precision, presence, danger and conviction to be able to go up against him. She brings an unphased gravity to her character. There is a calm steadiness and earnestness to her personality, which is fitting. When you have the silliness of the Adipose and the comedy double act of David Tennant and Catherine Tate, you need a dangerous and unwavering villain in order to ground the story and Matron Cofelia fulfils that role. There is a menace, confidence and sense of ease and arrogance to Matron Cofelia that I really love. Cofelia blends into her role as Miss Foster very naturally, and there is a cold-hearted and ruthless nature. Her businesslike rationality and the way she takes advantage of capitalist exploitation and rationalised mistreatment in the aims of a greater objective makes her believable and hateable. There is something very clinical and merciless about Miss Foster and her methods. She is aware of the ethical questions around the lives she has sacrificed for the breeding of the Adipose but has a lack of regard for the people she has killed and thinks only of the achievement and the Adipose themselves. Her objective mindset and detached and unfeeling personality makes her feel cruel and dangerous as a villain. There is a pleasing match and rivalry between the Doctor and Cofelia and the moral conflict creates the dynamic. The sparring of the sonic devices is entertaining, but the conflict feels grounded and real.
4.) Miss Hilda Winters played by Patricia Maynard
For me Hilda Winters isn’t really a villain for the Fourth Doctor but a villain for Sarah Jane Smith. Robot is rather clever in the way it introduces Tom Baker’s Doctor as it gives Elisabeth Sladen an active role and makes it Sarah Jane’s story as a way to distract you. Miss Hilda Winters is, in many ways, an effective match for Sarah Jane as a character, as she both mirrors and contrasts her in a very clever way. Sarah Jane is a very naturally feminist character, and it's interesting to see her go up against an older female figure of authority and fellow feminist. Hilda Winters is a hardened and dominating force of authority and control and you get a fantastic sense of harshness from Patricia Maynard’s performance. She is cold-hearted, purely logical and uncompromising, with no sense of understanding and reason. There is a scornful resentment towards those who don’t share her objectives and beliefs, which makes her dangerous. You can understand her intentions, which makes her sympathetic, but she has become twisted. The way she and the Scientific Reform Society have been shunned has warped her. She has no respect for human rights, freedom of opportunity and choice and has a fascist view of the world which makes her a worthy villain. Miss Winters can be both understated and cold and also passionate and ruthless. She contrasts the emotion and care of Sarah Jane and the humanity which exists inside the K1 Robot, but she herself has a robotic sense of logic and is a fittingly formed villain for Sarah Jane Smith.
3.) Captain Wrack played by Lynda Baron
I remember Lynda Baron from watching Come Outside growing up, but she had a very varied career, and her role as Captain Wrack is a delight. The idea of the Eternals is a fascinating one with these immortal beings who use humans or “Ephermals” as they call them for the amusement of their own minds, as their own have become so worn out and tired. What makes Captain Wrack a brilliant and dominating villain and a force to be reckoned with is her willingness to think outside the box and ability to kill in order to win. Captain Wrack is an incredibly devious and dangerous character who channels the power of the Black Guardian for sabotage and for the power of her own victory, which is very clever. She can seduce and manipulate people for her own advantage, and I like the way she presents gifts to the different ships and Eternals, but with insidious intent. Lynda Baron has an entertaining and lively energy and campy personality, which she brings to the table and a fun man-eating seductiveness about her. She achieves pleasure and gratification in her own wickedness and evil. Captain Wrack pretends to be warm and friendly but can quickly turn to become incredibly vile and formidable. I adore her relationship with Turlough and the way she exploits him to her own ends. There is something very dominant about the personality and energy Lynda Baron brings, which defines the story and character.
2.) Eldrad played by Judith Paris
I did debate whether to include Eldrad as you see them both in female and male form, but as they appear as a female character a majority of the story, I felt that they did qualify for the list. Besides, I much prefer the female version of the character played by Judith Paris. That’s not to say that Steven Thorne doesn’t do a valid job as Eldrad, but he is much more of a typical villain, whereas Judith Paris has more humanity and inner motivations. Eldrad is a fascinating creation as a crystalline and silicon-based lifeform with dangerous and deadly powers. There is a hidden and developed backstory and world-building to Eldrad as a character which I really enjoy. The design of Eldrad is fantastic, the prosthetics look amazing, but it gives room to get a detailed performance from Judith Paris. She brings an aggressiveness but also a sympathetic side and sense of pity to the character. They have an oppressive anger and sense of conquest, but also an interesting pride and intelligence. There is something very vindictive and deceitful about Eldrad, which makes them naturally villainous, and the Doctor is obviously suspicious of her. However, they are able to frame themselves as a way to appear to be sympathetic and reasonable. There is an emotional pain and anger to Eldrad as a character defined by their past. It makes you feel for their fate even if you mistrust them and their intentions and that comes from the sadness and sense of loss seen in the facial expressions and reactions of the performance.
1.) Helen A played by Sheila Hancock
The Happiness Patrol is a story which has aged incredibly well. Its storyline and themes about the value of validating sadness within a society are very mental health conscious and recognise the harm of pushing down our negative emotions. You have a false, engineered and very fake society which has been created and enforced by Helen A, who is a fantastic villain and enemy. Sheila Hancock portrays Helen A in a way where she is trying to be overtly happy, optimistic and full of joy, but you can see frustration getting to her and her character beginning to crumble and collapse from emotional instability and fear across the story. You can see the failings of the toxic and backwards mentality and viewpoint she holds as she struggles until the end to be cheerful and upbeat and there are layers to her performance. Whilst Sheila Hancock gives the character a superficial and sinister kindness, there is a cruelty and harshness to her villain always and a defined and dangerous viewpoint. Her very dominant personality is cleverly designed to mirror the harsh nature of Margaret Thatcher. Helen A is cold, heartless, unreasonable and responsible for a world of hostility and true unhappiness with a lack of compassion and warmth which is reflective of the attitude and mentality of Thatcher’s government. Her perspective comes from her single-minded and ruthless nature and the end when Helen A collapses in tears at Fifi’s death sells the point of the story perfectly. Sheila Hancock does an unbeatable job with interesting depth and a tremendous performance.
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