The officer who could charm an alien, command a jeep, and still look like he just walked out of a 1970s cologne advert.
Character Overview
Ah, Captain Mike Yates — UNIT’s resident pretty boy. Played by Richard Franklin, Yates debuted in Terror of the Autons(1971) and immediately made fans ask, “Wait… does UNIT have a modeling agency on the side?”
Unlike Benton, who was the dependable “salt of the Earth” soldier, Yates was suave, charming, and looked suspiciously like the kind of man who could sell you insurance or a dodgy used car while still being irresistible. He was the Brigadier’s right-hand man, but let’s be honest — he was much better at smiling at aliens than shooting at them.
Yates often filled the narrative role of “competent military man,” though this competence was occasionally… flexible. He once fell for one of the Master’s schemes (who hasn’t?) and got himself involved in an eco-fanatic conspiracy in Invasion of the Dinosaurs (1974), which led to his quiet exit from UNIT. Only in Doctor Who can you try to overthrow the government with rubbery plastic dinosaurs and still be remembered as a beloved character.
Despite his occasional questionable choices, Yates had a certain likability that made him memorable. He was the UNIT officer who looked like he ironed his uniform twice a day, and his calm demeanor balanced nicely against the Brigadier’s bluster and Benton’s bewilderment. Basically, if UNIT was a boy band, Yates was “the handsome one.”