Swabb

Swabb was the first mate of Captain Kaliko on the Black Gold.

Biography
Swabb was secretly in league with Oil Corp, who promised him a proper body. His race is unknown, but his appearance was a human skeleton. The rest of the crew of the Black Gold were the same.

Swabb turned on Kaliko when he thought the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones were Oil Corp. spies. He ordered the Oil rigs to attack the ship, and it was destroyed. Swabb survived, and threatened to use Martha's body to replace his. The Doctor used his Sonic screwdriver to flip Swabb off the deck. Swabb survived the fall and vowed revenge. His subsequent fate is unknown.

Like his Black Gold crewmates, it is not known exactly how or why Swabb ended up as a living skeleton. However, according to Kaliko, living skeletons like them make for better crew men, as they put less of a strain on rations. (TV: The Infinite Quest)

Behind the scenes

 * Although the story does not follow this detail, Swabb's interest in taking Martha's body might be an LBGT reference, or just a further indication of his desperation for a proper body.
 * Swabb and the other pirates bear some similarity to the Vashta Nerada when they inhabit the suits of their prey and control them.