John Benton

Sergeant Benton is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by John Levene. He worked for UNIT (United Nations Intelligence Taskforce), an international organisation that defends the Earth from alien threats. He appeared semi-regularly on the programme from 1970 to 1975, and was eventually promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer Class 1, holding the post of Regimental Sergeant Major.

Benton first appeared in the Second Doctor serial The Invasion (1968), where he was a Corporal in UNIT. By the time of his next appearance in The Ambassadors of Death (1970) he had been promoted to Sergeant and quickly formed a close working relationship with the Doctor, Captain Mike Yates and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, the latter usually calling first for Benton when an order needed to be carried out. Benton's tour in UNIT also coincided with the tenure of the Third and Fourth Doctors as its Scientific Advisor and his promotion to WO1 came in Robot (1974).

During his time with UNIT, Benton faced several alien invasions and also the schemes of the renegade Time Lord known as the Master. Benton was always a down-to-earth example of a British infantryman and non-commissioned officer, reliable, uncomplicated and with a good dose of common sense. When the Doctor asked him if he was going to comment that the TARDIS was bigger on the inside than on the outside (since everyone did), Benton's classic reply was, "Well, that's pretty obvious, isn't it?" Despite not understanding the specifics of what the Doctor was doing or any of his explanations, Benton always took the Doctor at his word and trusted him implicitly.

Very little is known of Benton outside of his UNIT duties. In fact, his first name was never revealed in the television series. Benton was loyal, not just to the rank but also to the people he worked with, and was willing to disobey orders to help them (Invasion of the Dinosaurs). He flirted briefly with Jo Grant, the Third Doctor's assistant, and also Sarah Jane Smith, but neither appeared to get beyond good natured bantering. His last on-screen appearance was in The Android Invasion. In 1983, he was said by Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart to have left the British Army and become a used car salesman.

Other appearances
The prologue of the Virgin Publishing novelisation of The Power of the Daleks by John Peel revealed that Benton did return to UNIT at some point and became a commissioned officer with the rank of Lieutenant (OF-1). In 1986, he led a UNIT team to Antarctica to clear up the mess left in the wake of the Cybermen's failed attempt to drain Earth of its energy (The Tenth Planet).

John Levene reprised the role of Benton in the spin-off video video Wartime, produced by Reeltime Pictures in 1987. This finally established a first name for Benton: John, just like the actor who played him. The name "John Benton" has subsequently been used in many spin-off novels.