South Africa

South Africa was a nation in southern Africa.

Old timeline
In the unaltered timeline in which WOTAN briefly conquered Earth, the apartheid government collapsed and South Africa became a united, multicultural nation by the end of the 1960s. During World War III, it made a deal with the Cybermen to augment its weaponry and waged war in Europe to liberate the continent, finally taking the United Kingdom in 2006. The First Doctor averted this timeline, first by preventing WWIII in 1972, (PROSE: The Time Travellers) and later by defeating both WOTAN and the Cybermen, creating a new timeline in which a collapse of civilisation and WWIII never happened. (TV: The War Machines, The Tenth Planet)

New timeline
In 1879, the British Empire achieved a military victory over the Zulu in South Africa. (COMIC: The Weeping Angels of Mons)

In 1881, an Ice Warrior ship crashed in South Africa. Godsacre discovered the ship and revived an Ice Warrior inside whom they called Friday. He promised them riches back on his land and took them to Mars. (TV: Empress of Mars)

In the late 19th century, the workers at Lady Cornelia Basildon-Stone's diamond mines in South Africa unearthed a hibernating Silurian. (COMIC: The Crystal Throne)

South Africa was among the places where Winston Churchill fought while serving in the British Army. (AUDIO: The Oncoming Story)

Nelson Mandela fought apartheid in 20th century South Africa. (PROSE: Secret of the Black Planet) In the 21st century, the Nelson Mandela International Space Station space station was named after him. (AUDIO: Scavenger)

During the 22nd century Dalek occupation, a South African resistance group existed. Contact was lost with them in 2167 and they were presumed exterminated. (TV: The Dalek Invasion of Earth)

Dr Miles Mason worked in South Africa for eight years prior to being hired by Carrington Corp in 3999. (PROSE: Placebo Effect)

In the 28th century, the South African Rohihlahla family were significant players in the Earth Empire and had altered history to say Mandela had founded apartheid and the African elites, to back their own policies. This was exposed by Kent Forrester. (History had also confused Nelson Mandela with Horatio Nelson.) A no-go shanty town sprawled around Pretoria. (PROSE: Secret of the Black Planet)

In the year 5000, (TV: The Talons of Weng-Chiang) South Africa was home to one of the five ioniser bases keeping back the glaciers of the second Ice Age. (TV: The Ice Warriors)

The Year That Never Was
During the Year That Never Was, one of the Toclafane was struck down by lightning in South Africa, deactivating it by chance. Martha Jones, Thomas Milligan, and Alison Docherty replicated those conditions to bring down a Toclafane. (TV: Last of the Time Lords)

Donna's World
In Donna's World, South Africa was choked by the ATMOS gas before the Sontaran invasion of Earth was thwarted by the sacrifice of Torchwood Three. (TV: Turn Left)

Behind the scenes
A scene in TV: Battlefield, cut for time but restored in the home video and novelisation, says UNIT troops are present for "the Azanian ceasefire". The name Azania was used an alternative term for South Africa by the African nationalist and Angela Bruce confirmed the term was meant to imply a near-future South Africa in an interview in Doctor Who Magazine #159, saying: "[Bambera] was supposed to be with a peace corps mission going out to South Africa."

Filming for two episodes of Doctor Who series 11 took place in South Africa. Both episodes, comprising one production block, were directed by Mark Tonderai.


 * In TV: The Ghost Monument, South Africa fills in for the desert planet Desolation.


 * In TV: Rosa, South Africa's capital city Cape Town doubles for Montgomery, Alabama, home to Rosa Parks.

Out of Africa Entertainment, a local production company, provided the South African crew.

In Series 12, South Africa also doubled for the Great Victoria Desert as well as Barton's mansion in TV: Spyfall. It also played set for Madagascar, Peru and Hong Kong in TV: Praxeus