Old Mother

Old Mother was an elderly member of the Tribe of Gum who believed fire was too dangerous to possess.

Biography
After Za's father was killed while hunting before he could pass the secret of making fire on to Za, Old Mother became convinced his death was divine punishment for using fire, and feared Za's quest to reclaim the secret would bring disaster on the tribe.

When the outsider Kal brought the First Doctor to the tribe whom he claimed he had seen making fire, Old Mother knew her son would try to wrest the secret from this stranger and his young companions, provoking the wrath of Orb. After Za ordered the strangers imprisoned in the Cave of Skulls, Old Mother waited until the tribe slept and snuck away to the cave, taking a stone knife with her. Using a secret entrance, she crawled into the cave and cut the strangers's bonds, telling them to flee into the forest.

Za was furious with his mother for having set the strangers free, but he had no time to deal with her. Shoving her to the ground and knocking her unconscious, Za left with his mate Hur to pursue the strangers. When Old Mother awoke, she found herself facing Kal, who was even angrier at what she had done. Kal had hoped to wrest the secret of fire from the strangers and use it to usurp Za's position as leader, and Old Mother had cheated him of that opportunity. Using a stone, he killed the old woman. (DW: An Unearthly Child)

Behind the scenes

 * The Old Mother was the first character to die in Doctor Who.