The Valeyard

“	There is some evil in all of us, Doctor – even you. The Valeyard is an amalgamation of the darker sides of your nature, somewhere between your twelfth and final incarnation, and I may say you do not improve with age.	„
	~ The Master to the Sixth Doctor about the Valeyard.

The Valeyard is the main antagonist of the Sixth Doctor's tenure in the Doctor Who franchise.

He is a lawyer on Gallifrey created from elements of the Doctor's dark side from the future who out of hatred for his past self and a desire for freedom and survival plotted to steal his regenerations. The title of Valeyard is Gallifreyan in origin according to the Doctor, and means "learned court prosecutor". He is one of the Sixth Doctor's two archenemies (alongside The Rani) due to being his most active and personal enemy.

He was portrayed and voiced by the late Michael Jayston.

Biography[]

Possible Origins[]

The Valeyard's precise origins are unclear, with several explanations given in different media. In The Ultimate Foe, the Master described him as "an amalgamation" of the Doctor's dark side, taken from between his twelfth and final incarnation.

The Valeyard claimed in the audio drama Trial of the Valeyard that he was created on a mud planet orbiting the gas giant Etarho by the Thirteenth and final Doctor as a way of extending his life beyond the regeneration limit. At the age of 20, he was found by a group of scavengers, who gave him food to eat and sent him to Gallifrey. The Time Lords found his biodata was a exact match for the Doctor, and deemed him an "anomaly", sending him to a Shadow House, where Time Lords whose regenerations went wrong were confined. There, the Valeyard met a Time Lord who had encountered the Doctor, and been trapped in a paradoxical regeneration. The man told the Valeyard to study the science of regeneration, in order to gain revenge on the Time Lords for what they had done to every member of the Shadow House. How much of this was true was left ambiguous.

It was possible that the Valeyard was instead created by the Time Lords themselves as a weapon, which was described in Doctor Who expanded media.

Trial of a Time Lord[]

As the Valeyard does not have any regenerations left, he wants to get the Doctor accused in a trial for the death penalty as such he makes a deal with the Time Lords and convinces them into allowing The Doctor to be held up for the trial.

In order to seem convincing, The Valeyard brings several pieces of fabricated evidence to the trial including a staged death of the Doctor's best friend and companion at the time Peri, several crimes "The Doctor" had committed on other planets among various other things, such as the genocide of the artificial species the Vervoids.

The Valeyard almost succeeds, however The Master appears in the trial to point out that the Valeyard is actually the Doctor himself, much to the entire courtroom's shock. In a panic the Valeyard flees into the Time Lord Matrix where the Doctor pursues him.

In the end, the Doctor avoided the death sentence, but also the Valeyard is able to escape. He is never seen again in the TV series, although appears in some of the expanded media where he is finally defeated by the Doctor.

Personality[]

The Valeyard is the embodiment of all dark sides of the Doctor and was born sometime between The Doctor's twelfth and final incarnations. The Valeyard is one of the few villains who can match the Doctor's intelligence, although is far more manipulative and lacking any of the Doctor`s previous morality. His urge to prevent his own death at any possible cost is very similar to the motives of the Master.

Trivia[]

In the fifth season of the series' revival there has been another villain who is a mix of the darkest sides of the Doctor: The Dream Lord.
Alongside Sharaz Jek, The Master, The Rani, the Dream Lord, and Davros, the Valeyard is one of the few villains to match The Doctor in intelligence.
The Master stated the Valeyard came from between the twelfth and final Doctors. As the Doctor is as of 2023 in his Fifteenth incarnation, this ambiguity allows for the Valeyard's birth at some point.
- Although, due to significant retcons in the 13th Doctor's tenure, their actual 12th regeneration actually occurred millions of years ago, as did further regenerations in the amount of thousands are stated to have happened. The Doctor being the unwilling superior progenitor of the Time Lords also revealed they have no regeneration limit.

Navigation[]

Villains

The Rani
Classic | Big Finish | Mrs. Flood | Bigeneration

Weeping Angels
Angel Bob | Statue of Liberty | Rogue Angel

Autons
Nestene Consciousness | Channing | Troll Doll | Mickey Auton

Versions of the Doctor
The Valeyard | Time Lord Victorious | Dream Lord

The Division
Awsok | Gat | Weeping Angels (Rogue Angel)

Ravagers
Swarm | Azure | Passenger

Akhaten
Mummy | Vigil

The Beast's Spawn
Abaddon (Bilis Manger)

Krillitanes
Mr. Finch | Mr. Wagner

The 456
456 Ambassador | Brian Green | Johnson | John Frobisher | Rupesh Patanjali

Shadow Kin
Corakinus | Kharrus | Rannus

Adipose
Matron Cofelia

Clockwork Repair Droids
Control Node | Half Face Man | Repair Droid 7

Judoon
Judoon Captain | Pol-Kon-Don

Order of St. Agnes
Gorgon

Family of Blood
Scarecrows

House
Nephew | Uncle | Auntie

Church of the Silence
Madame Kovarian | Colonel Manton | Headless Monks | Silents

Blathereen Family
Slitheen-Blathereen (Leef Apple Glyn Slitheen-Blathereen | Tree Lorn Acre Slitheen-Blathereen)

Zygons
Bonnie | Brelarn | Broton | Elizabeth I Zygon | Sheriff Norlander

Anti-Zone
Ribbons | Flesh Moths

Nazis
Adolf Hitler | De Flores | Karl | Miss Wyckham

Urbankans
Monarch | Persuasion | Enlightenment

The Brethren
The Host | Father Angelo

Max Capricorn
Captain Hardaker | Heavenly Hosts

The Pharm
Aaron Copley | Billy Davies

Helen A
Happiness Patrol | Kandy Man | Daisy K | Joseph C | Fifi

Harries & Harries
Dale | Greg | Vic

Ood Operations
Klineman Halpen | Solana Mercurio | Kess | Bartle

Hyperion III
Vervoids | Doland | Rudge

Bannermen
Gavrok | Arrex | Callon | Keillor

Iceworld
Kane | Belazs | Kracauer

S-Rax
Morgaine | Mordred | The Destroyer

Stenza
Tzim-Sha | Remnants | SniperBot

Carrionites
Lilith | Mother Doomfinger | Mother Bloodtide

Mars Probe 7 Conspiracy
General Carrington | Reegan | Bruno Taltalian | Sir James Quinlan

Morax
Morax King | Morax Queen

Finetime
Dots (Mantraps) | Lindy Pepper-Bean

Operation Golden Age
Charles Grover | General Finch | Mike Yates | Professor Whitaker | Butler

Primords
Eric Stahlman | Harry Slocum | John Bromley | Private Wyatt

Sisters of Plenitude
Matron Casp | Novice Hame | Sister Jatt

Republican Security Forces
Brigade Leader Lethbridge Stewart | Director Stahlman | John Benton

Interplanetary Mining Corporation
Captain Dent | Morgan | Wilfred Norton

Inter Minor
Kalik | Orum | Drashigs

Sycorax
Sycorax Leader | Roboforms

Shoal of the Winter Harmony
King Hydroflax | Scratch | Mr. Brock | Dr. Sim

Night Travellers
Ghostmaker | Pearl

Solomon's Crew
Solomon | Solomon's Robots

Noghai
Tegana | Acomat | Malik

Global Chemicals
BOSS | Jocelyn Stevens | Hinks

Aztecs
Tlotoxl | Ixta | Tonila

Voord
Yartek | Alternate Twelfth Doctor

Moroks
Lobos | Ogrek

Weng Chiang
Mr. Sin | Li H'sen Chang | Tong of the Black Scorpion

Robot Knights
Sheriff of Nottingham

Saturnyns
Rosanna Calvierri | Francesco

Ancient Lights
Martin Trueman

Chameleons
The Director | Captain Blade | Spencer

Dominators
Rago | Toba | Quarks

War Lords
The War Lord | Security Chief | Smythe | Von Weich | Chief Scientist

Missbelindrachandra One
Missbelindachandrabots | AI Generator