Delta and the Bannermen ( TV story ) Delta and the Bannermen was the third story in the twenty - fourth season of " Doctor Who " . It was the first serial since " The Two Doctors " to use a three - part format . With " Delta " , the three - parter would become a standard of the McCoy era . The season was originally set to end with a six - parter . To save money this was split into a pair of three - part stories to be made by the same production team . Only the TARDIS sequences of " Delta " were filmed in studio , with the rest on location . Under the working title " Flight of the Chimeron " , it was considered possible that the character of Ray in the story would become the new companion , replacing Mel . However , in the event the character of Ace from Ian Briggs ' s script , " Dragonfire " , was chosen instead . " Delta " was originally to be set in 1957 to tie in with the launch of ; this was changed to ' 59 as it offered a more theme . This allowed for a significantly larger array of music throughout . ( INFO : " Delta and the Bannermen " ) " Delta and the Bannermen " made use of underlying darkness , a theme that would become more prevalent in the following two seasons as the Cartmel Masterplan came to the fore . The persona of McCoy ' s Doctor began to develop , with many of his witticisms displayed here . This was the first appearance of the question mark umbrella , McCoy ' s alternative to the pullover . A number of recognisable faces appeared in " Delta " , such as Don Henderson and Hugh Lloyd and perhaps most notably , Ken Dodd . It was originally intended that Sara Griffiths , who portrayed Ray , would become a companion of the Doctor , with Bonnie Langford leaving the show . However , due to filming and airing schedules , Mel would leave in " Dragonfire " instead . ( BBC DVD : " Survival " ) Sophie Aldred auditioned for the part of Ray , but instead took the role of Ace - the Doctor ' s new companion . ( INFO : " Delta and the Bannermen " ) Synopsis . Boarding a Nostalgia Tours bus , the Doctor and Mel go for a holiday . They will soon learn that their fellow passenger Delta is a Chimeron Queen , fleeing from the Bannermen who wish to make her species extinct . Thus , the time travellers ' trip to Shangri - La turns into a battle against genocide . . . Plot . Part one . On the planet Chumeria , the Chimeron s are being killed , the Bannermen gunning them down . Gavrok orders them to take no prisoners . The Chimerons resist , but to no avail . Only Delta and a single male Chimeron are left . They make a break for the Bannerman ship . Gavrok is waiting onboard . He shoots the male and is about to kill Delta when the male shoots Gavrok . Injured , he falls from the craft . Before dying , the male tells Delta to take a mysterious object . Delta takes off in the craft . The TARDIS lands at toll port G715 . The Seventh Doctor and Mel are welcomed by the Tollmaster . They discover they are the ten billionth customers and get free parking and passes for the fabulous 50 ' s tour , a whole week in 1959 Disneyland , Earth , conducted by Nostalgia Tours . In Wales , two American CIA agents pull up beside a police box . One of them , Jerome Weismuller , takes out a phone and makes a call . He is told by the president ' s right - hand man to track a new satellite . He tells this to his partner , Hawk . Back at the toll port , Mel and the Doctor discover they will be travelling with the Navarino 1950s club . The Navarinos pass through a transformation arch to appear human . They learn they will be travelling on a bus that can fly . The Doctor and Mel greet Murray , their pilot , but the Doctor elects to follow in the TARDIS , Mel to travel on the bus . On the Bannerman ship , Delta receives a transmission from Gavrok . Wherever she goes he will follow . He tells her she is the last of her kind . Delta lands at the toll port and boards the bus just as it takes off . In Wales , the two Americans are attempting to pick up signals from the satellite with no success . Meanwhile , in space , the satellite is released and the bus crashes into it . In Wales the two agents answer the phone and are told the satellite has gone haywire and it will hit Earth near their location . The Doctor uses the TARDIS to control the bus ' descent , encasing it in an anti - gravity spiral . He places it on Earth and lands nearby . The bus ' passengers learn they are in Wales at the Shangri - La camp ; they are greeted by the camp leader , Burton , who mistakes them for a bus of people who intend to stay there . They decide to stay at the camp until the bus is fixed . The group are assigned rooms , with Delta and Mel in one . The Doctor and Murray meet Billy , the resident mechanic , who offers to help repair the bus . The trio pull the embedded satellite from a large dent in the bus ' front . The Doctor enters the TARDIS and emerges with a Quarb crystal , the only one this side of the Softel Nebula . The crystal is needed to fix the bus . Billy removes the old crystal and the Doctor gives Murray the new one . A friend of Billy ' s , Rachel Defwydd ( known as Ray ) , arrives . She hands Murray a tool and tells the Doctor she always carries them to be prepared . Murray is installing the crystal when he breaks it . The Doctor tells him he can accelerate growth in the TARDIS ' thermo - booster and grow a crystal in twenty - four hours . Ray tells them of a dance later and they agree to attend . In their room , Delta is frightened by a loud noise . Mel , whom she pulls a gun on , tells her it is the dinner gong . Mel moves to leave . She tells Delta she can be trusted and goes to dinner . Delta opens the mysterious object , revealing a strange - looking sphere within . At the toll port , the Bannermen are questioning the Tollmaster . He tells them he lost track of the bus after it crashed . Gavrok shoots him . He instructs his men to plot a course for Earth and tells them he wants every informer in the galaxy looking for her . In the camp , at dinner , Mel sits with the Doctor and informs him of Delta ' s gun and being edgy . Billy sits with Delta as they eat , showing attraction to her , to Ray ' s chagrin . Later , at the Get - to - know - you - dance , the Doctor inspects Billy ' s stereo . Billy tells him he made it from spare parts from the war . Billy goes on stage and starts singing . Murray and Mel dance and the Doctor talks with Ray , who tells him she has had a crush on Billy since she was a child . Billy sings " Why Do Fools Fall in Love " for Delta ; this saddens Ray , who dances with the Doctor instead , much to his confusion . Outside , Weismuller and Hawk argue over who should leave the tent to blow out the fire . Eventually Hawk goes . The Doctor leaves the dance and Delta leaves soon after . The Doctor follows her . In a linen and blanket storage room , the Doctor finds Ray crying over Billy . A tour passenger and mercenary , Keillor , enters and the Doctor and Ray hide . Keillor uses a radio to contact Gavrok and informs him of Delta ' s location . He asks for the reward , one million units . He uses the radio to give them a signal to follow . The Doctor sneezes , alerting the mercenary to their presence . In their room , Delta thanks Mel for being kind to her and tells her that there is something she should know . They turn as the sphere breaks and a green alien emerges . Mel screams . In the storage room the mercenary finds the Doctor and Ray and prepares to kill them , declaring he kills for money " and " enjoyment ; he knows who the Doctor is and takes joy in the prize he will get for taking out the legendary Time Lord . Part two . Onboard his craft , Gavrok tells the pilot to arm the beacon hunter . He fires it and Keillor is ionised . The blast knocks the Doctor and Ray unconscious . Billy arrives at Delta and Mel ' s room . He enters to find Delta cradling the green alien . She invites him in . Goronwy is tending his bee s . The two Americans pull up outside and ask him if he has seen any lights in the sky . He tells them lots of times . He says he has seen pulsing lights and shooting stars . They ask if he has seen anything recently . He tells them he will ask his bees . Back at the room , Delta tells Billy everything ; the alien is a baby Chimeron and she is a princess . The three leave Mel to sleep . They take a drive on Billy ' s motorbike , the Vincent . The Doctor wakes in time to see them driving away . He returns to wake Ray and explains the beacon was detonated by the Bannermen to kill the mercenary . The pair return to find Mel and ask where Billy and Delta have gone , but Mel does not know . He tells her they need to evacuate the camp and Mel agrees to tell Murray to get the tour party out . Billy and Delta arrive by the river . Delta tells Billy the child will double in size and weight in the next few hours . The Doctor and Ray try to explain the impending attack by the Bannermen to Burton , but he refuses to believe it . He tells the Doctor he will be convinced if he sees the Doctor ' s spaceship . Mel wakes Murray and informs him of the threat . The Doctor shows Burton his ship and he agrees to the evacuation . Murray tells everyone of the attack and they hurriedly pack to leave . The Doctor goes to check if the crystal is ready . Burton announces on the speaker - system that all staff will assemble in his office . The Doctor gives Murray the near - finished crystal and tells him to leave with or without him . He leaves with Ray to find Delta . Burton explains the crisis to his staff and tells them to leave . Billy , Delta and the child are seated by a river . The child makes a ringing noise ; Delta tells Billy it is a song and a defence mechanism . Meanwhile , the Doctor and Ray search for them . Back at the camp , Burton assists in the evacuation . On board his craft , Gavrok regrets destroying the beacon . He instructs his men that a full technology scan must be carried out to find Delta . Hawk is still attempting to find the satellite signal . Ray and the Doctor arrive and enquire if they have seen Delta and Billy . They haven ' t . The crystal is ready and Murray installs it . Delta is feeding the child . She tells Billy she needs to get to the brood planet , where a case can be brought against Gavrok and the Bannermen . The Doctor and Ray find them and tell them of the Bannermen coming for her . They leave for the camp as Gavrok finds a high technology source . Hawk gives up on finding the satellite and they watch the Bannermen landing their craft . The Bannermen take them prisoner . Gavrok leaves two men to guard them . Murray has fuelled up the bus and is ready to leave . He reluctantly agrees to leave Mel to wait for the Doctor . He boards the craft and is about to take off when the Bannermen arrive and shoot it . The passengers are all killed . Gavrok asks Mel if Delta was amongst them and she says yes . The Bannermen celebrate their victory but then watch as Delta passes by on a motorbike . They fire upon her to no avail . Burton tells Gavrok to keep Mel alive as a hostage ; he will use her as bait . Delta picks up signals from Goronwy ' s bees telling her to come . Goronwy agrees to shelter Delta and the child . The Doctor borrows Billy ' s bike and a pillowcase to make a white flag . He rides to where the Bannermen are stationed . They shoot his flag . Outraged , the Doctor demands Mel and Burton be set free . He declares he will testify that he showed some mercy if they do so . Gavrok tells him he will never be brought to trial . The Bannermen release Mel and Burton . As the trio prepare to leave , the Bannermen take aim at them . The Doctor wonders if , actually , he may have gone a little too far . . . Part three . The Doctor , Mel and Burton leave on Billy ' s motorbike , the white flag flying from it . Gavrok fires a flare gun into the sky . The two Bannermen guarding the Americans use a metal bar to chain the pair together , then leave them . Ray arrives and frees them with an Allen key from her bag . The former guards fire a tracker dart at Billy ' s bike as the Doctor drives it past . At Goronwy ' s hives Billy is helping in their car . Goronwy shows them his honey store , containing thousands of jars . Delta tells Billy that soon the child will grow again . She is feeding her Chimeron jelly to speed her growth . Ray brings the two Americans to the house . When no one is looking , Billy takes a packet of the jelly . The Bannermen guards return to find the Americans gone . They report this and the successful tracking of the bike to Gavrok and are ordered to follow the signal . Gavrok booby traps the Doctor ' s TARDIS with a sonic cone . The Doctor drives to a field and attaches the tracker to a goat . He drives to Goronwy ' s house . Back at their craft , the Bannermen prepare to take off . The two guards arrive at Goronwy ' s house . The Chimeron child grows again and emits a loud , piercing noise that shatters windows and sends the Bannermen into disarray . Delta shoots and kills one ; the other escapes . The Bannerman ship lands in the field where the Doctor placed the tracker . The Doctor turns on Goronwy ' s radio and places a piece of Delta ' s clothing under the door . They leave . The Bannermen find the tracker . The guard who escaped reports to Gavrok that they have a hideout in Goronwy ' s house . They go to the house . Back at his TARDIS , the Doctor notices the booby trap ; Hawk doesn ' t believe the Doctor and declares he will ring the chief . He reaches out and his hand is burnt by the cone . The Bannermen fire upon Goronwy ' s house . The Doctor declares that if the cone explodes with its full force , it could kill everyone . The Bannermen raid Goronwy ' s honey store . The jars fall upon them , covering them in honey , and bees attack them . Delta catches Billy eating the jelly , and he tells her that if he is to come with her , he must become a Chimeron . The Bannermen land outside the camp and move in to attack . The Doctor and Billy install a speaker on the roof of the camp . The young Chimeron sings into the microphone . The Bannermen stumble around and Gavrok falls into the sonic cone to be atomised . Weismuller ties up the Bannermen . Meanwhile Billy has fully changed into a Chimeron . Billy explains that without him changing into a Chimeron the species can ' t survive . The three Chimerons leave in their ship with the Bannermen prisoners onboard . The Doctor says that Gavrok absorbed so much energy from the sonic cone it is now out of power . He then thanks Burton for saving Mel ' s life . Goronwy gives the Doctor a jar of 1928 hibiscus blossom as a parting gift . As Burton welcomes a new busful of guests , the Doctor gives the Americans their satellite . They thank him , happy that they can report success . Story notes . Music . The story ' s setting in the late 1950s resulted in a number of vintage songs from the era being heard or performed ( though all had to be re - recorded by series composer Keff McCulloch and the Lorells ) . The songs heard in the serial are : McCulloch appears on screen with the band performing a few of these . According to the DVD commentary , his then - fiancé was one of the backup singers on the recordings . DVD , VHS and audio release . Special features : Notes :