Boudica Boudica , Boudicca , or Boadicea was a Celt ic queen who ruled a portion of what would become Great Britain — specifically the Iceni kingdom in what was later Norfolk — in the 1st century AD . Unusually , she inherited essentially half the kingdom when her husband , Prasutagus , died . The other half was bequeathed to the Roman Empire , thus effectively making the Iceni have two sovereigns : Boudica and the Roman Emperor Nero . ( AUDIO : " The Wrath of the Iceni " ) When some Romans later rape d the Iceni women , Boudica ' s response was swift and bloody . She ordered that the agents be , according to the Seventh Doctor pretending to be John Smith , " skinned alive and impaled on posts with their intestines . . . in their mouths . " ( PROSE : " Human Nature " ) The Fourth Doctor and his companion Leela encountered Boudica in 60 , during her revolt against the occupying Roman forces in Britannia . The Doctor recognised her on sight due to her " very , very red hair . " In order to prevent Boudica from severing the Doctor ' s head , Leela told her that he was a prophet who foresaw her defeat at the hands of the Romans . The Doctor told her that the forces at the Roman capital Camulodunum were a decoy and Roman governor Suetonius Paulinus had stationed an army to the north and intended to attack Boudica ' s army while it was ransacking Camulodunum . However , this was not the case . There was no army to the north . After the burning of Camolundunum , Boudica marched to Londinium and slaughtered almost everyone in the city including the old , the weak and the infirm . She was eventually defeated in a field in the middle of England . Her army may have numbered up to 80 , 000 by this time but the Doctor noted that this figure could have been exaggerated by later historians . There were no survivors . Instead of allowing the Romans to execute her , Boudica killed her daughters before killing herself . The Doctor told Leela that he had no desire to witness Boudica ' s defeat first hand . ( AUDIO : " The Wrath of the Iceni " ) Iris Wildthyme also claimed to have met Boudicca at the siege of Colchester . She also appeared as an extra in a silent film about her . ( AUDIO : " The Elixir of Doom " ) In actuality , two Time Lord s posed as Boudica towards the end of her historical narrative . Shortly after the death of Prasutagas , Fimmilena , posing as Boudica , was badly injured . The Fourth Doctor had Romana I pose as Boudica until Fimmilena had finished healing in the TARDIS . Fimmilena disguised a corpse to make it look like she had died by a poisoned spear . ( PROSE : " Good Queen , Bad Queen , I Queen , You Queen " ) At some point in her life , Boudica was pulled out of her own time by Momus , who wanted her to help lead Planet 12 of the Ridion Alliance into a new age of enlightenment . The Tenth Doctor convinced him to return her to her rightful place in Earth ' s history . ( PROSE : " The Lonely Computer " ) According to Thalius Maximus , the Roman " praefectus " of Byzantium , Gaius Calaphilus had actually been in battle against " Boudica ' s wretched Iceni " . ( PROSE : " Byzantium ! " ) Despite the tragic end history books told of her , she was a heroine of Queen Victoria . ( PROSE : " Human Nature " ) The Tenth Doctor told Martha Jones that she could forget her Bonapartes , her Boadiceas , and her Blackbeard s when introducing her to Baltazar . ( TV : " The Infinite Quest " ) Name . According to John Smith , her true name was " Boudicca " . ( PROSE : " Human Nature " ) although everyone else in Farringham referred to her as " Boadicea " . ( PROSE : " Prelude Human Nature " , PROSE : " Human Nature " ) The Tenth Doctor called her Boadicea ( TV : " The Infinite Quest " ) but was less certain when he met her . When asked if her name was Boudica or Boadicea , she indicated neither was correct . She tried to give him the correct name but Momus interrupted before she could say more than " Bo - " . ( PROSE : " The Lonely Computer " ) She told Leela that her name meant " she who is victorious . " ( AUDIO : " The Wrath of the Iceni " )