The Highlanders ( TV story ) The Highlanders — initially introduced as Doctor Who and the Highlanders by the " Next Episode " caption at the end of the previous adventure , " The Power of the Daleks " — was the fourth story of season 4 of " Doctor Who " . It was the last of the " pure historical " genre of " Doctor Who " television stories , which had been a regular feature of the show since its inception , until " Black Orchid " in 1982 . It was also the first appearance of Frazer Hines as companion Jamie McCrimmon , the longest serving male companion in the series ' history . All four episodes are currently missing from the BBC Archives . Synopsis . The time travellers arrive in Scotland just after the Battle of Culloden . The Second Doctor gains the trust of a small band of fleeing Jacobite s by offering to tend to their wounded Laird , Colin McLaren . While Polly and the Laird ' s daughter , Kirsty , are away fetching water , he and the others are all captured by Redcoat troops commanded by Lieutenant Algernon Ffinch . Grey , a crooked solicitor who sells prisoners to slavery for transportation in the West Indies , secures the group into his custody . Polly and Kirsty blackmail Ffinch into helping , and the Doctor wins the day by smuggling arms to the Highlanders who are being held on board a stolen ship , the " Annabelle " . Grey and the ship ' s unscrupulous captain , Trask , are overpowered and the vessel is returned to its rightful owner , Willie Mackay , who agrees to take the rebels to safety in France . The Doctor , Polly and Ben return to the Doctor ' s TARDIS , where they are joined on their travels by the young piper Jamie McCrimmon . Plot . Episode 1 . Members of the clan McLaren , including piper Jamie McCrimmon , flee the battlefield at Culloden Moor in 1746 . The Laird , Colin McLaren , is wounded , and son Alexander and daughter Kirsty McLaren help him . The TARDIS arrives nearby . Ben , Polly and the Doctor emerge . Ben is pleased as he sees that it is Earth and suspects it may be home until he dodges an incoming cannonball . The Doctor wants to leave , but Ben has gone to look around and Polly insists they follow him . Meanwhile , the party of Scots have taken refuge in a ruined cottage . They lament the failure of the battle . Jamie curses the prince , who fled the battle , and is berated by Alexander . They hear something outside and prepare to strike . The Doctor , Ben and Polly are examining a " spiked " cannon . The Doctor sees a Highland bonnet on the ground , tries it on and casts it to the ground . The Scots surround them . Alexander forces the Doctor to pick up the hat . They force the Doctor and his friends inside the cottage . The Doctor realises the hat belongs to Prince Charles Edward , " Bonnie Prince Charlie . " The Jacobite s intend to show no more mercy than the Redcoats as they suspect that they are Englishmen come to steal from the dead . However , when Kirsty hears Polly refer to the Doctor , she begs for them to live long enough to treat her father . With this distraction , Ben steals a gun and points it at the Laird whilst the Doctor disarms them . The Doctor tends to the Laird , sends Kirsty and Polly to fetch water and tells Ben to put down the gun when the Highlanders give their word not to harm them . Ben throws the gun on the table , but it discharges . This draws the attention of a half dozen nearby Redcoats . Algernon Ffinch and his men surround the cottage , but when Alexander emerges , attempting to draw them off , he is shot and killed . The Redcoats enter the hut . They take Ben to be a Highlander , but when he reveals his accent they suspect him to be a deserter and intend to kill him . The Doctor undertakes the guise of a German , " Doktor von Wer " , and speaks with a heavy accent . He says he is waiting for an escort to return him to England . Ffinch is unmoved at Ben ' s insistence that they are prisoners of war . He says rebels are not treated as such and orders them to be hanged . Solicitor Grey and his clerk , Perkins , watch the battle and lament the needless killing of the rebel troops as a " waste of manpower " . In his role as his Majesty ' s Commissioner of Prisons , Grey intends to profit from this rebellion by selling prisoners as slaves in the West Indies . After remonstrating Perkins for serving him corked wine , the two move off to try to " save " some of the Scots . Polly and Kirsty return . They try to cause a diversion by throwing stones at the soldiers . Ffinch follows Kirsty and Polly after recollecting that the prince may be trying to escape disguised as a woman . Kristy and Polly quickly run away from the soldiers . Polly ' s shoes make it hard to keep up with Kristy ' s pace . She discards them and continues on barefoot . The sergeant tries to hang the prisoners with the officer away . The prisoners are on the verge of having their stools kicked away from them but are stopped by Grey and Perkins . Grey bribes the sergeant . The men are released into his charge to be sent to Inverness . Grey rejects the Doctor and the Laird and orders them hanged , but " von Wer " quotes a point of law that convinces Grey to take him , with the Laird under the Doctor ' s care . Kirsty hides Polly and herself in a cave known to her family . Polly searches for valuables they can sell to bribe guards . She realises their friends will be put in gaol . She spots Kirsty ' s gold ring , but Kirsty won ' t allow it to be sold . It belongs to her father , who entrusted it to her . As Polly argues that they would need the money to get to Inverness , Kirsty pulls a knife on her . Polly , frustrated , goes off on her own . Kristy warns her she ' s liable to get lost in the dark . With light fading , Polly walks down a path until she falls into an animal pit . As she struggles to get out of the trap , she ' s confronted by someone above , holding a dagger . Episode 2 . Polly is relieved to find that it is Kirsty , who tries to help Polly out but falls in . Polly climbs on top of Kirsty and tries to get out , but she spots Ffinch and his men searching , forcing them to duck back in . Ffinch decides to stay and berates his men for losing the girls before sending them back for his horse . Polly and Kirsty draw him towards the trap until he falls in , and the women take him prisoner . Kirsty disarms him and threatens to shoot him . At Inverness , the men are thrown into a dank , waterlogged cell . The Doctor tends to the Laird , feeling he will recover , but must use a bit of trickery to convince his 18th century friends that he knows what he ' s doing as they insist on blood - letting . The Doctor discovers that the Laird is wearing ( and protecting ) the Prince ' s standard . The Doctor takes charge of it , saying both that he won ' t escape the gallows with that found on him and that it ' s very nice and warm . He incites the prisoners to sing a rebel dirge , then uses his German persona to convince the guard to let him out , claiming they sung the song to incite him and saying he has news of a plot to kill the Duke of Cumberland . The prisoners turn on him but Ben sticks up for him ; however , he worries about how high the water level will rise in their cell , pointing to a watermark near the ceiling . Kirsty and Polly have taken twenty guineas from Ffinch . Finding his credentials , they threaten to discredit him with his identity disc in case they need an ally in the colonel of the Redcoats . They take a lock of his hair and leave him . At the Sea Eagle , Grey orders Captain Trask and his men to load their cargo and the prisoners aboard Trask ' s ship , the " Annabelle " . The Doctor is brought before Grey , who pulls a gun to protect himself before dismissing Trask and Perkins . The Doctor admits the reason he wanted to see Grey was to show him the Prince ' s standard so as to split the reward for the prince ' s capture . Suddenly , the Doctor throws the flag over Grey , disarms him and locks him , bound and gagged , in a closet . When Perkins arrives , the Doctor convinces him he ' s ill and prescribes rest at the solicitor ' s desk for at least an hour ; he blindfolds him and insists that the knocking and moaning noises he hears are only in his mind . Ffinch is delighted when the sergeant finally arrives but enraged when the sergeant exploits the situation by refusing to help Ffinch escape the pit unless paid . Ffinch offers money — then realises the women took it all . He promises payment when they return to Inverness . Trask returns to find Perkins and release Grey . They go to seek out the Doctor . The Doctor , meanwhile , has hidden himself in the Sea Eagle ' s scullery . He disguises himself as an old crone . Trask takes his next lot of prisoners and selects Jamie , Ben and the Laird on a rowboat to be taken to the " Annabelle " . They are led past the Doctor , who sees where they are being taken . They are led to an underground canal where they are boarded onto a rowboat . The Doctor distracts a guard with food to get to the trap door through which the prisoners were herded . As the prisoners approach the " Annabelle " , Trask orders a bound man to be thrown over the side and allowed to drown . That ' s the only way they ' ll ever get off the " Annabelle " , warns Trask . Episode 3 . Ben , Jamie and the Laird are shoved into the " Annabelle " s hold . A rebel prisoner threatens Ben , suspecting him to be an English spy , but the Laird vouches for him . The man , Willie Mackay , recognises the Laird and says any friend of the Laird is a friend of his . Mackay says he is the true captain of the " Annabelle " , having been betrayed by Trask . Ben works out that they are to become slave labourers . Polly and Kirsty hide in a barn near Inverness . Kirsty has gone out to collect items of use whilst Polly watches the place at gun point . When Kirsty returns she comes with dresses and oranges as Polly ' s plan is to pass as orange sellers to get themselves nearer to the soldiers . Ffinch arrives at the Sea Eagle ' s dining room , exhausted and humiliated . The Doctor is there , still disguised . Polly and Kirsty are brought to see the lieutenant , wading through the soldiers ' roving hands . The sergeant suspects these are the women they were chasing , but Ffinch is forced to confirm they are simply " old friends " as they surreptitiously threaten him . The sergeant dismisses his soldiers , and the three speak freely . Ffinch reluctantly tells the women about Grey . When Perkins enters , Ffinch directs him to them . The Doctor is unable to alert his friends to his presence . Solicitor Grey addresses the prisoners . They have three choices : one , become witnesses — or traitors ; two , be hanged if they don ' t wish to turn King ' s evidence ; three , sign seven - year contracts as plantation workers in the West Indies . Mackay warns the others against signing , saying they will not survive seven years . The others eventually come forward to sign , while Ben , Jamie , McLaren and Mackay hold back . Ben seemingly changes his mind and asks to sign . Under the guise of " reading it first " , he tears up the contracts . Trask breaks out his whip , knocking Ben unconscious . Grey orders Ben clapped in irons . Grey goes off to have new contracts drawn up . Polly and Kirsty are " entertained " by Perkins while waiting for Grey . They grow uneasy and try to leave , but Perkins threatens them , and they stay as Perkins offers a game of whist . An old woman offers herself as their fourth . It is the Doctor with Grey ' s pistol in his hand . The Doctor threatens Perkins and explains he is not to leave . As the game starts , Grey arrives to witness this strange scene . He impatiently calls Perkins away and leaves . The Doctor insists that " we girls " leave first , ordering Perkins to wait for ten minutes or experience more symptoms of his " illness " . Perkins , fearful of being shot , complies . Polly and Kirsty take the Doctor back to the barn . He reveals that the gun is not loaded , citing his dislike of weapons . The Doctor explains that Ben is on a ship . Polly wants to make a plan , but the Doctor wants to sleep . Polly drags an idea out of him : use the money they ' ve stolen to buy weapons from the British soldiers and smuggle them aboard the " Annabelle " . Meanwhile , Grey and Perkins return to the " Annabelle " with three fresh sets of contracts . Grey orders Trask to ensure that all prisoners sign the contracts . When Trask says he ' ll use the whip , Grey orders that he is to treat them mercifully until they arrive safely in Barbados . Regarding Ben , he orders a ducking and for him to be brought on deck . The women return to the barn . They have had little luck getting weapons , their haul consisting of a broken sword , a pitchfork and a couple of knives . The Doctor returns with a wheelbarrow full of swords , musket s and pistol s . He spots the ring on Kirsty ' s hand and recognises it as the prince ' s . Kirsty confirms that her father saved the prince ' s life . She is finally willing to part with it , and the Doctor intends to use it to save her father ' s life as " bait for a very greedy man " . That night , Ben , completely bound , is tossed overboard the " Annabelle " . Episode 4 . Trask pulls up the rope . Ben is no longer attached to it . He emerges from the water on the other side of the ship and swims through the freezing water . Exhausted , he makes it to shore , only to find a musket pointed at him . Fortunately for him , the Redcoat at the other end of it is the Doctor . He takes Ben to safety but not before alerting him to the rowboat full of weapons . Grey tells Trask to set sail tomorrow with his cargo . Trask questions Grey ' s authority but is soon overruled . Ben tells his friends about his escape , and they put their plan into action . The Doctor will return to the ship , rowed by Ben . While the Doctor distracts Grey and the crew , Ben will deliver the weapons to the prisoners in the hold . Polly and Kirsty insist on going along , so the Doctor gives Ben a different job . Meanwhile , Mackay laments their brothers ' playing into Grey ' s hands , and the Laird , seemingly resigned to death , longs to see his daughter Kirsty one more time . Preparing to go ashore , Grey is surprised when Trask enters with the Doctor in his grasp . The Doctor presents the prince ' s ring and claims he got it from the prince himself , who is , at this moment , in prison . The Doctor tries to strike a deal for his whereabouts asking for 10 , 000 guinea s . Meanwhile , Polly and Kirsty row out and find access to the hold . Kirsty whispers to her father and delivers the arms to him . Grey agrees to the Doctor ' s demands , and the Doctor claims the prince is in the hold of the ship . He claims the piper , Jamie , is the prince . They all go to the hold to see for themselves . They make their way quietly , and the Doctor points out Jamie at the far end . As they make their way over to the figure , the Laird lets out a battle cry . All the prisoners are up , and the fight begins . The captors storm the deck . Most sailors are quickly taken , but Mackay and Trask fight . Both men are wounded , but Trask escapes from Mackay out of the hold . Up top , the fight continues : Ben , who was prepared for such an attack , confronts Trask and is almost killed , but Jamie saves him by cutting a rope and swinging it into Trask , knocking him to the ground . Jamie fights Trask until Trask is forced over the side . Mackay takes command of the ship and bids his newly established crewmen to make ready to leave for France . The Doctor , his friends and Grey pile onto the rowboat where Kirsty is reunited with her father , and the Doctor and Ben are reunited with Polly . Perkins begs to be allowed to accompany the Scots to France , to which Mackay agrees . Back on the dock , Ben and Polly watch the ship disappear . The travellers and Jamie intend to use Grey as a way of evading the Redcoats whilst returning to the TARDIS . Redcoats come snooping along the quayside , and they duck into a boathouse . Grey cries out , and the Doctor , Ben and Jamie must fight the Redcoats . They win , but Grey escapes . They realise they ' ll have to find another " ally " to help them . They head to the Sea Eagle , where they find Lieutenant Ffinch . The Doctor uses the ruse of the prince ' s ring to extract Ffinch from a colonel , with whom Ffinch has been drafted to play whist . Polly produces Ffinch ' s identity disc to ensure his cooperation . The next morning , they are back at the cottage where they were captured . Ffinch is now on their side , having heard the tale of Solicitor Grey . Suddenly , they are surrounded by Redcoats led by Grey , who congratulates Ffinch on capturing the rebels . As Grey threatens them , Ffinch silences him , claiming he is a villain . Grey argues that he has done nothing wrong : the prisoners signed contracts and it is thus perfectly legal . He reaches for the contracts in his coat pocket , but they are gone . The Doctor , Jamie and Ben deny their existence . Ffinch has Grey arrested , gagged and marched to Inverness prison . Once Ffinch has gone , with a kiss from Polly , the Doctor produces the contracts from his pocket . Encouraged by Polly , the Doctor asks Jamie to join them on the TARDIS . He agrees as long as Jamie teaches him the bagpipes . They all leave in the TARDIS . Home video and audio releases . DVD release . No complete episodes from this story survive . Existing " censor " clips from Episode 1 were released on the " Lost in Time " boxset .