Ben first appears in the First Doctor serial, The War Machines, when he meets Polly
and Dodo in a London nightclub called the Inferno. Ben is feeling depressed and angry
because he has a six-month shore posting while his ship is going to the West Indies,
but Polly and Dodo try to cheer him up. When Polly is accosted by another patron
in the Inferno, Ben comes to her rescue. Eventually, Ben and Polly aid the Doctor
in his fight against the rogue artificial intelligence known as WOTAN. They are bearers
of the news of Dodo's decision to stay in 1966 to the Doctor, and accidentally get
carried away in the TARDIS when they try to return Dodo's key to the time machine
Ben is a salt-of-the-Earth kind of fellow, dependable, faithful, but prone to be
suspicious when kept in the dark or not understanding what was going on. He is very
attached to Polly, considering her posh, giving her the nickname of "Duchess" and
appointing himself as both her protector and that of the Doctor's. He is present
with Polly when the First Doctor regenerates into the Second, and continues to travel
with the Second Doctor.
Eventually, the TARDIS finds its way back to 1966 London (in The Faceless Ones) on
the very day Ben and Polly had left (although about a year had passed for them).
They decide to remain behind to resume their lives without disruption as the Doctor
and Jamie travel on.
What happens to Ben after his return to Earth is not known.
