Sergeant Benton never travelled in the TARDIS, but he was associated with the Doctor between The Invasion and The Android Invasion in those adventures in which UNIT were involved.

The Doctor first encountered Benton when trying to prevent an invasion by the Cybermen. At that time he was in his second incarnation, and Corporal Benton was under the command of the then Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart.

Benton appeared again to help the Brigadier and UNIT's recently-appointed scientific advisor, the Third Doctor, tackle a series of alien invasion attempts and several encounters with the Master. Sergeant Benton’s chief qualities were loyalty and trustworthiness. He could sometimes be accused of acting as a typical soldier, shooting first and asking questions later, but that would be unfair. He could often think fast. He was not afraid to put his life on the line for The Doctor or for Jo, and he had a great deal of respect for the Brigadier.

The Doctor last encountered Benton (now promoted to Regimental Sergeant Major) - and his android duplicate - during the Kraal invasion.

Benton is the only Doctor Who character not to have a first name. Several had ONLY a first name. Ace, Vicki for example, but Benton was only ever known as Benton.

John Levene was born as John Anthony Woods on December 24, 1941, in Salisbury, Wiltshire. He was working in a men's clothing store on Regents Street in London when Telly Savalas encouraged him to sign up as an actor for The Dirty Dozen. He failed to get a part, as he was not a union member, but this got him interested in acting. On joining Equity, he adopted the professional name John Levene to avoid confusion with another John Woods who was already registered with the union.

His first acting role was in the television series Adam Adamant Lives!. Other television roles included episodes of Callan (1970), The Adventurer (1972), and the film Go For A Take (1972).

He made an uncredited appearance in Doctor Who as a Cyberman in the 1967 story The Moonbase and as a Yeti in The Web of Fear before making his first appearance as Corporal Benton in The Invasion in 1968. The Web of Fear was, incidentally, the serial that introduced Benton's commanding officer Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Lethbridge-Stewart and UNIT were featured heavily in early 1970s Doctor Who, and the promoted Sergeant Benton also became a regular.

In 1977, following his final appearance on Doctor Who, he gave up acting as a career to set up his own audio visual company, Genesis Communications, and has directed well over 45 audio visuals and live events for various clients including the Ford Motor Company, British Airways, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Amway and Revlon.

He briefly returned to the role of Benton in the 1988 Reeltime Pictures video production Wartime.

He has also worked as an entertainer on cruise liners and has now emigrated to the USA where he has returned to acting under the name John Anthony Blake.

He is married and is the father of two from his previous marriage. His latest acting work was on an independent movie called Cannibalistic. He has also acted on an episode of Big Bad Beetle-Borgs, industrial videos, and has done some voice-over work for Disney and The Queen Mary Hotel, among others.

"Doctor Who" (48 episodes)

The Moonbase: Episode 1 (11 February 1967) - Cyberman (uncredited)
The Web of Fear: Episode 1 (3 February 1968) - Yeti
The Web of Fear: Episode 2 (10 February 1968) - Yeti
The Web of Fear: Episode 4 (21 February 1968) - Yeti
The Web of Fear: Episode 5 (2 March 1968) - Yeti
The Web of Fear: Episode 6 (9 March 1968) - Yeti
The Invasion: Episode 1 (2 November 1968) - Corporal Benton
The Invasion: Episode 6 (7 December 1968) - Corporal Benton
The Invasion: Episode 8 (21 December 1968) - Corporal Benton
The War Games: Episode 1 (19 April 1969) - Yeti (uncredited)
The Ambassadors of Death: Episode 1 (21 March 1970) - Sgt. John Benton
Inferno: Episode 1 (9 May 1970) - Sergeant Benton
Inferno: Episode 2 (16 May 1970) - Sergeant Benton
Inferno: Episode 3 (23 May 1970) - Platoon Under Leader Benton
Inferno: Episode 4 (30 May 1970) - Platoon Under Leader Benton
Inferno: Episode 5 (6 June 1970) - Platoon Under Leader Benton
Inferno: Episode 6 (13 June 1970) - Sergeant Benton
Inferno: Episode 7 (20 June 1970) - Sergeant Benton
Terror of the Autons: Part 1 (2 January 1971) - Sgt. John Benton
The Mind of Evil: Part 1 (30 January 1971) - Sgt. John Benton
The Mind of Evil: Part 2 (6 February 1971) - Sgt. John Benton
The Mind of Evil: Part 4 (20 February 1971) - Sgt. John Benton
The Claws of Axos: Part 1 (13 March 1971) - Sergeant Benton
The Claws of Axos: Part 2 (20 March 1971) - Sergeant Benton
The Claws of Axos: Part 3 (27 March 1971) - Sergeant Benton
The Claws of Axos: Part 4 (3 April 1971) - Sergeant Benton
The Dæmons: Part 1 (22 May 1971) - Sgt. John Benton
Day of the Daleks: Part 1 (1 January 1972) - Sgt. John Benton
Day of the Daleks: Part 2 (8 January 1972) - Sgt. John Benton
Day of the Daleks: Part 4 (22 January 1972) - Sgt. John Benton
The Mutants: Part 1 (8 April 1972) - Sgt. John Benton
The Time Monster: Part 1 (20 May 1972) - Sgt. John Benton
The Three Doctors: Episode 1 (30 December 1972) - Sergeant Benton
The Three Doctors: Episode 2 (6 January 1973) - Sergeant Benton
The Three Doctors: Episode 3 (13 January 1973) - Sergeant Benton
The Three Doctors: Episode 4 (20 January 1973) - Sergeant Benton
The Green Death: Episode 4 (9 June 1973) - Sergeant Benton
The Green Death: Episode 5 (16 June 1973) - Sergeant Benton
The Green Death: Episode 6 (23 June 1973) - Sergeant Benton
Invasion: Part 1 (12 January 1974) - Sgt. John Benton
Invasion of the Dinosaurs: Part 2 (19 January 1974) - Sgt. John Benton
Planet of the Spiders: Part 1 (4 May 1974) - Sgt. John Benton
Robot: Part 1 (28 December 1974) - Sgt. John Benton
Terror of the Zygons: Part 1 (30 August 1975) - RSM Benton
Terror of the Zygons: Part 2 (6 September 1975) - RSM Benton
Terror of the Zygons: Part 3 (13 September 1975) - RSM Benton
Terror of the Zygons: Part 4 (20 September 1975) - RSM Benton
The Android Invasion: Part 1 (22 November 1975) - RSM Benton

Satan Hates You (2007) (pre-production) .... The Reverend Bernie Shanks
Automatons (2006) .... Communications Captain
Planetfall (2005) (voice) .... Angry Videophone Alien
CanniBallistic! (2002) (as John Anthony Blake) .... Bernie Shanks
"Big Bad Beetleborgs" .... Lord T. N. Crumpets (1 episode, 1996)
- Curse of Mums Tomb (1996) TV Episode .... Lord T. N. Crumpets
Wartime (1987) (V) .... Warr. Off. John Benton
Permission to Kill (1975) .... Adams
"Carry on Laughing!" .... Soldier (1 episode, 1975)
- The Baron Outlook (1975) TV Episode (uncredited) .... Soldier
"Whoops Baghdad!" .... Cassan (1 episode, 1973)
- Genie of the Bottle (1973) TV Episode .... Cassan
"The Adventurer" .... Tony (1 episode, 1973)
- I'll Get There Sometime (1973) TV Episode .... Tony
Dark Places (1973) .... Doctor
Go for a Take (1972) .... Assistant Director
"Callan" .... Harold (1 episode, 1972)
- I Never Wanted the Job (1972) TV Episode .... Harold
"The Regiment" (1 episode, 1972)
- The Fortunes of Peace (1972) TV Episode
"The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes" .... Policeman (1 episode, 1971)
- The Affair of the Tortoise (1971) TV Episode .... Policeman
Psychomania (1971) .... Constable
"UFO" .... Interceptor Pilot (1 episode, 1970)
- Close Up (1970) TV Episode .... Interceptor Pilot
"ITV Saturday Night Theatre" .... Ernie (1 episode, 1970)
- Lay Down Your Arms (1970) TV Episode .... Ernie
"Softly Softly" .... Youth (1 episode, 1969)
- A Quantity of Gelignite (1969) TV Episode .... Youth
"Detective" .... Detective (1 episode, 1968)
- Crime of Passion (1968) TV Episode .... Detective
"Z Cars" .... PC / ... (13 episodes, 1967)
- A Litte Bit of Respect: Part 2 (1967) TV Episode (uncredited) .... PC
- It's Easy Once You Know How: Part 2 (1967) TV Episode (uncredited) .... PC
- It's Easy Once You Know How: Part 1 (1967) TV Episode (uncredited) .... PC
- First on the Scene: Part 2 (1967) TV Episode (uncredited) .... Desk Constable
- First on the Scene: Part 1 (1967) TV Episode (uncredited) .... Desk Constable
(8 more)
"Adam Adamant Lives!" .... SS Guard (1 episode, 1967)
- A Sinister Sort of Service (1967) TV Episode (uncredited) .... SS Guard

http://www.geocities.com/c_ibis/levene.html
John Levene's own website. Worth a look.