Victor Hugo was a French writer. (PROSE: Just War, COMIC: The Forgotten)
The Fourth Doctor once brought him to the Catacombs beneath Paris. The incident nearly gave Hugo a heart attack. Afterwards, he changed the entire plot of Les Misérables, which was originally going to be a comedy, at least according to the Tenth Doctor's memories of being the Fourth Doctor. (COMIC: The Forgotten) Victor Hugo wrote Les Misérables in Guernsey. The Doctor told him to change the title, but he wouldn't listen. (PROSE: Just War)
A play based on Les Misérables was popular during the 21st century. (COMIC: Sticks & Stones) The Fifth Doctor told Peri that he kept meaning to see the play version of "Les Mis," and always wondered what Hugo himself would have thought of it. (PROSE: Light at the End of the Tunnel) After the Fifth Doctor and Peri saw the play, he commented that Hugo would have hated it. (PROSE: Black and White)
Behind the scenes[]
In the short story Echo, Ace references The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, saying to the figure in a mirror, "You ain't Quasimodo", meaning he doesn't "ring a bell".