Crossword Genius

Doctor protects a witness (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

spectator

'witness' is the definition.
(I know that witness can be written as spectator)

'doctor protects a' is the wordplay.
'doctor' indicates anagramming the letters.
'protects'+'a'='protectsa'
'protectsa' is an anagram of 'SPECTATOR'.

(Other definitions for spectator that I've seen before include "One watching a game" , "one found at ground?" , "weekly publication" , "given weekly inspection?" , "fan" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent and The Hindu.
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