Friday 27 March 2020

H is for... Harry (2)


A friend of Shireen, who joined her and Bill Potts in searching for an affordable student house-share in Bristol. Like Bill, he attended St Luke's University in the city. They were joined by some fellow students - Pawel, Felicity and Paul. After some fruitless searches they were approached by a mysterious old man who had a large house to let, at a very low rent. Harry was especially enthusiastic about the property, but the landlord warned him against accessing the house's tower rooms. Like the others, Bill managed to convince him that the Doctor was her grandfather. Harry's own grandfather had once been arrested with his boyfriend after trying to steal a piece of the Great Wall of China.
It soon became apparent why the rent was so cheap, when the students came under attack from huge woodlouse creatures known as Dryads. Harry joined the Doctor in investigating the basement, where they found the personal effects of other groups of students - six at a time every twenty years, going back to 1957. The Dryads attacked once more, and Harry was caught on the wooden staircase and consumed by them. The landlord was feeding the Dryads to keep his terminally ill mother, Eliza, alive. Once the Doctor had convinced her to stop, the house began to disintegrate, and the 2017 students, including Harry, were released.

Played by: Colin Ryan. Appearances: Knock Knock (2017).
  • According to the story's writer, Mike Bartlett, Harry was supposed to have been named after his grandfather - one Harry Sullivan, late of UNIT and one-time travelling companion of the Doctor. Sadly, the scene never made it to the finished programme as it was stupidly felt to be too obscure a reference. It doesn't necessarily follow that Harry Sullivan was gay, and once tried to pinch a bit of the Great Wall, as everyone has two grandfathers, but fans have generally taken this to refer to him.

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