H is for... Habiba, Lois

Lois Habiba was a junior civil servant who was brought onto the 456 project through her boss, Bridget Spears. The 456 were an alien species which had visited the Earth in the 1960's, when they took a number of children away with them. On their return in 2009 they affected every child on Earth. An ambassador was sent, materialising in a special environment chamber constructed at a government building near the Thames in central London. Habiba was one of those allowed access to record the negotiations with the ambassador. The 456 had become addicted to hormones produced by human children, and this time they wanted more than the handful of orphans they were given before. The Torchwood team in Cardiff had been forced to go on the run as Jack had been involved in the 1965 incident, and the government was covering this up - assassinating anyone who had been there at the time. Habiba was approached by Gwen Cooper and asked to help. She gave them information about the facility where Captain Jack was being held so that a rescue mission could be organised. Later she agreed to spy for Torchwood, allowing them to know what was going on with the negotiations. She was given special contact lenses which would allow the team to see what she saw and by taking shorthand notes she could also let them know what was being said.
Her involvement with Torchwood was discovered, and she was imprisoned. In jail she told Spears about the contact lenses so that she could record the Prime Minister saying he was going to blame the Americans for the latest incident. Spears could then force him to resign, and she told Habiba that she would get her released.

Played by: Cush Jumbo. Appearances: TW  Series 3: Children of Earth (2009).

• The character of Lois Habiba was created by Russell T Davies when Freema Agyeman was unable to reprise the role of Martha Jones for Torchwood's third series.