John Harrison was a ruthless businessman who was Chief Public Relations Officer for the reclusive IT entrepreneur Joseph Serf. Serf had not been seen in public for a number of years, following a serious road accident. Everyone was excited when he announced a new laptop computer launch, where he would make a personal appearance. Sarah Jane Smith attended in her capacity as a journalist, and was alarmed to see Serf apparently "glitch" momentarily. Everyone at the launch was amazed at the new laptop, and even Sarah found herself impressed. She managed to get an interview with Serf, which Harrison insisted on attending. She discovered that Serf was merely a complex holographic projection. He had actually been killed in the accident, but Harrison had kept this secret i order to keep the business going. He had bought some captive aliens through the black market in extraterrestrial technology - diminutive cyclopean creatures known as Skullions. He enslaved them and forced them to create and operate the hologram Serf. The new laptop was really very basic, but anyone using it was subjected to a hypnotic field which made them see it as something amazing. Sarah was kidnapped and locked up at the Serf HQ. Clyde and Rani got Mr Smith to analyse the new laptop and saw that it was bogus. They infiltrated Serf HQ for the second part of the launch, posing as IT journalists, whilst Luke and Sky - Sarah's adopted children - managed to discover the area where the Skullions were forced to work.
An SOS was sent out to attract a Skullion spaceship to Earth. It rescued the captives, and they took Harrison with them as their prisoner after he got caught up in their teleport.
Played by: James Dreyfus. Appearances: SJA 5.3 The Man Who Never Was (2011).
- Dreyfus first came to fame opposite Rowan Atkinson in BBC sitcom The Thin Blue Line, which also featured Mina Anwar (who played Rani's mother).
- More recently he has been playing an early incarnation of the Master on audio for Big Finish.
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