H is for... Hawthorne, Miss

Miss Olive Hawthorne was a resident of the village of Devil's End who had a keen interest in the occult, being a white witch herself. She became alarmed at proposals to open up a prehistoric burial mound known as the Devil's Hump which lay near the village. An archaeologist named Professor Horner was planning to break into the burial chamber at midnight on Beltane, one of the most important occult feasts. The dig was to be broadcast live on BBC 3. Miss Hawthorne found that no-one would heed her warnings that a great evil would be released if the dig went ahead - the raising of the Devil himself. She tried to get the new vicar, Mister Magister, to support her, but he proved to be a rationalist existentialist, who scorned her beliefs. He was also the disguised Master, come to the village to resurrect a dormant alien Daemon named Azal, whose powers he wanted for himself. The Master used some of the Daemon's powers to cause the local policeman to become hypnotised into attempting to kill her, but she countered his powers with protective spells of her own. Later, the Master had his minion Garvin, the church sexton, abduct her to stop her interfering with the opening of the mound. She was rescued by Sergeant Benton of UNIT the following morning, and took rather a shine to the young man. The Doctor had seen her warnings on TV and had come to the village to stop Horner, but he arrived too late. Miss Hawthorne and he argued repeatedly about their respective beliefs in magic and science. When the Doctor was captured by villagers dressed as Morris Men, Miss Hawthorne saved Benton by striking an attacker with her reticule - which contained her crystal ball. She then helped Benton fool the superstitious villagers into believing that the Doctor was really a mighty wizard. Once the Master had been defeated, and Azal destroyed, the villagers took part in May Day celebrations, dancing around the May Pole. Miss Hawthorne got Benton to join her in the dance.

Played by: Damaris Heyman. Appearances: The Daemons (1971).

• Heyman had a genuine interest in the occult herself. She argued with director Christopher Barry over some aspects of the script, and producer Barry Letts sided with her when he realised she knew what she was talking about.
• The cape she wears in the story was borrowed from her friend, the actress Margaret Rutherford.
• Heyman reprised the role for the 2017 video anthology The White Witch of Devil's End, from Reeltime Pictures.