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{{Infobox Individual
{{Infobox Individual
|name= Alice Guppy
|image        = Alice Guppy.jpg
|image= Alice guppy.jpg
|species     = Human
|alias=
|origin       = [[Scotland]]
|species= Human
|affiliation  = Torchwood Two{{!}}Torchwood Glasgow
|origin= [[Earth]]  
|affiliation2 = Torchwood Three{{!}}Torchwood Cardiff
|appearances= [[TV]]: ''[[Fragments (TV story)|Fragments]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[Exit Wounds]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Baby Farmers]]''
|partner      = Emily Holroyd
|first cs    = Fragments (TV story)
|appearances = {{il|[[PROSE]]: {{cs|Diary of Alice Guppy (short story)}}|[[TV]]: {{cs|Exit Wounds (TV story)}}|[[PROSE]]: {{cs|The House That Jack Built (novel)}}|[[PROSE]]: {{cs|Torchwood: The Encyclopedia (reference book)}}|[[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Baby Farmers (short story)}}|[[COMIC]]: {{cs|Hell House (comic story)}}}}
|actor        = Amy Manson
|clip        = Captain Jack Joins Torchwood in the 1800s Fragments Torchwood
}}{{dab page|Alice (disambiguation)}}
'''Alice Guppy''' was a [[Torchwood Three|Torchwood Cardiff]] operative in the late [[19th century|19th]] and early [[20th century|20th centuries]], beginning in [[1898]]. She was in a relationship with fellow Torchwood agent [[Emily Holroyd]], and was part of the team that recruited [[Jack Harkness]].


|actor= Amy Manson
== Biography ==
}}
Born in [[Scotland]], ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Torchwood: The Encyclopedia (reference book)}}) Alice Guppy was an [[orphan]] with a [[criminal]] background. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Baby Farmers (short story)}}) According to one account, Alice was found by the Scottish branch of the [[Torchwood Institute]], [[Torchwood Two]]. However, as they didn't know what to do with her, they shipped her down to [[Cardiff]]. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Risk Assessment (novel)}})
'''Alice Guppy''' worked for [[Torchwood 3|Torchwood Cardiff]] (the future [[Torchwood 3]]) in the late [[Victorian]] era. She was in a relationship with fellow Torchwood agent [[Emily Holroyd]].
 
Another account stated that Alice had no prior affiliation with Torchwood before moving to Cardiff. On [[13 September]] [[1898]], while serving time in [[prison]], Alice signed her official contract of employment for Torchwood as an investigations agent. She had a meeting with the prison [[Governess (Diary of Alice Guppy)|governess]], expecting a reprimand for wounding [[Hailsham (Diary of Alice Guppy)|Miss Hailsham]] in a [[laundry room]] the day prior. Instead, she was informed that if she signed the contract, she would be allowed to go free. Alice wrote in [[Alice Guppy's diary|her diary]] that the position appealed to her as it was "uncommonly well [[salary|paid]]". She considered the requirement to move to [[Cardiff]] a downside, but remarked that Cardiff would be preferable to prison. She wrote that the decision was not difficult and that she signed the contract immediately after reading.
 
The next day, Alice was collected by [[Emily Holroyd]]. The governess warned Emily about Alice's conduct and cast aspersions on her mental fitness, to which Emily did not respond. Taking her to a place to eat, Emily explained the role to Alice, telling her that Cardiff was "beset by strange Creatures" and that Torchwood's mission was to protect [[British Empire|the Empire]] from them. Emily stated that she required a partner after having lost her [[Torchwood operative (Diary of Alice Guppy)|previous one]] to a "mutative infection". Alice inquired as to why she was chosen for the role, to which she was told that her skills as a [[thief]] and her attitude towards [[violence]] would be put to better use in [[espionage]].


== Biography ==
While travelling to Cardiff, Alice stayed at a [[lodging-house]] in [[Bath, England|Bath]].
Alice Guppy was an orphan with a criminal background. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Baby Farmers]]'') She originally lived and worked in [[Scotland]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Risk Assessment]]'') In [[1898]], future partner [[Emily Holroyd]] offered her a pardon in exchange for working for the [[Torchwood Institute]] following the loss of another, male, operative who had also operated out of Cardiff. Holroyd believed that Guppy's willingness to steal and kill could come in useful. ([[WEB]]: ''[[Torchwood website|Torchwood.org.uk]]'')
 
On [[15 September]], Alice arrived at the [[The Hub|headquarters of Torchwood Cardiff]]. In her diary, she described it as "undergound, sprawling and untidy" but "filled with curious and sometimes wondrous equipment". She asked Emily about [[Emily Holroyd's husband|her husband]], to which she responded that her situation was "complex". Not wishing to displease her, Alice did not pry further.
 
[[File:Alice and Emily.jpg|thumb|left|Alice and [[Emily Holroyd|Emily]] after recruiting [[Jack Harkness]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Fragments (TV story)}})]]
In her diary, Alice would write that she found Emily's company "most enjoyable". She also wrote of her delight in her new lodgings. However, she notes that her diary would become less comprehensive from this point onward, with Emily pointing out that any record of her experiences working for Torchwood could compromise the security of the Institute. Alice concludes with her anticipation, yet nervousness, for going on patrol the next night. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Diary of Alice Guppy (short story)}})
 
By [[1899]], Alice and Emily were in a relationship. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Fragments (TV story)}}, [[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Baby Farmers (short story)}}) That same year, the pair were investigating [[Jack Harkness]], believing he may know the whereabouts of [[the Doctor]] after several of his [[drinking den]] conversations were overheard. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Fragments (TV story)}}, [[PROSE]]: {{cs|Captain Jack Transcripts (short story)}}) Alice's involvement in the investigation lasted up to [[6 (number)|six]] [[month]]s, during which Torchwood had discovered [[immortality|he couldn't die]], having been killed [[14 (number)|fourteen]] recorded times.
 
After capturing Jack, Alice and Emily tested the lengths of his immortality, during which Alice shot him in the head. She also interrogated Jack on his knowledge the Doctor, quoting various transcripts of his conversations to him. Confident he did not know where the Doctor was, Alice and Emily agreed to let Jack go under the condition he serve as an uncontracted agent for Torchwood.
 
Alice found Jack attractive but avowed that she found Emily more so. She came into conflict with Jack when he witnessed her cold-bloodedly executing a [[Blowfish (Fragments)|Blowfish alien]] Jack had captured on his first assignment. She was sadistic on several occasions, delighting in assaulting and torturing Jack on first meeting him. When Jack attempted to resign, Alice reminded him that he would need [[currency]] and that Torchwood would treat him as a threat. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Fragments (TV story)}})
 
Around [[1899]], Torchwood received a [[telegram]] from a [[journalist]], [[William Mayhew]], addressed to Emily. Alice attempted to stop Jack from going in her place, however, [[Charles Gaskell]] convinced her to let him go. After Jack went missing, Alice and the rest of Torchwood began investigating the [[HMS Hades|HMS ''Hades'']], the subject of the telegram. They infiltrated and destroyed the former [[warship]] after it was found to be a lab for experimenting on [[alien]]s. Alice later thought about how Jack meeting Mayhew in Emily's place ultimately saved her life. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Baby Farmers (short story)}})
 
[[File:Jack, Alice, Charles.jpg|right|thumb|Alice and [[Charles Gaskell]] interrogate a version of [[Jack Harkness]] from the [[21st century]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Exit Wounds (TV story)}})]]
By noticing energy signals in [[1901]], she discovered a version of Jack from the future buried [[20 (number)|twenty]] [[Foot (unit)|feet]] underground. He had been buried by [[Gray (Adam)|Gray]] and [[John Hart]] in [[27]] [[AD]]. Alice and Charles interrogated Jack, believing him to be the Jack from their relative time. Jack avoided answering her questions and instead asked to be placed in the [[Morgue (Torchwood Hub)|morgue]] and frozen. While Alice struggled to believe him, Jack was nonetheless placed [[suspended animation|cryogenic suspension]] until the [[21st century]] so that he could avoid crossing [[Personal timeline#Jack Harkness|his own timeline]], ([[TV]]: {{cs|Exit Wounds (TV story)}}) per Emily's strict instructions. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Stock Take (short story)}})
 
Alice, alongside Emily and Jack, investigated [[Ravenhall Manor]] in [[1902]] after receiving reports of visions. They attempted to destroy the house, only for it to reappear. The [[Entity (Hell House)|entity]] responsible appeared to have been defeated after Jack used an [[engine]] to contain it. Jack would recall this mission in the [[2000s]] following the entity's return. ([[COMIC]]: {{cs|Hell House (comic story)}})


The pair offered [[Jack Harkness]] a place at Torchwood on discovering that he couldn't die and possibly knew about [[the Doctor]]. Alice found Jack attractive but avowed that she found Emily more so. She came into conflict with Jack when he witnessed her cold-bloodedly executing a [[Blowfish|blowfish alien]] Jack had captured on his first assignment. ([[TV]]: ''[[Fragments (TV story)|Fragments]]'') She was sadistic on several occasions, delighting in assaulting and torturing Jack on first meeting him ([[TV]]: ''[[Fragments (TV story)|Fragments]]''); she may have been deeply mentally unbalanced ([[TV]]: ''[[Exit Wounds]]'').
Alice was still at Torchwood in [[1906]]. On [[17 March]], she wrote an incident report on an "unexplained [[conflagration]]" in [[Penylan]]. She visited the site of the explosion, and wrote that non-contemporaneous material and signs of [[temporal flux]] were found. She questioned Jack regarding the matter, thinking that his [[future|futuristic]] knowledge may bring some insight to the incident. Jack pleaded ignorance, which Alice found hard to believe, writing in the report that he  "lies with such ease". She ended the report noting that no civilians were harmed and that their investigation continued. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The House That Jack Built (novel)}})


Around [[1899]], Alice and the rest of Torchwood infiltrated and destroyed the ''[[HMS Hades]]'' after it was found to be a lab for experimenting on [[alien]]s. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Baby Farmers]]'')
=== Legacy ===
Following her death, Alice's body was kept in the [[Morgue (Torchwood Hub)|morgue]] within the [[Torchwood Hub]]. She was listed as one of the morgue's "permanent residents", kept in bay [[12 (number)|12]]. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Stock Take (short story)}}, {{cs|The Torchwood Archives (novel)}})


By noticing energy signals in [[1901]], she discovered a version of Jack from the future, who had been buried by [[Gray]] and [[John Hart (Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang)|John Hart]] in [[27]] [[AD]]. At his request, she and [[Charles Gaskell]] placed Jack in [[suspended animation|cryogenic suspension]] until [[2009]] so that he could avoid crossing his own timeline. ([[TV]]: ''[[Exit Wounds]]'')
[[Agnes Havisham]] mentioned Alice to [[Gwen Cooper]], describing her as "very bright, serious at the tomb" but that she "couldn't hold a [[teacup]] without crooking her little [[finger]]". ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Risk Assessment (novel)}})


Alice apparently died while in service to Torchwood. As of the early [[21st century]], her body lay in [[cryogenic]] suspension in Bay 12 of the morgue of the [[the Hub|Hub]]. ([[WEB]]: ''[[Torchwood website|Torchwood.org.uk]]'') It is unknown if her body survived the destruction of the Hub in [[2009]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Children of Earth: Day One]]'')
Alice reminded [[Ianto Jones]] of a "strict [[teacher]]" when reading her past incident reports. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The House That Jack Built (novel)}})


== Behind the scenes ==
* A Torchwood agent resembling Alice appears in the [[IDW Publishing]] ''[[Doctor Who]]'' comic, ''[[The Time Machination]]''. However it is unlikely it is her as the story is set in [[1889]] and she joined Torchwood nine years later.
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Latest revision as of 03:55, 22 October 2024

You may wish to consult Alice (disambiguation) for other, similarly-named pages.

Alice Guppy was a Torchwood Cardiff operative in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, beginning in 1898. She was in a relationship with fellow Torchwood agent Emily Holroyd, and was part of the team that recruited Jack Harkness.

Biography[[edit] | [edit source]]

Born in Scotland, (PROSE: Torchwood: The Encyclopedia [+]Loading...["Torchwood: The Encyclopedia (reference book)"]) Alice Guppy was an orphan with a criminal background. (PROSE: The Baby Farmers [+]Loading...["The Baby Farmers (short story)"]) According to one account, Alice was found by the Scottish branch of the Torchwood Institute, Torchwood Two. However, as they didn't know what to do with her, they shipped her down to Cardiff. (PROSE: Risk Assessment [+]Loading...["Risk Assessment (novel)"])

Another account stated that Alice had no prior affiliation with Torchwood before moving to Cardiff. On 13 September 1898, while serving time in prison, Alice signed her official contract of employment for Torchwood as an investigations agent. She had a meeting with the prison governess, expecting a reprimand for wounding Miss Hailsham in a laundry room the day prior. Instead, she was informed that if she signed the contract, she would be allowed to go free. Alice wrote in her diary that the position appealed to her as it was "uncommonly well paid". She considered the requirement to move to Cardiff a downside, but remarked that Cardiff would be preferable to prison. She wrote that the decision was not difficult and that she signed the contract immediately after reading.

The next day, Alice was collected by Emily Holroyd. The governess warned Emily about Alice's conduct and cast aspersions on her mental fitness, to which Emily did not respond. Taking her to a place to eat, Emily explained the role to Alice, telling her that Cardiff was "beset by strange Creatures" and that Torchwood's mission was to protect the Empire from them. Emily stated that she required a partner after having lost her previous one to a "mutative infection". Alice inquired as to why she was chosen for the role, to which she was told that her skills as a thief and her attitude towards violence would be put to better use in espionage.

While travelling to Cardiff, Alice stayed at a lodging-house in Bath.

On 15 September, Alice arrived at the headquarters of Torchwood Cardiff. In her diary, she described it as "undergound, sprawling and untidy" but "filled with curious and sometimes wondrous equipment". She asked Emily about her husband, to which she responded that her situation was "complex". Not wishing to displease her, Alice did not pry further.

Alice and Emily after recruiting Jack Harkness. (TV: Fragments [+]Loading...["Fragments (TV story)"])

In her diary, Alice would write that she found Emily's company "most enjoyable". She also wrote of her delight in her new lodgings. However, she notes that her diary would become less comprehensive from this point onward, with Emily pointing out that any record of her experiences working for Torchwood could compromise the security of the Institute. Alice concludes with her anticipation, yet nervousness, for going on patrol the next night. (PROSE: Diary of Alice Guppy [+]Loading...["Diary of Alice Guppy (short story)"])

By 1899, Alice and Emily were in a relationship. (TV: Fragments [+]Loading...["Fragments (TV story)"], PROSE: The Baby Farmers [+]Loading...["The Baby Farmers (short story)"]) That same year, the pair were investigating Jack Harkness, believing he may know the whereabouts of the Doctor after several of his drinking den conversations were overheard. (TV: Fragments [+]Loading...["Fragments (TV story)"], PROSE: Captain Jack Transcripts [+]Loading...["Captain Jack Transcripts (short story)"]) Alice's involvement in the investigation lasted up to six months, during which Torchwood had discovered he couldn't die, having been killed fourteen recorded times.

After capturing Jack, Alice and Emily tested the lengths of his immortality, during which Alice shot him in the head. She also interrogated Jack on his knowledge the Doctor, quoting various transcripts of his conversations to him. Confident he did not know where the Doctor was, Alice and Emily agreed to let Jack go under the condition he serve as an uncontracted agent for Torchwood.

Alice found Jack attractive but avowed that she found Emily more so. She came into conflict with Jack when he witnessed her cold-bloodedly executing a Blowfish alien Jack had captured on his first assignment. She was sadistic on several occasions, delighting in assaulting and torturing Jack on first meeting him. When Jack attempted to resign, Alice reminded him that he would need currency and that Torchwood would treat him as a threat. (TV: Fragments [+]Loading...["Fragments (TV story)"])

Around 1899, Torchwood received a telegram from a journalist, William Mayhew, addressed to Emily. Alice attempted to stop Jack from going in her place, however, Charles Gaskell convinced her to let him go. After Jack went missing, Alice and the rest of Torchwood began investigating the HMS Hades, the subject of the telegram. They infiltrated and destroyed the former warship after it was found to be a lab for experimenting on aliens. Alice later thought about how Jack meeting Mayhew in Emily's place ultimately saved her life. (PROSE: The Baby Farmers [+]Loading...["The Baby Farmers (short story)"])

Alice and Charles Gaskell interrogate a version of Jack Harkness from the 21st century. (TV: Exit Wounds [+]Loading...["Exit Wounds (TV story)"])

By noticing energy signals in 1901, she discovered a version of Jack from the future buried twenty feet underground. He had been buried by Gray and John Hart in 27 AD. Alice and Charles interrogated Jack, believing him to be the Jack from their relative time. Jack avoided answering her questions and instead asked to be placed in the morgue and frozen. While Alice struggled to believe him, Jack was nonetheless placed cryogenic suspension until the 21st century so that he could avoid crossing his own timeline, (TV: Exit Wounds [+]Loading...["Exit Wounds (TV story)"]) per Emily's strict instructions. (PROSE: Stock Take [+]Loading...["Stock Take (short story)"])

Alice, alongside Emily and Jack, investigated Ravenhall Manor in 1902 after receiving reports of visions. They attempted to destroy the house, only for it to reappear. The entity responsible appeared to have been defeated after Jack used an engine to contain it. Jack would recall this mission in the 2000s following the entity's return. (COMIC: Hell House [+]Loading...["Hell House (comic story)"])

Alice was still at Torchwood in 1906. On 17 March, she wrote an incident report on an "unexplained conflagration" in Penylan. She visited the site of the explosion, and wrote that non-contemporaneous material and signs of temporal flux were found. She questioned Jack regarding the matter, thinking that his futuristic knowledge may bring some insight to the incident. Jack pleaded ignorance, which Alice found hard to believe, writing in the report that he "lies with such ease". She ended the report noting that no civilians were harmed and that their investigation continued. (PROSE: The House That Jack Built [+]Loading...["The House That Jack Built (novel)"])

Legacy[[edit] | [edit source]]

Following her death, Alice's body was kept in the morgue within the Torchwood Hub. She was listed as one of the morgue's "permanent residents", kept in bay 12. (PROSE: Stock Take [+]Loading...["Stock Take (short story)"], The Torchwood Archives [+]Loading...["The Torchwood Archives (novel)"])

Agnes Havisham mentioned Alice to Gwen Cooper, describing her as "very bright, serious at the tomb" but that she "couldn't hold a teacup without crooking her little finger". (PROSE: Risk Assessment [+]Loading...["Risk Assessment (novel)"])

Alice reminded Ianto Jones of a "strict teacher" when reading her past incident reports. (PROSE: The House That Jack Built [+]Loading...["The House That Jack Built (novel)"])