Heather (The Pilot)

Heather
Main aliases:	The Pilot
Species:	Human, Sentient oil
Job:	Student
Place of origin:	Earth
Partner:	Bill Potts
First appearance:	Friend from the Future
Appearances:	TV: A Time For Heroes, The Pilot, The Doctor Falls, COMIC: The Great Shopping Bill, PROSE: Twice Upon A Time
Main actor:	Stephanie Hyam
Main voice actor:	Nicholas Briggs
Behind the scenes video
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You may wish to consult Heather (disambiguation) for other, similarly-named pages.

Heather was a student at St Luke's University in the 2010s. She had a defect in her left iris in the shape of a star. She befriended and developed a mutual crush with canteen assistant Bill Potts. After having become sentient oil, she gave Bill her tears before leaving. (TV: The Pilot)

Eventually, Heather was able to track Bill to a colony ship from Mondas, where she had been converted into a Cyberman. Heather was able to revert Bill to a human form but also turned her into an oil creature like herself. The two decided to see the universe together. (TV: The Doctor Falls)

Biography

Life on Earth

Heather hated St Luke's and everywhere else she went, always feeling an indescribable need to leave or go somewhere else. She attended the Twelfth Doctor's lectures on at least one occasion. (TV: The Pilot)

Pursuing Bill Potts

Heather and Bill meet briefly while in a bar. (TV: The Pilot)

Whilst on campus, Heather discovered a strange oil puddle in a service area behind some buildings. Looking into it, she quickly noticed that the puddle's surface did not reflect mirror images like a normal puddle should. She spotted this easily as a result of the defect in her left eye, which made her face visibly asymmetrical. She became fascinated, but also concerned, with the abnormal properties of the dark liquid; when Bill found her distraught and asked what troubled her, Heather was glad of the chance to show someone else. The two investigated the puddle together. Although Heather was attracted to Bill, her constant desire to leave prevailed and she walked off, much to Bill's disappointment. When the two met again the following term, Heather promised not to leave without Bill, but was unexpectedly absorbed by the puddle before Bill could join her to investigate it again. The liquid merged itself with Heather and designated her as its "pilot".

After her transformation, the combination of Heather's desire to leave and her promise not to go without Bill led her to obsessively hunt Bill across time and space. She wished to take Bill with her as a passenger on her travels. When Bill finally freed Heather from her promise, the oil-creature ceased following her. Heather said a personal goodbye to Bill before she let go, and expressed her liking for her. She cried at their parting and left her tears with Bill so that she would know when Bill was in need.

Bill later voiced regret at having turned down Heather's offer and glanced at the TARDIS when the Doctor stated that it was unlikely they would ever see Heather again, in the hope that they could find her. Though initially reluctant, the Doctor allowed Bill to join him in his travels, noting that they may one day find Heather again. (TV: The Pilot)

Heather checked in on Bill at the Übermarket. (COMIC: The Great Shopping Bill)

At some point the Twelfth Doctor, Bill Potts and Nardole saw a vision of her in a library. (TV: A Time For Heroes)

Saving Bill and the Doctor

Heather and Bill prepare to explore the universe. (TV: The Doctor Falls)

After the Doctor ignited floor 0507 of the Mondasian colony ship to destroy the army of Cybermen fighting for control of the ship, Heather appeared before a cyber-converted Bill Potts who was standing over the Doctor as he lay dying. She then kissed Bill and turned Bill into the same kind of being as herself. Together, they took the Doctor back to his TARDIS, where Heather piloted it. Bill shed a tear on the Doctor's forehead and kissed his cheek. Heather and Bill then departed together, free to explore the universe; though Heather revealed she had the ability to return Bill to being human if she ever changed her mind. (TV: The Doctor Falls)

Life with Bill

After saving Bill, she and Heather travelled the universe together and visited all the places the Twelfth Doctor never got around to showing Bill. Eventually, Bill decided she wanted to try being human again, if Heather was willing to live a human life on Earth with her. They purchased a home, owned many cats, and grew old together. (PROSE: Twice Upon a Time)

At some point, the two "went on a break" from dating so Bill could study at St Luke's University again. Heather predicted the pair would be together again in four months, two weeks and three days. (WC: The Best of Days)

Heather kissed Bill and cried as Bill died of old age, and Bill encouraged Heather to go back out and continue travelling the universe. (PROSE: Twice Upon a Time)

Later references

After the Testimony brought Bill back in the form of a glass avatar made with memories recorded before Bill's death, Bill stated that the last thing she remembered was Heather appearing to save her. However, she could not recall exactly what Heather did to help her nor did she remember how she returned, causing the Twelfth Doctor to conclude that Bill was not real. (TV: Twice Upon a Time) The Testimony eventually provided Bill's full memories back to her, allowing her to remember her complete life with Heather. (PROSE: Twice Upon a Time)

Other realities

Heather seemingly existed, to an extent, in the Daft Dimension. A girl cosplayed as her at Who Con 2017, an elaborate cosplay that involved somebody pouring water over her head from the top of a ladder, which got her in trouble with con staff for causing damage to the venue. (COMIC: The Daft Dimension 512)

Personality

Heather at first came off as a distant and withdrawn girl who had never been satisfied by her simple life on Earth. This was what caused the sentient oil to select her as its "pilot". She was very observant, easily noticing the puddle wasn't reflecting as a normal mirror thanks to the defect in her eye.

Heather was ashamed of the defect in her eye and was sensitive to people talking about it. When Bill suggested that it looked nice, Heather irritably responded: "I'm getting it fixed."

After having been absorbed by the sentient oil, Heather temporarily lost her human personality, and could not communicate, except to mimic the words of others, in much the same way as the puddle had mimicked what it saw. She obsessively hunted Bill Potts across the universe, as her last human thought was her promise not to leave without Bill. The latter eventually managed to talk Heather out of following her. Heather accepted, albeit tearfully. (TV: The Pilot)

When she finally met Bill again, Heather had regained her original personality, in addition to a new-found confidence. She was able to reveal her feelings for Bill and passionately kissed her, joyously informing her that she wasn't dead. She also displayed a greater understanding of her abilities and even knew how to pilot the TARDIS. (TV: The Doctor Falls)

Abilities

After merging with a puddle of sentient oil from an alien spaceship, Heather gained the ability to freely travel through time and space. She first followed Bill from St Luke's University to Sydney, then to a distant alien planet, and finally into the middle of a Dalek-Movellan War. She would usually materialize through a reflective surface such as a mirror or a body of water.

Heather pilots the TARDIS. (TV: The Doctor Falls)

Her body also adopted similar properties to the element of water. She could turn into a small puddle of liquid and control its flow in order to travel through pipes or slide under doors. She would then reform into her human appearance, albeit with water trickling from her body. Heather's water form was apparently indestructible. When a Dalek shot her, the blast simply passed through her and her body reformed seconds later. Her shapeshifting abilities extended to mimicking the appearance of another object or person, such as when she briefly took on the form of the Dalek attacking her before resuming her human shape. (TV: The Pilot)

Heather could also allow other people to become like her through a similar absorption process. She claimed that she could also restore anyone who had undergone the transformation to their original state and transport them back to their own place and time.

Her transformation also enhanced her intelligence considerably. When she met Bill again, she displayed a far greater understanding of the universe and her abilities and was able to fully restore her human form, appearing completely dry again. Much to Bill's surprise, she was also able to pilot the Doctor's TARDIS, explaining to her, "I'm the Pilot, I can fly anything." (TV: The Doctor Falls)

Bill described Heather as omniscient. (WC: The Best of Days)

Behind the scenes

Invalid appearances

If one counts "invalid" stories, Heather's first apperance was technically in Friend from the Future, the mini-episode broadcast to introduce Pearl Mackie as Bill Potts. Friend ends with the Doctor and Bill being cornered by a Dalek. The Pilot features the end of the same sequence, and then reveals that the "Dalek" which has stopped the pair is Heather in disguise.

In the fan-written short story A Star In Her Eye, released as part of The Fan Gallery during the official Doctor Who: Lockdown! event in November 2020, Heather was revealed to have been former Tenth Doctor companion Heather McCrimmon, who appeared exclusively in the Doctor Who Adventures comic strips.