Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill was Prime Minister of Great Britain during World War II.
Profile
Biography
Churchill met the Doctor and Peri during two periods of his life, first in 1899, when he served as a war correspondent and later in the 1930s. (PDA: Players) The Doctor met with him again in 1944. (PDA: The Shadow in the Glass)
At some unknown stage in his life, Momus abducted Churchill from his own time to Belgium in 800 CE. (WC: The Lonely Computer).
At some point in 1940 or 1941[1] he called the Doctor's TARDIS's phone as a Dalek moved towards him. (DW: The Beast Below) When the Doctor got there a month later, in 1941, it was revealed that the Daleks had somehow managed to convince Churchill that they were a manmade superweapon (which Churchill named 'ironsides'). Churchill was initially unsure what to make of such an apparent miracle (which is why he called the Doctor in the first place), but by the time of the Doctor's arrival he was sure he could use them to win the war. The Doctor showed him the true nature of the Daleks and they tried to destroy London, by making it vulnerable to German bombers. The solution to defeating the Daleks lay with Bracewell, so he helped Amy Pond stop him from committing suicide and help them. In the following discussion, he told Bracewell "it's time to think big", giving him the idea to use modified Spitfires. Following the Daleks' escape, the Doctor removed all Bracewell's alien technology Churchill posessed. While he protested that it and the Doctor would win him the war in a day, the Doctor convinced him that he will come through without it and himself. He hugged the Doctor farewell and finally managed to take the TARDIS key he so desired, before Amy noticed and made him give it back. (DW: Victory of the Daleks).
Other Timelines
In an alternate timeline in which Germany won World War II, Churchill was executed as a war criminal. (NA: Timewyrm: Exodus)
References
- The Doctor claimed to have thought up the "blood, sweat and tears" speech for him. (SP: Doctor Who: The Ultimate Adventure, BFA: Doctor Who: The Ultimate Adventure)
- In 2009, then-current Prime Minister Brian Green had a small caricature figure of Churchill in his office. (TW: Children of Earth)
- Harold Saxon was described as "a modern Churchill" by Vivien Rook (DW: The Sound of Drums).
Behind the Scenes
- Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss decided to portray the Doctor and Churchill as old friends in Victory of the Daleks, rather than attempt to portray their first meeting.[2]
- Actor Ian McNeice had previously played Churchill in the Royal National Theatre's 2008 production of Never So Good.
Footnotes
- ↑ Victory of the Daleks is set in 1941, with Churchill's phone call said to have been "a month ago." Though it doesn't seem like January, we don't know for certain.
- ↑ Doctor Who Confidential - "The War Games"
