Danny Pink
Rupert Daniel Pink, better known as Danny, was a teacher at Coal Hill School and boyfriend of Clara Oswald.
A sergeant in the British Army before he accidentally killed a boy, Danny did not get on well with the Twelfth Doctor, which was a source of conflict for Clara. Whilst he was unhappy with Clara for not sharing her stories of her adventures in the TARDIS with him, he once shared an adventure with the Doctor and accepted Clara's lifestyle despite not having the inclination to do so himself, preferring to appreciate his everyday life.
Danny was hit by a car and uploaded to the Nethersphere before becoming a 3W Cyberman. He had Clara remove his emotions and sacrificed himself to thwart Missy's plan, giving up his chance to return to life to instead allow the boy he killed to be returned to life.
Biography
Childhood
Rupert Daniel Pink was an orphan (WC: Fear Is a Superpower [+]Loading...["Fear Is a Superpower (webcast)"]) and was living at the West Country Children's Home in Gloucester by the mid-1990s. His bedroom had only one chair, meaning that he had to sit on his bed when he had a visitor, and he played with toys belonging to the home, including a collection of toy soldiers. One of the toy soldiers, a broken one without a gun, he named Dan the Soldier Man. He thought that his own first name was "stupid" and planned on changing it.
Rupert sometimes heard noises which scared him and, one night, had a nightmare of a hand under his bed grabbing his foot. Unable to sleep, he spotted Clara Oswald through his window and she joined him, attempting to allay his fears by placing the toy soldiers around his bed to protect him and showing him that nobody was under the bed. However, a figure sat on his bed with his bedspread over their head and frightened them and the Twelfth Doctor when he arrived. The three of them turned their backs on the figure until they left and the Doctor then put Rupert to sleep, scrambling his memory and giving him a dream about being Dan the Soldier Man. (TV: Listen [+]Loading...["Listen (TV story)"])
Despite this, Rupert had a dream about a monster being under his bed which the Doctor and Clara made go away and he remembered the Doctor telling him that "fear is a superpower". These words deeply affected him and he awoke the next morning feeling that he was Dan the Soldier Man. (WC: Fear Is a Superpower [+]Loading...["Fear Is a Superpower (webcast)"]) He went on to change his name to Danny and gained a family. (TV: Listen [+]Loading...["Listen (TV story)"])
Military career
Believing that there was more to modern soldiering that simply shooting people and that there was a moral dimension, Danny joined the British Army (TV: Into the Dalek [+]Loading...["Into the Dalek (TV story)"]) and became a sergeant. He served five years in both the United Kingdom and Afghanistan (TV: The Caretaker [+]Loading...["The Caretaker (TV story)"]) and also fought in Iraq. (AUDIO: War Wounds [+]Loading...["War Wounds (audio story)"]) As well as fighting, he performed a number of humanitarian tasks and dug twenty-three wells in total, saving whole villages, (TV: Listen [+]Loading...["Listen (TV story)"]) and loved his time in the army. (TV: Kill the Moon [+]Loading...["Kill the Moon (TV story)"])
Danny served under men who pushed people to make them stronger, leading them to do things that they did not think that they could do and overcome fear in situations where they ought to have been afraid. He knew what it was liked to be pushed too far (TV: The Caretaker [+]Loading...["The Caretaker (TV story)"]) and forgot the Twelfth Doctor's message that fear was a superpower, becoming angry rather than afraid. Because of this, (WC: Fear Is a Superpower [+]Loading...["Fear Is a Superpower (webcast)"]) he accidentally killed a boy in the Middle East (TV: Dark Water [+]Loading...["Dark Water (TV story)"]) on what he would later call a "bad day" which led to him leaving the army, having lost his love for it. (TV: Kill the Moon [+]Loading...["Kill the Moon (TV story)"])
Danny retreated back to civillian life (WC: Fear Is a Superpower [+]Loading...["Fear Is a Superpower (webcast)"]) and realised how surviving in the army without putting much effort into it had led him to take everyday things for granted. He decided to spend his time seeing the things in his life more clearly rather than striving to see new things (TV: In the Forest of the Night [+]Loading...["In the Forest of the Night (TV story)"]) and became a teacher. (TV: Into the Dalek [+]Loading...["Into the Dalek (TV story)"])
Coal Hill School
Early days
In the mid-2010s, Danny started working as a mathematics teacher at Coal Hill School (TV: Into the Dalek [+]Loading...["Into the Dalek (TV story)"]) and was afraid of letting his students down. (WC: Fear Is a Superpower [+]Loading...["Fear Is a Superpower (webcast)"]) He set up the Coal Hill Cadets to teach children the moral dimension of soldiering and attempted to avoid answering his students' questions about his time in the army, but cried when Fleming asked him if he had ever killed somebody who was not a soldier. The school secretary was attracted to him and Frank Armitage believed that he was a "lady-killer". (TV: Into the Dalek [+]Loading...["Into the Dalek (TV story)"]) Because of his experience in the army, he was able to help caretaker Atif Basra with a few tasks. (TV: The Caretaker [+]Loading...["The Caretaker (TV story)"])
Mr Armitage introduced Danny to Clara Oswald in the staff room (TV: Into the Dalek [+]Loading...["Into the Dalek (TV story)"]) and Danny felt that she was familiar, although he did not know why. (WC: Fear Is a Superpower [+]Loading...["Fear Is a Superpower (webcast)"]) Although he was attracted to her, he declined to join her in going to Kathy's retirement party and immediately regretted his decision, agreeing to take her out for a drink at some point instead. He thought that she might have a rule against soldiers, however, and was uncertain that they were actually going out until she confirmed that she was serious. (TV: Into the Dalek [+]Loading...["Into the Dalek (TV story)"]) He was occupied with "family stuff" for a while and thus unavailable to go out with Clara for a drink for some time.
Danny and Clara eventually went on a date to a restaurant, (TV: Listen [+]Loading...["Listen (TV story)"]) the name of which he would later forget, (TV: Dark Water [+]Loading...["Dark Water (TV story)"]) and enjoyed talking about how much trouble Courtney Woods was. He was offended by a joke Clara made about him being a soldier and she left after she felt that he was making assumptions about her. They both apologised once she returned, but Danny thought that she was making fun of him when she accidentally called him "Rupert" and when he noticed she was missing her coat. Clara later visited him at his flat and, after apologising again, they kissed. (TV: Listen [+]Loading...["Listen (TV story)"])
Dating Clara
In a classroom, Danny invited Clara on their second date that evening and almost kissed her before a student entered. They went for dinner, although Clara had alredy eaten aboard the TARDIS (TV: Time Heist [+]Loading...["Time Heist (TV story)"]) and as a result had to eat two meals. On later dates, she met him at a pub with an inexplicable tan, joined him wet in a taxi with seaweed in her hair and once had a space helmet on. Because of her always seeming to be in a hurry or in a state, he felt that she was trying to be mysterious. Although they attempted to keep their relationship a secret, it was common knowledge at school. (TV: The Caretaker [+]Loading...["The Caretaker (TV story)"]) He once leant Clara a broomstick which she used to make a placard and she later decided to give him a cake that she had made for the Twelfth Doctor with the explanation that it was because he had been nice. (PROSE: The Blood Cell [+]Loading...["The Blood Cell (novel)"])
Danny was suspicious of the Doctor when he posed as the new caretaker because of his unusual behaviour and him winking at Clara despite her claiming not to know him. He also failed to dispel the Doctor's assumption that his army experience meant that he was a PE teacher rather than a mathematics teacher and inadvertently ruined his plan to get rid of a Skovox Blitzer when he removed one of his hidden chronodyne generator. Going to confront the Doctor, Danny encountered the Skovox Blitzer and learnt about Clara's travels in the TARDIS, after which he helped defeat the Skovox Blitzer. However, Danny did not like the Doctor because of him behaving like an officer, asking Clara to tell him if he ever pushed her too far, and the Doctor disliked Danny because he was once a soldier. (TV: The Caretaker [+]Loading...["The Caretaker (TV story)"])
Whilst Clara was away, Danny came across the TARDIS in the stationery cupboard and was whisked away to an alien jungle where he was injured by a blast in an airstrike. He was taken to Irena Reagan's medibase where the Doctor saved his life by operating on him and Reagan gave him medication for the pain. He recognised Yesath Uzeg's fear when she was recognised by Nurse Toria and followed her when she attempted to leave, calling for help when she collapsed and later working with the Doctor and Reagan to keep her from being imprisoned due to her former affiliation. Danny impressed the Doctor by choosing not to use a pulse rifle, but the Doctor forgot about the adventure due to the pain medication not being meant for Time Lords. (AUDIO: War Wounds [+]Loading...["War Wounds (audio story)"])
Danny was able to tell that the Doctor had pushed Clara too far when he found her in a classroom after her visit to the Moon in 2049. After she told him how the Doctor had abandoned her to make a difficult decision and that she was finished with him, Danny told her to wait until she had calmed down to make that decision as she reminded him of how he felt when leaving the army. He suggested that she first tell the Doctor of her decision and then tell him. (TV: Kill the Moon [+]Loading...["Kill the Moon (TV story)"])
Danny received a call from Clara whilst she was on the Orient Express spacecraft and advised her to enjoy what she called her "last hurrah", reminding her that she did not need to cut ties with the Doctor entirely given that they still got on. He called her later on and she lied to him by saying that she had finished with the Doctor. In truth, she had changed her mind and lied to the Doctor by claiming that Danny had been the one to suggest that they stop travelling together. (TV: Mummy on the Orient Express [+]Loading...["Mummy on the Orient Express (TV story)"])
Danny reserved his and Clara's designated park bench for lunch and called her when she failed to show up. She lied by omission by claiming that she was helping Rigsy find his missing aunt, leaving out the fact that she was still travelling in the TARDIS and that she and Rigsy were being attacked by the Boneless. He was confused and concerned by what he heard over the telephone and attempted to call her later on, but she selected the "I'm in a meeting" text option as she was speaking with the Doctor. (TV: Flatline [+]Loading...["Flatline (TV story)"])
Danny and Clara took the Coal Hill Year 8 Gifted and Talented Group on a camping trip to London Zoological Museum and, in the morning, they found that trees had grown all over the world overnight. After Maebh Arden ran to the TARDIS, Danny helped lead the group there to collect her and found Clara's marking inside the ship, exposing her lie that she had not seen the Doctor in several months. Although he was offered the chance to watch the trees protect the Earth from a solar flare from space, he turned it down in favour of getting the class home and asked that Clara tell him the truth once she had had a think. (TV: In the Forest of the Night [+]Loading...["In the Forest of the Night (TV story)"])
The Nethersphere
Whilst Danny was on his way to Clara's flat for her to tell him the truth about her continued adventures in the TARDIS, Clara called him to instead have the conversation over the telephone. He was crossing a road when he was hit by a vehicle and died, his mobile phone getting found by a woman who told Clara that he had been hit by a car which "came out of nowhere". (TV: Dark Water) According to another account, he was hit by a milk float driven by Missy. (PROSE: Dismemberment)
Danny's consciousness was uploaded to the Nethersphere, where he was welcomed by Seb, who arranged for him to meet the boy that he killed. He apologised to him and attempted to touch his hand, but he recoiled and ran away. He then got a call from Clara and, to keep her from joining him in the Nethersphere, chose not to try to confirm his identity and told her only that he loved her, getting her to end the call. Seb offered him the chance to rid himself of his emotions by pressing "delete" on a tablet, which Danny considered (TV: Dark Water) but chose not to do. (TV: Death in Heaven)
Conversion and death
When Missy enacted her plan, Danny's mind was returned to his body, which had been converted into a Cyberman by Missy's cyber-pollen. Awakening at Chaplet Funeral Home, he went to 3W and knocked Clara out before destroying three Cybermen who were interrogating her and taking her to a graveyard. He was angered when she referred to the Doctor as the one man that she would never lie to and pointed his gun at her, but he instead removed his faceplate and revealed his identity to her, asking her to switch on his emotional inhibitor.
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The Doctor gave his sonic screwdriver to Clara to activate Danny's inhibitor so that he could access the Cybermen's hive mind and discover their plans. Danny did not harm Clara upon losing his emotions due to, as the Doctor put it, love being a promise rather than an emotion and he revealed that the cyber-pollen would fall again. The Doctor gave him Missy's control bracelet and he used it to lead the Cybermen into the skies to self-destruct and burn up the clouds containing the pollen, saving the human race. (TV: Death in Heaven) As he did so, he remembered his dream about being told that being scared was a superpower. (WC: Fear Is a Superpower)
The Nethersphere deteriorated and, two weeks after his death, Danny used the bracelet to create a portal to Clara's flat and told her that there was only enough power for one trip. He sent through the boy that he killed and asked her to find his parents, apologising to her but saying that he had promises to keep. (TV: Death in Heaven)
Legacy
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Some time after Danny's death, Clara entered a dream crab induced dream where Danny woke her up on Christmas morning dressed as Santa Claus and they spent the day together. The Doctor entered the dream and told Clara that Danny and everything else around her was "anaesthetic" keeping Clara happy while her brain was slowly being eaten and dissolved by the dream crab. Clara said she missed Danny, and Danny told her to miss him for five minutes of every day, while she got "the hell on with it" the rest of the time. He said that this Christmas they had together was their "last Christmas", an "extra", and it was time for Clara to wake up. Clara kissed Danny and she awoke from that layer of the dream. (TV: Last Christmas)
When Clara was asked out by a firefighter called Sam during the Hyperion Invasion, she declined, stating that she had "lost someone". (COMIC: The Hyperion Empire)
While on the planet known as Unnamed BX-4, the sentient computer system known as the Jungle used Clara's memories to take on Danny's image as an organic avatar to gain Clara's trust. When Clara realised what was happening, she slapped the avatar for using the image of her dead boyfriend to befriend her. (COMIC: Spirits of the Jungle)
After two days of solitude courtesy of Matthew Hopkins, Clara experienced a hallucination of Danny brought on by her insomnia. She would also raise funding to have an IT Suite constructed at Coal Hill School in his honour. (COMIC: Witch Hunt)
The name "Pink. R. D." appeared on a list of both dead and missing staff and students at the renovated Coal Hill Academy. (TV: For Tonight We Might Die)
Relationship with the Doctor
The Twelfth Doctor, at least initially, did not respect Danny Pink very much. He refused to acknowledge or remember that Danny taught maths, evidently not believing in his intellect, and instead frequently referred to him as a PE teacher. Danny, on the other hand, was initially jealous of the time Clara spent with the Doctor, but later started to respect the Time Lord. (TV: The Caretaker) On one occasion, Danny compared the Doctor to a general. However, while he pointed out that the Doctor was willing to use him to find out Missy's plans even if it meant sacrificing Danny's humanity, Danny also acknowledged that the Doctor was right in that he needed the information. When the Doctor realised he was just "an idiot in a box", he referred to Danny's calling him an officer as he proclaimed that he was just an idiot who wanted to help before he gave Danny control over the Cyberman army, recognising his love for Clara. After Danny's sacrifice to save the world, the Doctor grew to respect Danny, finally calling him by name and giving Clara the chance to be with him when he thought Danny had returned. (TV: Death in Heaven)
Other references
Colonel Orson Pink, a time traveller who was originally from the 22nd century, bore a striking resemblance to Danny. When Orson took off his helmet, Clara thought it was Danny. According to "silly stories" told about one of Orson's great-grandparents, time travel ran in the family. (TV: Listen) According to the Twelfth Doctor, even though they had the same surname, Orson "[did]n't look anything like" Danny. Clara claimed that he looked "very like him". The Doctor responded, "Does he? I dunno. Who remembers a PE teacher?" (TV: The Caretaker)
At some point, Danny taught Clara self-defence. (PROSE: Deep Time)
While facing incoming death by the Quantum Shade, Clara Oswald said she would "die right", the way Danny Pink did. (TV: Face the Raven)
Appearance
Danny was a tall and handsome man. He had brown hair and brown eyes. After his conversion into a Cyberman, he had Cyber-technology implanted into his cheeks and his eyes were swollen and bruised from the physical trauma of being converted.[source needed]
Behind the scenes
In the script of Into the Dalek, Danny Pink was initially described thus; "Late twenties, a strapping big lad, handsome."
External links
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