Andrew Harper

Andrew Harper was a graduate engineering student. He made ends meet as a waiter at the Red Fern Inn in Stockbridge, England. There he met and had a romance with Nyssa. He was certainly the first man she'd ever kissed, and likely the man to whom she lost her virginity.

The two met when the Doctor decided to take a cricketing holiday in Stockbridge. Uninterested in the sport, Nyssa used the time to write a novel. To that end, she spent most of the holiday alone at the Red Fern. At first hesitant to interrupt her, Andrew's curiosity led to conversation and romantic attraction. The two discussed the possibility of her leaving the Doctor for a quiet life in Stockbridge. Though she was the one to suggest the idea, Nyssa feared he wouldn't be so attracted to her if she was just a barmaid at the Red Fern. Despite this misgiving, she wanted him to ask her to leave her life of travel in the TARDIS. Ultimately, he didn't.

After apparently spending at least one night together, Nyssa ended the relationship. The romance failed, she reasoned, because he lacked the ability to plan more than a day ahead, while she was all too aware of how complicated the passage of time could be. After she returned to the Doctor's side, he discovered that she'd left behind her finished manuscript for him alone to read. (BFA: Autumn)

The awkward end to the relationship made Nyssa reluctant to return to Stockbridge during the time Andrew would plausibly inhabit the village. (BFA: Castle of Fear) Nevertheless, when the Doctor accidentally landed there in the early 21st century, Nyssa did unsuccessfully try to find him. (BFA: The Eternal Summer)

Behind the scenes

• Andrew's last name was originally given as 'Whittaker' in Circular Time, but seems to have mysteriously changed to 'Harper' in The Eternal Summer.