21st century London
21st century London was home to a number of the Doctor's friends and allies, including Rose Tyler, (TV: Rose) Donna Noble, (TV: Planet of the Ood) Sarah Jane Smith, (TV: Invasion of the Bane) and Clara Oswald. (TV: The Zygon Invasion)
The Tenth Doctor believed London to be the "most exciting city in the world", (AUDIO: Technophobia) while the Twelfth Doctor, conversely, thought it was "a dump". (TV: The Zygon Inversion)
Overview
The early 21st century saw frequent and high-profile alien attacks across London. These included the Slitheen invasion, (TV: Aliens of London) the Battle of Canary Wharf, (TV: Doomsday) the Racnoss invasion, (TV: The Runaway Bride) the Royal Hope incident, (TV: Smith and Jones) the Titanic Incident, (TV: Voyage of the Damned) the March of the Adipose, (TV: Partners in Crime) the Dalek Invasion of Earth, (TV: The Stolen Earth) the Year of the Slow Invasion, (TV: The Power of Three) and the Monk invasion. (TV: The Lie of the Land) According to some accounts, the early 21st century was when London, along with the rest of Earth, learned that extraterrestrial life existed. (TV: The Christmas Invasion) However, many events were later dismissed, (AUDIO: SOS, AUDIO: Hysteria) erased from time, (TV: Victory of the Daleks, TV: The Pandorica Opens) or simply forgotten. (TV: The Lie of the Land)
Official organisations, including UNIT (TV: The Day of the Doctor) and Torchwood operated within the city. (TV: Army of Ghosts) In the wake of numerous alien incursions, independent groups of defenders also stepped up to keep London safe while the Doctor was elsewhere; these defenders included the Bannerman Road gang, based in Ealing, (TV: Revenge of the Slitheen, PROSE: Day of the Clown) the Coal Hill defenders, based in Shoreditch. (TV: For Tonight We Might Die) and the K9 Unit. (TV: The Bounty Hunter)
The city hosted the London 2012 Olympic Games. (TV: Fear Her)
Society
Government
As the capital, London was the home to the British monarchy, who resided at Buckingham Palace. (TV: Voyage of the Damned) The British government was based in London and met in the Houses of Parliament. (TV: Aliens of London)
Economy
to be added
Culture
to be added
Transport
It was typical to travel by car. (TV: The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky)
Red double decker buses were a common sight on London's streets. (TV: Rose, TV: Army of Ghosts, TV: Planet of the Dead) The Number 6 stopped at Coal Hill, Fenn Street and Hob's End. (COMIC: The Fractures) The 27 stopped at Camden Road and Baker Street. (AUDIO: Lost Property) The 55 stopped at Clerkenwell Road, Hackney and Oxford Circus. (TV: Nightvisiting) The 139 stopped at Baker Street, Church Street Market, Frampton Street and Golders Green. (AUDIO: Must-See TV) The 200 was bound for London Victoria, but went via Vauxhall, Oval and Brixton. (TV: Planet of the Dead)
The London Underground was active during this century. (PROSE: Unexploded WWII Bomb Warnings, TV: Oroborus)
Notable residents
Rose Tyler lived with her mother, Jackie Tyler, at a flat on the Powell Estate in either Peckham, (TV: Rose, COMIC: Silver Scream) or Kennington. (PROSE: Rose Tyler) Mickey Smith also lived in a flat on the Powell Estate. (PROSE: Rose, TV: World War Three) Martha Jones worked in London and lived locally. (TV: Smith and Jones, TV: The Sound of Drums) Donna Noble lived with her family, including Sylvia Noble and Wilfred Mott, at a house in Chiswick. (TV: Partners in Crime, TV: The Sontaran Stratagem) Adelaide Brooke grew up in Finchley. (TV: The Waters of Mars)
Sarah Jane Smith lived at a house in Ealing with Mr Smith and her adopted son, Luke Smith. Luke's friends Maria Jackson, (TV: Invasion of the Bane) and - upon her departure - Rani Chandra each lived at a house across the road. (TV: The Last Sontaran, The Day of the Clown) A further friend, Clyde Langer, lived at a house around the corner. (TV: The Curse of Clyde Langer)
The Eleventh Doctor bought Amy Pond and Rory Williams a house in the city. (TV: The God Complex) After moving from her hometown, Clara Oswald stayed at a residence in Chiswick, (TV: The Bells of Saint John) before settling in a flat in Coal Hill. (COMIC: Clara Oswald and the School of Death)
"Andrea Quill" and "Charlie Smith" lived at a house in Shoreditch. (TV: Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart, PROSE: Joyride) April MacLean lived in a house with her mother, (TV: Brave-ish Heart) and Ram Singh lived in a house with his father. (TV: For Tonight We Might Die) Tanya Adeola lived in a flat with her mother and father, until his death, and her brothers, Jarvis and Damon. (TV: Nightvisiting)
Cleo Proctor stayed at her brother's flat. (AUDIO: Hysteria)
Professor Alistair Gryffen owned a mansion in London. (TV: Regeneration) K9 Mark 2 and Starkey stayed there. (TV: The Korven) Darius Pike and Jorjie Turner also lived within the city. (TV: The Last Precinct)
Geography
By the 21st century, London - sometimes referred to as Greater London (TV: Partners in Crime) - had been divided up into a number of boroughs, each containing various districts. (TV: Revenge of the Slitheen, The Lie of the Land) Boroughs included the City of Westminster, (AUDIO: The Three Companions) the City of London, (TV: The Lie of the Land) the London Borough of Richmond, (PROSE: The Time Travellers' Almanac) and the London Borough of Southwark. (TV: Father's Day, TV: Revenge of the Slitheen) Further London boroughs included Barking, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Camden, Ealing, Greenwich, Hackney, Haringey, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest and Wandsworth. (TV: Revenge of the Slitheen)
London landmarks built in this century included 30 St Mary Axe, (PROSE: The Time Travellers' Almanac) and the Shard. (TV: Aliens of London, TV: The Bells of Saint John)
History
2000s
At midnight on 1 January 2000, the arrival of the New Year was celebrated by a fireworks display outside Big Ben. (TV: Fragments) During the first seconds of the year, London, along with the rest of the world, was nearly destroyed by the Eye of Harmony. (TV: Doctor Who)
On 10 February 2000, Henry Louis Noone was born in St. Stephen's Hospital in London. (AUDIO: A Death in the Family)
In 2000, the Tenth Doctor and Martha visited London. (COMIC: The Millennium Blag) The same was true of the Seventh Doctor and Ace. (PROSE: Monsters)
In 2001, sometime before 6 February, Fitz was dropped in London by Compassion to meet the Eighth Doctor at the St. Louis' Bar and Restaurant in London.
In 2001, the Eighth Doctor and Izzy Sinclair visited London. (COMIC: The Fallen)
On 8 February 2001, Fitz met the Eighth Doctor at the St. Louis Bar and Restaurant in London. (PROSE: Escape Velocity)
In 2002, the Fourth Doctor and Romana I visited Kensington in London. (AUDIO: Tales from the Vault)
Also in 2002, the Fourth Doctor and Romana II visited London. (PROSE: I Was a Monster!!!)
In the same year, the Seventh Doctor and Ace fought the Fearmonger in London. (AUDIO: The Fearmonger)
In an alternate timeline in 2003, the Sixth Doctor and Evelyn fought the Daleks. (AUDIO: Jubilee)
In 2003, the Sixth Doctor and Mel fought the Tremas Master in London. (PROSE: The Quantum Archangel)
At some point during the 2000s, it fell victim to terrorist attacks, and became shut down with no-one allowed to enter the city. At least 452 people in London were killed during the attacks, including the Deputy Prime Minister, Meena Cartwright. (AUDIO: The Longest Night)
After Christmas 2004, the Ninth Doctor visited Big Ben to laugh at its later fate. (PROSE: Have You Seen This Man?)
In 2005, all of Central London was closed off following the destruction of Henrik's on the night of 4 March. On the following night, the Nestene Consciousness began its final phase in conquering Earth for its pollutants. It activated Autons made to look like shop window mannequins which killed many bystanders. Rose Tyler eventually destroyed the Nestene, deactivating the Autons. (TV: Rose)
Also in 2005, London cabs were replaced with motorcycles to relieve the increasing traffic congestion. (PROSE: Cat's Cradle: Warhead) According to one account, London cabs existed again by late 2006. (TV: The Christmas Invasion)
In 2005, Phil Tyson was kidnapped from Peckham and brought aboard the Vandosian ship, with the Vandos Tribunal believing him to be the reincarnation of Shogalath. The Ninth Doctor freed Phil from this trial and returned him home. (COMIC: Mr Nobody)
In June 2005, the Eighth Doctor, Fitz and Trix MacMillan visited London. (PROSE: The Gallifrey Chronicles)
In 2006, a Slitheen craft crashed into Big Ben, smashing the clock face in half. It then landed in the River Thames. (TV: Aliens of London) The next day, 10 Downing Street was destroyed by a human guided missile. (TV: World War Three)
In 2006, the Tenth Doctor and Rose fought the Water Creature in London. (COMIC: Bizarre Zero)
In the same year, the Ninth Doctor and Rose fought the Quevvils in London. (PROSE: Winner Takes All)
On 25 June 2006, Edward Grainger died in London on his 100th birthday. (PROSE: Forgotten)
During Christmas 2006, a Sycorax ship entered London airspace. The sonic boom shattered glass for miles around. People were taken over by blood control and stood on the top of tall structures. The ship left, but was destroyed by a Torchwood Institute energy weapon. That evening, the remains of the ship, in the form of ash, drifted down upon the city like snow. (TV: The Christmas Invasion)
In 2007, the Battle of Canary Wharf saw Daleks and Cybermen invade London. (TV: Army of Ghosts / Doomsday)
In the same year, the Tenth Doctor and Rose fought the Waterhive in London. (PROSE: The Feast of the Drowned)
Also in 2007, the Eighth Doctor, Charley and C'rizz visited London. (PROSE: Salva Mea)
In the same year, the Seventh Doctor and Mel visited London immediately after the former's regeneration. (AUDIO: Unregenerate!)
During Christmas 2007, the Empress of the Racnoss attempted to release the last generation of her children from her base in the Thames Flood Barrier. She was eventually shot down in her Webstar by British Army tanks following orders from the Saxon Master. The Thames was drained when the Tenth Doctor drowned the Racnoss children. (TV: The Runaway Bride)
In 2008, the Judoon searched for a Plasmavore in the Royal Hope Hospital and transported it to the Moon using an H₂O scoop. The hospital was later returned. (TV: Smith and Jones)
Professor Lazarus created a machine which made him younger and also mutated him. He went on a rampage throughout Southwark, before he was stopped by the Tenth Doctor. (TV: The Lazarus Experiment)
The Saxon Master became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. (TV: The Sound of Drums) He was later killed by his wife, Lucy, on board the Valiant. (TV: Last of the Time Lords)
- For more information on Saxon's rule, see The Year That Never Was.
In 2008, the Tenth Doctor participated in preventing a Graske from causing mischief at a BBC Proms concert in London. (TV: Music of the Spheres)
In the same year, the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa and Thomas Brewster visited London. (AUDIO: A Perfect World)
In the same year, the Eighth Doctor and Lucie Miller visited London. (AUDIO: Sisters of the Flame)
In October 2008, Majenta Pryce met the Tenth Doctor and was forced to shut down her Hotel Historia due to a Graxnix invasion. (COMIC: Hotel Historia)
During Christmas 2008, the Titanic nearly crashed into Buckingham Palace, but the crash was averted by the Tenth Doctor. (TV: Voyage of the Damned)
At some point in the 2000s,[1] London police, including DI Billy Shipton, began investigating the disappearance of people from an abandoned house called Wester Drumlins over a period of two years. The police began collecting as evidence vehicles left abandoned by those who had disappeared, at one point taking a police box from the scene. (TV: Blink)
In the 2000s,[2] Adipose pills were distributed all over London. Later, thousands of young Adipose were born and marched along the streets of London. A nursery ship took the Adipose away. (TV: Partners in Crime)
The Sontarans attempted to choke all life on Earth with the newly introduced ATMOS in order to create a hatchery that would increase their troop production for the Rutan-Sontaran War. They were thwarted by the combined efforts of the Tenth Doctor, Donna Noble, and Martha Jones. Luke Rattigan destroyed their ship. The epicentre of the Sontaran invasion was the ATMOS factory in London. (TV: The Sontaran Stratagem / The Poison Sky)
London was one of the many places attacked by the New Dalek Empire after relocating Earth to the Medusa Cascade. (TV: The Stolen Earth)
During Easter,[3] a wormhole measuring nearly 10 kilometres high appeared in a tunnel in London. It led to the planet San Helios. At this time several members of an unidentified race tried to cross over to the Earth through the wormhole. (TV: Planet of the Dead)
In 2009, the 456 returned to Earth, and possessed every child on the planet to relay messages announcing their arrival in Thames House. (TV: Children of Earth: Day One, Children of Earth: Day Two, Children of Earth: Day Three) Torchwood Three journeyed to London to help deal with the 456 and expose the corrupt responses of the government. (TV: Children of Earth: Day Three, Children of Earth: Day Four, Children of Earth: Day Five)
The Mona Lisa was in the International Gallery in London, on loan from the Louvre. Due to her proximity to The Abomination, made from the same sentient paint as the Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa was brought to life. She returned to her painting when she was tricked into bringing a sketch of K9 to life, who shot at The Abomination. (TV: Mona Lisa's Revenge)
A fast-growing strain of Rakweed spread its spores across London, releasing spores that put everyone in the city into a coma so the Slitheen-Blathereen family could harvest the plant for profit. Mr Smith used a high-pitched frequency across London to kill the plants before they spread beyond London. Tree and Leef Slitheen-Blathereen, their stomachs filled to the brim with Rakweed, were also destroyed by this noise after they threatened Sarah Jane Smith. (TV: The Gift)
In 2009, the Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory visited London. (PROSE: Snowfall)
During Christmas in the 2000s, the Saxon Master was resurrected on Earth, and used the Immortality Gate to convert every human being into a version of himself. The Time Lords, led by Rassilon, used the drumbeat within the Master's head and a White-Point Star to break through the time-lock and escape the Time War. They planned to erase all of creation in order to ascend to a higher form of existence. They crossed through the gate, arriving in the mansion of Joshua Naismith in London. They were defeated by the Tenth Doctor and the Master. (TV: The End of Time)
2010s
In 2010, the Tenth Doctor fought the Krillitanes in London. (PROSE: Code of the Krillitanes) In the same year, he and his companions Heather McCrimmon and Wolfgang Ryter fought the Bacothormeon in the city. (COMIC: The Genius Trap)
In December 2010, Jo Jones met Huxley and Iris Wildthyme in London. (AUDIO: Find and Replace)
In 2011, the Sixth Doctor and Evelyn Smythe arrived in London to visit the Tower of London but were attacked and chased by a Terravore through the River Thames. They were both arrested by the Metropolitan Police Service but were freed and assisted Detective Inspector Patricia Menzies in stopping the Terravore invasion. (AUDIO: The Crimes of Thomas Brewster)
Also in 2011, the Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory fought the Virtuals in London. (COMIC: Sound Bytes)
In 2011, the Koggnossenti launched an invasion of London. They began emitting a signal which devolved the brains of all intelligent non-Koggnossenti life. For a few hours, London was transformed into a ghost town, with 98.2% of the population reduced to a primitive technology fearing state. The Tenth Doctor reversed the signal unto the Koggnossenti, forcing them to leave Earth. Those affected by the signal did not retain any memories of the invasion. (AUDIO: Technophobia)
On 27 July 2012, the 2012 Summer Olympics opened in London during a period of unseasonably cold weather in the city, caused by an Isolus pod draining all the nearby heat. The Tenth Doctor, his TARDIS and people inside the Olympic Stadium were all among those placed inside drawings made by Chloe Webber, aided by an Isolus to give the stranded Isolus a family. Digging up the pod, Rose threw it into the Olympic Flame to heat it up, resulting in the Isolus releasing those it had kidnapped. Due to an injured runner during the torch relay route, the Olympic Flame was lit at the opening ceremonies by the Doctor, who appeared on international television. The morale of the Games allowed the Isolus to fly home. Afterward, the Doctor and Rose attended a neighbourhood celebration in London. By this time, the Torchwood Institute seemed to have been relatively well-known, enough that the Battle of Canary Wharf of several years earlier was now known as the "Battle of Torchwood". (TV: Fear Her)
Somewhere around the same time, the Eleventh Doctor and Amy met an athlete who was on the run from a Weeping Angel who was trying to steal the Olympic Flame in order to ruin the spirit of the Olympics, and ended up in the TARDIS. The Angel took the torch with the flame, but the Doctor destroyed the Angel with his screwdriver and received a gold medal for saving the Olympics. (TV: Good as Gold)
In 2012, the Eleventh Doctor and River Song visited London. (GAME: The Eternity Clock)
In the summer of 2012, the Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory encountered the Weeping Angels in London. (PROSE: Magic of the Angels)
During the 2010s invasion of Earth by parallel universe Cybermen, London was among the cities where they struck. (AUDIO: Master of Worlds)
In 2013, the Seventh Doctor and Ace found Group Captain Ian Gilmore's memoirs in a bookshop in London. (AUDIO: 1963: The Assassination Games)
In 2014, the Eleventh Doctor visited London and met his latest companion Alice Obiefune. (COMIC: After Life)
In the same year, the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Bernice Summerfield visited London. (PROSE: Warlock)
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In the same year, the Tenth Doctor visited his former companions Heather McCrimmon and Wolfgang Ryter during his final reward and saved their lives in the National Science Museum in London. (COMIC: Lucky Heather)
On 21 October 2015, the Eighth Doctor and Lucie Miller encountered the Eight Legs in London. (AUDIO: The Eight Truths)
At some point around the 2010s, London was taken over by a forest which encompassed the whole of the Earth. After saving the planet from a solar flare, the forest disappeared. (TV: In the Forest of the Night)
2020s
In the 2020s, the TARDIS materialised near Tower Bridge on the bank of the River Thames in a pink paintjob. (GRAPHIC: Come on TARDIS, let's go party)
In 2020, Team TARDIS was on the run in London. (TV: Spyfall)
In October 2021, the Seventh Doctor and Ace investigated mysterious goings-on at St Gart's Bankside Hospital in London and discovered a Cyberman threat. An emergency room nurse, Thomas Hector "Hex" Schofield, celebrated his twenty-third birthday on 12 October in the course of assisting the duo. He then joined them aboard the TARDIS. (AUDIO: The Harvest)
On 30 January 2025, the Fourth Doctor and Leela encountered the Daleks in London. (AUDIO: Energy of the Daleks)
In May 2025, the Seventh Doctor destroyed the Forge's beta facility in London. (AUDIO: Project: Destiny)
In the same year, the Seventh Doctor fought the Benanki in London. (PROSE: Testament)
On 24 June 2027, Ace met Henry Noone in the White Rabbit in London. (AUDIO: A Death in the Family)
2030s
In 2034, the Tenth Doctor and Rose visited London. (COMIC: F.A.Q.)
2040s
In 2040, the Fourth Doctor visited London. (PROSE: The Baron Wastes) The same was true of the Seventh Doctor and Chris Cwej as well as the Eighth Doctor. (PROSE: Anteus, Thinking Warrior)
2050s
In 2050, the Jixen travelled to London via Professor Gryffen's Space-Time Manipulator. K9 Mark I followed them and defeated them. He then changed his form into K9 Mark 2. (TV: Regeneration)
Also in 2050, an entity creating fear caused widespread riots and panic across London. (TV: Fear Itself)
In the same year, London was battered by storms caused by the mating call of an Aeolian. (TV: Aeolian)
In 2053, the Second Doctor encountered the Quarks in London. (COMIC: Death Race)
2060s
In 2064, a Bumble caused destruction across London. The Eleventh Doctor helped to capture it. (COMIC: Bumble of Destruction)
In 2068, Galactic Salvage Insurance was formed in London. (TV: Nightmare of Eden)
2080s
In 2082, the Seventh Doctor fought the Threshold in Notting Hill in London. (COMIC: Ground Zero)
2090s
By 2096, London was ravaged and poverty stricken as a result of the Myloki conflict of the late 2060s. The West London ghettos were 'policed' by the District of London Metropolitan Militia, under the theocratic "Chief Protector" Graham Mackenzie; the City of London had become an independent city-state running a slavery economy, building Westwall across Hyde Park and preying on the ghettos for fresh slaves, and opening Tilsbury Docks for global trade in 2096. SILOET operated out of London's old Television Centre. (PROSE: The Indestructible Man)
Late 21st century
An Ice Warrior damaged the controls of the Weather Control Unit in London's Weather Control Station, creating a dry environment to propagate the Ice Warriors' Seed Pods on Earth. Due to its cold climate and northern latitude, the Ice Warriors sent their Seed Pods here to create an atmosphere lethal to humans, but which the Ice Warriors could thrive in. The Second Doctor repaired the control unit and destroyed the pods with rain. (TV: The Seeds of Death)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ While Blink itself uncontroversially sets its main setting in 2007 and "twenty minutes to Red Hatching" a year later in 2008—as Kathy Nightingale's letter describes taking "one breath in 2007 and the next in 1920", and the Tenth Doctor's side of his conversation with Sally Sparrow in 1969 happens 38 years before Sally says hers—these are contradicted by heavily conflicting dates in the Redacted audio series later on regarding both Kathy's disappearance and the Red Hatching. In Angels, Abby McPhail identifies 2008 as the year of Kathy's disappearance, which suggests 2009 as the year of the Red Hatching. In Salvation, the Thirteenth Doctor recognises the Red Hatching as the cause of death of Andy Proctor, who was last seen by his daughter Cleo "nearly 20 years" before 2022 according to Recruits.
- ↑ The present day of Doctor Who's fourth series is not consistently dated, with TV: The Fires of Pompeii, TV: The Waters of Mars, and AUDIO: SOS setting the present of the 13 regular episodes in 2008, and PROSE: Beautiful Chaos setting them in about April to June 2009.
- ↑ Both Planet of the Dead and The End of Time are referred to in dialogue as taking place after the end of Journey's End, which is set in either 2008, according to TV: The Fires of Pompeii, TV: The Waters of Mars, and AUDIO: SOS, or six weeks after the middle of May 2009, circa June, according to PROSE: Beautiful Chaos. However, the year of Planet of the Dead is unspecified, as is whether or not it is intended to be the Easter immediately after Journey's End.
