Starkey was a crewman of the Mary Celeste under Captain Benjamin Briggs. He served aboard the ship on her voyage from New York City for Genoa, Italy, in November 1872. (TV: "Flight Through Eternity")
On the 25th of November, off the coast of Santa Maria, Starkey assembled at midship with the rest of the crew. First Mate Richardson had been attacked by stowaways. In fact, the purported stowaways had been Barbara Wright and Vicki Pallister who exited the TARDIS during its brief sojourn on deck. The boatswain took Starkey and Willoughby with him in the search, directing the other crewmen to search the hold. (TV: "Flight Through Eternity")
As the crew searched for the two stowaways, a Dalek time machine materialised on the deck, having chased the First Doctor to the spot. The Daleks' appearance frightened everyone aboard into immediately abandoning ship. Starkey leapt from the gunwale in the hope of swimming to escape in the Atlantic. Neither his remains nor those of anyone else from ship were ever recovered. Like the others, Starkey is assumed to have perished on or shortly after 25 November 1872. (TV: "Flight Through Eternity")
Behind the scenes
- Historically, no one named Starkey nor Willoughby was a member of the Mary Celeste's crew.
- Having no lines, Starkey is not listed in the credits for "Flight Through Eternity". Mister Richardson and the boatswain both refer to him by name.