Yvonne Hartman was the administrator of Torchwood in 2007, prior to the Battle of Canary Wharf. She presided over the long-awaited capture of the Tenth Doctor.
Hartman oversaw the projects that included the investigation of the Void Ship, as well as the ghost shift experiments that resulted in the invasion by the Cybermen from an alternate universe. She was not personally hostile to the Doctor, yet she was confident in the righteousness of Torchwood's actions to the point of fault, ignoring his recommendations and warnings. Hartman was fiercely patriotic, and believed that Torchwood's work was vital to the survival of the "British Empire" and was certain that their work would in fact lead to the restoration of the United Kingdom to the status of world power. Only when the end was near did she attempt to stop the experiments, only to find that the Cybermen had already taken control over key members of her staff. The controlled staff proceeded to override her orders and allow the Cybermen to continue their invasion. (TV: Army of Ghosts)
Yvonne, along with Jackie Tyler, was taken to be upgraded. Yvonne stated that she did her duty for queen and country, and walked into the Cyber-conversion unit, where she was then painfully upgraded.
However, Yvonne somehow managed to gain control over her new metallic body and performed one last known service, fending off the Cybermen approaching the top offices long enough for the Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler to seal the breach between worlds. While fighting against the Cybermen she continued to utter the phrase — "I did my duty for queen and country." while weeping oily tears out her left eye socket. Her actions bought the Doctor and Rose the time they needed to banish the Daleks and Cybermen to the Void. (TV: Doomsday)
Personality
Yvonne Hartman was an arrogant woman who was always convinced that everything Torchwood did was for the good of the country, even if others begged to differ. One example of her arrogance was when she stated that anything that was alien belonged to Torchwood. This included the Doctor's TARDIS, despite the Doctor's protests. Yvonne was also reckless, and meddled with the Void, which was something far beyond her understanding. (TV: Army of Ghosts) Jackie Tyler said it was all her fault that the Cybermen and Daleks had invaded Earth, because Hartman was too reckless to try to put a stop to the experiments on the Void until it was too late. (TV: Doomsday) However, Yvonne did show uncertainty when the Doctor suddenly changed his demeanour; one moment the Time Lord was warning her not to open the void and the next he was cheerfully encouraging her. Hartman was so confused and uncertain by the Doctor's sudden change from foreboding to cheerful that she finally agreed not to open the void, although by then it was too late. (TV: Army of Ghosts)
Despite her arrogance and foolishness, Yvonne genuinely cared about her country, even managing to overcome the programming of the Cybermen due to her devotion to Britain. In her metal body she appeared to be crying as she stated that she'd done her duty for queen and country. She also showed a willingness to sacrifice herself as she fought the Cybermen by herself to give the Doctor and Rose time to open the void and most likely died in the process. (TV: Doomsday)
Although she admitted that the Doctor was a prisoner, Yvonne did try to make the Time Lord comfortable and treated him like a guest rather than a prisoner. She also liked to call her employees by their first names, saying that she was a "people person". Despite this she did display a more ruthless streak since she stated, rather cheerfully, that she could have Rose Tyler shot if the Doctor didn't know her. (TV: Army of Ghosts)
Behind the scenes
- Yvonne Hartman's name is similar to the character of Yvonne Hartley from Spare Parts, the Big Finish story that Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel was inspired by.