Dorothea Ames became headteacher at Coal Hill Academy in November 2016, replacing Frank Armitage, who had recently died. Ames worked with the Governors.
When Andrea Quill entered her office, Ames revealed that she was aware that Quill was the guardian of both Charlie Smith and Matteusz Andrzejewski, and that there would be no problem with her attending Parents' evening as both the physics teacher and the boys' guardian. She was also aware of Charlie and Quill's origin, and that the Doctor had put them on Earth to try and hide them from the Shadow Kin. She asked Quill for her help with the killer petals. In return, Ames offered to remove the arn, giving Quill her free will back. (TV: Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart)
She took Quill, Charlie, and Matteusz to their house in order to force Charlie to use the Cabinet of Souls to destroy the killer petals. She pulled a gun on Matteusz in the hope of motivating Charlie, claiming that while she found their relationship touching, she was willing to do what was necessary. When Charlie opened the Cabinet, Matteusz used the distraction to knock her out. It was Ames who prevented Charlie from actually using the Cabinet, as she drew attention to the petals being destroyed by April MacLean's Shadow Kin army upon regaining consciousness. After the petals were killed, she informed Quill that she and the Governors had actually predicted that April would defeat the petals – their concern had been finding out more about the Cabinet. She then told Quill that the offer of removing the arn still stood, but warned her that she would still have to attend Parents' evening. (TV: Brave-ish Heart)
Ames took Quill to the hall, after Quill had locked Charlie and his friends in detention, to start their mission to remove the Arn. She introduced her to Ballon who was to be the surgeon. Activating the metaphysical engine, she took them to get supplies for the surgery, arn pheromones from Arn Heaven, the blood of the God of the Lorr in Lorr Hell and the brain of the Quill Goddess from the first Quill nest before taking her to the Cabinet of Souls for the surgery. She left the cabinet in order to inform the rest of the Governors to what had happened in the trip. She then later informed Quill and Ballon that there was only enough energy to allow one of them to escape the Cabinet, and gave Quill her gun to facilitate the killing. (TV: The Metaphysical Engine, or What Quill Did)
She was later held at gun point by Charlie and ordered to help them stop the Shadow Kin. In doing so, she contacted the Governors about the situation but refused to let Charlie enter Room M17. After escaping the fight between the Coal Hill defenders and the Shadow Kin army in the Coal Hill school hall, she returned to Room M17. As a result of Charlie's use of the Cabinet, she was deemed no longer useful by the Governors, and the Chair of the Governors led the Governors in turning away from her. With their backs turned, she was killed by one of their "benefactors" - a Weeping Angel. (TV: The Lost)