Roger ap Gwilliam
Roger ap Gwilliam was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by 2046. The Fifteenth Doctor considered him to be "the most dangerous prime minister in history", as he had led the world to the brink of nuclear war.
Biography
Life and political career
Growing up in Wales, Roger ap Gwilliam was known for doing various odd jobs, which earned him the nickname "Mad Jack".
In 2046, he ran for Prime Minister of the United Kingdom as leader of the Albion Party and won, subsequently leading the world to the brink of nuclear war. (TV: 73 Yards [+]Loading...["73 Yards (TV story)"])
Legacy
After arriving on the Welsh coast in 2024, the Fifteenth Doctor cited Gwilliam as "a bad example of the Welsh"; he recounted how Gwilliam had almost plunged the world into war, but realising that Ruby Sunday was from an earlier period of history, he stopped himself from continuing to prevent spoilers. (TV: 73 Yards [+]Loading...["73 Yards (TV story)"])
Alternate timeline
Shortly afterwards, the Doctor stepped on a fairy circle and disappeared, leaving Ruby alone, locked out of the TARDIS and followed by a mysterious woman who always stayed precisely 73 yards away from her. Everyone who spoke to the woman ran away in fear, and Ruby's adoptive mother Carla Sunday abandoned her daughter entirely after an experiment to try and speak to the woman. UNIT was also turned against Ruby by an interaction with the woman after Kate Lethbridge-Stewart attempted to help her.
Shortly after the Doctor's disappearance, Ruby had encountered locals at the pub Y Pren Marw who pranked her about a spirit called "Mad Jack", as she had read the name off a scroll left at the fairy circle. In 2046, Ruby was on a date with Sanjay Miah when she saw Gwilliam on a leaders' debate on television, where he mentioned his old nickname. Believing she had discovered her purpose in life after the events in Wales, Ruby departed the date and volunteered for Gwilliam's Albion Party.
At an interview with Amol Rajan, Gwilliam expressed a desire to launch a nuclear missile, which unsettled Rajan, but Gwilliam ensured the moment was cut out of the broadcast interview. Afterwards, Gwilliam talked briefly to Ruby, asking her about the identity of Marti Bridges, another aide with the campaign.
Gwilliam subsequently won the election. At the party in campaign headquarters, Ruby spoke with Marti, who agreed that he was a "monster". At his victory speech, Gwilliam discussed speaking to the King.
After taking office, Gwilliam made a deal to purchase nuclear missiles from Pakistan, intending to launch a strike against NATO and declare Britain's independence. His team made plans for a speech in Cardiff where he would announce his intentions. Ruby and Marti went along as part of Gwilliam's team to help set up. When Ruby heard from Rufus Bray what Gwilliam's intentions were, she decided to act, walking out onto the stadium's turf, which had been expressly forbidden, and moving so that she was 73 yards away from Gwilliam. He spoke to her, and immediately fled, resigning from office and offering only the explanation "Ask her."
Ruby lived for another forty years before dying, always accompanied by the woman. Upon her death, she appeared back in 2024 on the cliff's edge as the woman, and was able to nudge her younger self into preventing the Doctor from breaking the fairy circle, erasing the timeline from existence. (TV: 73 Yards [+]Loading...["73 Yards (TV story)"])
Personality and traits
Gwilliam had a charming and personable exterior, which concealed a ruthless warmonger.
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