Denise Riley
Denise Riley was the Home Secretary in the Cabinet of Brian Green during the 456 incident in 2009, and later, Prime Minister.
Biography[[edit] | [edit source]]
Denise was a mother with at least two children, which caused her great anguish due to the terrible choice she had to make in order to appease the 456. She also had a brother with at least two children of his own.
She was appointed Home Secretary by Prime Minister Brian Green. As Home Secretary, she attended a meeting of COBRA to discuss the 456 incident and their demand for 10% of Britain's children. She was critical of plans put forward by Rick Yates and the Defence Secretary as impractical, and the stress of the situation caused her to snap at the rest of the Cabinet.
Denise was the minister to say "what everyone else was thinking" and confirm that their children (and grandchildren) would be exempt - but could not keep her nieces and nephews safe. In response, she suggested to Prime Minister Brian Green that instead of selecting random schools, they select the bottom 10% achievers of the schools and give them to the 456. Believing that those who worked harder would staff the hospitals, offices, and factories of the future and those who graduated would be the leaders of the future, she said the bottom 10% would simply drain the country with benefits and fill up prisons. (TV: Children of Earth: Day Four [+]Loading...["Children of Earth: Day Four (TV story)"]) After Bridget Spears recorded Green's discussions of the 456 incident with the Eye-5 contact lenses, Riley stated that she would be protected from charges of espionage and promised to have Lois Habiba released from prison, telling Green that she would be "taking charge of very many things in the days to come." (TV: Children of Earth: Day Five [+]Loading...["Children of Earth: Day Five (TV story)"])
For at least a while, she remained Home Secretary as she was still in office when the Enochai-possessed trees attacked Greenwich Park. (COMIC: Don't Step on the Grass [+]Loading...["Don't Step on the Grass (comic story)"]) However, one account suggested that she ultimately succeeded Green as Prime Minister. Lois Habiba was freed shortly afterwards on her authority. (PROSE: Torchwood: The Encyclopedia [+]Loading...["Torchwood: The Encyclopedia (reference book)"])
Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]
Riley is shown to be opportunistic, using Spears's blackmail of Green to her own advantage. In an interview in Torchwood Magazine, Russell T Davies reflects on the role of politicians in Children of Earth, and stated that it is just as much about the "venality and the lies and the secrecy and the paranoia of the government" as it is about the 456 threat. Davies notes that it is different from stories he had written for Doctor Who, such as Aliens of London [+]Loading...["Aliens of London (TV story)"], because there is no significant change in government. Regarding Green's fate, he said "we didn't kill the prime minister, but we brought him down, and I'm happy enough with that. He won't be worrying about his expenses!"[1]
Whether Riley actually succeeds Green as Prime Minister is left vague in Children of Earth, but Green's impending downfall is strongly implied. Torchwood: The Encyclopedia [+]Loading...["Torchwood: The Encyclopedia (reference book)"] makes a more explicit confirmation that Riley becomes Prime Minister, stating that Green's premiership came "crashing down" and that Riley would succeed him and ensure that both Habiba and Spears were cleared of all charges.
Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
