George Cranleigh
Lord George Cranleigh, or George Beauchamp, was the ninth Marquess of Cranleigh as well as an explorer and botanist. He was tortured to insanity on an expedition to South America and hidden in Cranleigh Hall until he fell to his death after kidnapping Nyssa, having mistaken her for his former fiancée, Ann Talbot.
Biography[[edit] | [edit source]]
Early life[[edit] | [edit source]]
George Cranleigh, (TV: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (TV story)"]) or George Beauchamp, (PROSE: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (novelisation)"]) was the eldest son of Madge Cranleigh, brother to Charles (TV: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (TV story)"]) and ninth Marquess of Cranleigh. He had a strong sense of destiny (PROSE: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (novelisation)"]) and became a botanist (TV: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (TV story)"]) and, like one of his ancestors, an explorer. (PROSE: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (novelisation)"])
Expeditions[[edit] | [edit source]]
George and Charles competed for the affections of Ann Talbot, (PROSE: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (novelisation)"]) who chose to marry George (TV: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (TV story)"]) and stayed at Cranleigh Hall several times. (PROSE: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (novelisation)"]) George travelled to the Orinoco, found a black orchid which he took back to Cranleigh Hall and wrote a book, Black Orchid, (TV: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (TV story)"]) about his journey up the Amazon and the Negro and into Venezuela. (PROSE: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (novelisation)"])
In 1923, George went on a return expedition to the Orinoco (TV: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (TV story)"]) because of his fascination with the black orchid. However, the black orchid was sacred to the Butiu (PROSE: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (novelisation)"]) or Kojabe Indians and they cut out his tongue (TV: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (TV story)"]) before hanging him over a slow fire by his heels. He went insane and suffered serious burns. After a week, (PROSE: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (novelisation)"]) he was saved by Dittar Latoni's tribe and taken back to England. (TV: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (TV story)"])
Hidden away[[edit] | [edit source]]
Lady Cranleigh did not believe that George, whom she described as "mindless" and "misshapen", would receive proper care and attention in an institution (PROSE: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (novelisation)"]) and instead chose to hide him in the upper levels of Cranleigh Hall, tended to by Latoni. With George presumed dead by most, his and Ann's engagement was called off and she instead promised to marry Charles, (TV: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (TV story)"]) whom she did not love in the same way that she had his brother.
By 1925, Latoni's responsibilities had made him ill and Lady Cranleigh hired Raymond Digby to assist him. (PROSE: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (novelisation)"]) On the night of 10 June or early hours of 11 June 1925, George strangled Digby and hid his body. He attacked Latoni during the Cranleighs' charity ball and escaped, stealing the Fifth Doctor's costume to disguise himself and kidnap Ann. He succeeded, although he had to kill James in the process, and took her to his room, only for her to escape when Lady Cranleigh and Latoni came looking for the two of them. (TV: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (TV story)"])
Death[[edit] | [edit source]]
George attacked Latoni and set fire to the door of his bedroom so that he could burst through it and escape. (TV: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (TV story)"]) According to one account, he took Latoni with him to save him from suffocation. (PROSE: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (novelisation)"]) He kidnapped Nyssa, mistaking her for Ann, and carried her onto the roof. The Doctor and Charles followed him and he let Nyssa go after realising that he had the wrong girl. According to one account, he backed away from Charles as he attempted to embrace him and fell to his death. (TV: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (TV story)"]) According to another, he was holding out his arms to Ann below and fell when Charles shouted, believing that he intended to kill himself. (PROSE: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (novelisation)"])
Legacy[[edit] | [edit source]]
The Doctor, Adric, Nyssa and Tegan stayed on with the family to attend George's funeral, after which Lady Cranleigh gave the Doctor a leather-bound copy of Black Orchid as a gift. (TV: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (TV story)"])
George's skill and courage became legendary following his disappearance and he had many admirers across Earth. The Doctor was aware of him as a famous explorer before having met him. (PROSE: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (novelisation)"])
Personality[[edit] | [edit source]]
The Fifth Doctor described George as a man of science and honour (PROSE: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (novelisation)"]) and Charles described him as a "positive Odin". He was good at geography (TV: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (TV story)"]) and had a strong sense of destiny. Ann believed that he was more understanding than his brother.
George went insane from the first hour of his torture. (PROSE: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (novelisation)"])
Appearance[[edit] | [edit source]]
George resembled his brother. (PROSE: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (novelisation)"]) His torture left him disfigured. (TV: Black Orchid [+]Loading...["Black Orchid (TV story)"])
Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]
- To preserve the mystery of his character's identity, Gareth Milne was credited as "The Unknown" for part one and in Radio Times before being revealed as "George Cranleigh" for part two.
- Michael Cochrane, who played George's younger brother Charles, was the subject of the painting of George on display in the living room at Cranleigh Hall and which also appeared on the inside cover of George's book Black Orchid.
