Doctor Who - The New Series
Harriet Jones
Played by: Penelope Wilton (
2005 only)
Age: Approx. 40 in 2006.
Occupation: English Member of Parliament, later Prime Minister.
Doctor: The Ninth Doctor, The Tenth Doctor.
Harriet is, as she delights in telling everyone, the MP for the constituency of Flydale North. A backbench (ie: minor) MP with very little pull in Parliament, Harriet was supposed to be meeting with the Prime Minister in 2006 when a damaged spaceship crash-landed in the Thames, taking a chunk of St Stephen's Tower with it.
With the Prime Minister having vanished and Number 10 in chaos, Harriet had nothing much to do but snoop around the corridors of power. In doing so, she discovered that several top-ranking members of the civil service had been murdered and replaced by alien impostors. She ended up joining the Doctor and Rose on a mission to defeat the creatures, and was instrumental in saving the day.
After the event the Doctor realised that had seen Harriet before - she was to become Britain's second female Prime Minister, and lead the country into its Golden Era.
Despite seeming somewhat dotty, Harriet is a quick-thinking and well-read woman who helped save the planet. She is also selfless, and offered herself to the aliens so that they would not murder Rose.
However, she is not always as innocent as she may appear - during The Christmas Invasion, Harriet - now PM - fired on a retreating spaceship, something which enraged the Tenth Doctor and lead to the calling of a motion of no confidence in the House of Commons.
Although the Ninth Doctor claimed that Harriet would go on for three successive terms, the ever-changing nature of the Who universe timeline means that it's entirely possible that this could be carried through and Jones ejected from Parliament. As of the end of season two, the result of this motion was unknown, although a newspaper read by Victor Kennedy in 2.10, "Love & Monsters", suggested that her government is in turmoil and the shadow PM is rising in popularity.
By season three, Harriet had been ousted from government and replaced by the sinister Mr Saxon.
Alternate universe Harriet
In 2.13, "Doomsday", it was revealed that the alternate universe that birthed the new-look Cybermen also has a Harriet Jones, and that she was elected President of Britain. This Harriet, however, remained unseen.
Appearances
First season: Appears in 1.04, "Aliens of London" and 1.05, "World War Three".
Second season: Appears in sp.01, "The Christmas Invasion".