The Woman

**Cynthia Constantine**, usually referred to as '**The Woman',** was a companion of the Doctor in the critically acclaimed Figure Adventure series created by penninefilms. The Woman first met the Doctor in `The Faceless One` (not to be confused with the BBCtv serial of a similar name). She later joined him on his travels after an adventure with the dreaded Sea Devils™ in 'Beneath the Surface' (not to be confused with the BBCtv boxset of a similar name)! She travelled with the Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith from series 3 to 5 (until the latter departed in 'A Ghost from the Past').

The Woman was killed in cold blood by the Supreme Dalek on the Dalek Command Saucer during the Dalek Invasion of Earth in 'The Parting of the Ways' (not to be confused with the BBCtv serial of a similar name): the series 5 finale. However, she returned in the wake of 'Timeline Error' due to the timelines being in flux. She resumed her adventures with the Doctor and encountered friends and foes both old and new.

The Woman has remained a popular character among fans and has been an inspiration to all who have watched her adventures. Her fate is not known for certain, but legend says that she's still travelling with the Doctor.

## Biography

### Early Life

Before travelling with the Doctor she was a professional tea lady married to Dr. Constantine. Not much is known about her family other than the fact she has a sister who is married.

Her first job was as a cleaner for Mr. and Mrs. Bumsmash in 1939, but the house was bombed in the same year. After the war, she worked as a tea lady in the London Palladium. Her last job before travelling with the Doctor was looking after a top-secret Naval Base due to the fact the man who was usually in charge was indisposed.

### Early Encounters with the Doctor

In her first appearance in penninefilms' Doctor Who Figure Adventure series her face was stolen by the 'Wire'. The Doctor and Ace managed to defeat the wire and save her face, but at a heavy cost - the Woman's telly and a wall. The Woman, believing that the destruction of the wall and her television set was the work of her husband, announced her desire to divorce him. Tragic, really. It is also worth noting that after her face was returned to her, her accent changed.

In his final adventure, the 3rd (though at this point in the series he was actually the 2nd) Doctor enlisted her help, calling her:

*"...the only woman who can help me at this very moment."*

Despite her valued assistance in defeating the Master, she would not join the TARDIS crew until some episodes later when she helped the recently regenerated Doctor and Sarah battle the Sea Devils.

### Early Adventures with the Doctor

In her first series, she battled the Master, Sea Devils, Daleks Styggron the Zygon, a giant robot, the Mystical Mr. Sin and Grievous Green.

She was a fierce warrior in her own special way (she kicked the Master `where it hurts` on several occasions) and was willing to make sacrifices for her friends (she allowed her tea trolley to be badly damaged by the Sea Devils).

She once confided in her friend Sarah Jane Smith that fish and chips night was on Tuesday. Despite their divorce, the Woman still provided her ex-husband with fish and chips on the second day of the week. On at least one occasion she forgot to provide him with such sustenance and accidentally gave it to him on a Wednesday instead.

### Series 5

#### 1. 'A Ghost from the Past'

    In the first episode of the fifth series, it was revealed that the Woman's first name was Cynthia. The Doctor was surprised by this and asked why she never told him her name. She retorted that he never told her his name. That shut him up. Despite knowing her real name, the Doctor never used it. This is likely due to the fact that, like the Doctor, she would rather be known by an ambiguous title.

#### 2. 'The Forgotten Planet'

Throughout series 5, the Woman tried her best to make the Doctor a better person. In the second episode, she convinced him to help a marooned space explorer (who the Doctor had previously met in the Christmas special) fix his ship. This took some persuading despite the space explorer pointing out that he would die without help as he had run out of supplies. The Woman managed to secure the Doctor's support when she said that she would make his life hell if he was not cooperative.

#### 3. 'Invasion of the Cybermen'

After thwarting the Cybermen invasion of earth, a lone surviving Cyberman tried to attack the Doctor and his friends. The Woman was left disgusted when the Doctor brutally gunned down his assailant. She scolded him saying:

*'Doctor, stop it! Don't use weapons!'*

The Doctor responded that the Cybermen were too evil to be left alive but the Woman was adamant that:

*'No race deserves the bullet'.*

#### 4. 'Return to Gallifrey'

The Woman, after the events of the previous episode, desperately tried to convince the Doctor to sort out his priorities and to live a more peaceful life. In fact, she was so upset with him that she refused to make him a cup of tea. However, the Woman's fury with the Doctor soon subsided when the TARDIS was dragged back to Gallifrey where the Doctor was to be put on trial for genocide.

Despite being told to remain in the TARDIS and hide from the Time Lords, the Woman couldn't leave the Doctor to the mercy of the Time Lords. She overcame the guards and went into 'the Gateway' (basically the Matrix) to rescue the Doctor from his sentence. Her obsession with Yorkshire Tea (the nectar of the Gods) was turned against her when she was attacked by a Yorkshire Tea Monster (a big Yorkshire Tea box with legs and teeth). Fortunately the monster was friendly and she was soon reunited with the Doctor. The monster gave the duo directions and the two followed the yellow brick road back to Gallifrey. On their way back, they encountered a church and graveyard. Rather ominously, the Woman found her grave and a list of dead bodies that were to be cremated - all of the names relating to the Doctor.

Once they had returned back to reality, they saw the Master being escorted by Time Lords to his execution. The Master had been posing as the president of Gallifrey (who was on holiday in Yorkshire) and was responsible for the Doctor's mistrial and sentence. The Master, despite the Doctor's protests, was executed. As the Doctor and the Woman prepared to take off, the Master (in the form of... erm... a large pile of faeces?), infiltrated the TARDIS and whispered:

*'You'll be next...'*

Though the Doctor misinterpreted this as a voice telling the travellers to go to Next, an earth based shopping chain.

#### 7. 'The Parting of the Ways'

In the final episode of series 5, the Daleks invaded and conquered Earth. The time travellers responded as quickly as they could to the Brigadier's plea for help but found that they were too late. They were soon captured and taken to the Dalek Command Saucer where they found out that the Brigadier, Benton and Yates had been prisoners there for some years.

Whilst the Doctor went to meet Davros and learn about the Movellan virus, the Woman made a daring escape with the Brigadier, Benton and Yates. They were soon recaptured off-screen and the Woman was forced to confront the new Supreme Dalek - who had usurped Davros and the other Supreme Dalek.

The Woman was undaunted by this and took her stand against the Supreme Dalek (one observer noting that she showed no signs of fear whilst doing so). Unfortunately, the Supreme Dalek decided that he wasn't having any of it and shot her mid-sentence. When the Doctor heard of her execution he released the Movellan virus, killing all of the Daleks on board and destroying the ship. After shooting the Supreme Dalek, the Doctor (with help from the Brigadier, Benton and Yates) ushered a mortally wounded Woman into his TARDIS where she died after uttering her final words to the Doctor:

*"I love you...goodbye...".*

### Legacy

After her death, the Doctor sent her tea trolley into the time vortex resulting in said trolley materialising in the Woman's house before she met the Doctor (perhaps even on the day the Wire stole her face) thus explaining the tea trolley's origins and serving as a nice bookend to her story. There's also a nice shot of the Doctor in the mirror watching her. It's actually really sweet.

Even after death, the Woman was mentioned several times in the sixth and seventh series, even appearing in the former as a ghost. The Doctor displayed several photos of her and Sarah jane Smith on the walls of the TARDIS after series 5.

### Timeline Error

The Woman appears in 'Timeline Error' where her existence is threatened along with the other characters from her timeline. When the current Doctor saves them, everyone is unfrozen including his previous incarnation who is with the Woman. The Woman notes that the tea is getting cold (whether this is a reference to the BBCtv serial 'Survival' or just the Woman stating the facts is yet to be confirmed) though her Doctor is not particularly interested and decides to thank his future self. The Woman is frustrated by this saying:

*"Doctor, we haven't got time! I've got lunch with me sister at one...oh, Mrs. Metcalfe won't like this."*

It is yet to be revealed whether or not the Woman made it to lunch on time leaving yet another in a long line of mysteries to be solved...

### New Adventures with the Doctor

Due to the events of 'Timeline Error', the Fourth Doctor was able to go back in time and save her from the Daleks. The Doctor from this point onwards always refers to her as Cynthia, perhaps regretting the fact that he had always referred to his best friend as 'the Woman'.

#### 1. Recommence

Cynthia is not particularly pleased that the Doctor seems to have prioritised changing the TARDIS' desktop theme over saving her life. The Doctor points out that this was due to a rogue teabag jettisoning the primary console room. All this is soon forgotten about when an old enemy of the Doctor's makes contact: the Terrible Zodin! The terrible time Lady has stolen the universe's supply of tea, making her, to quote Cynthia: 'more evil than the Daleks'. As a furious Cynthia and Doctor confront Zodin, it is revealed that the Cybermen have been watching...

#### 2. Lilliput/The Puppet Master

The TARDIS lands in Cynthia's house, a victorious Doctor and Cynthia emerging from the craft shortly after. A quick trip to drop off Cynthia's recently recovered tea supply soon goes awry when the TARDIS team realise that they have been shrunk down to the size of action figures! Cynthia and the Doctor are forced to split up when the Great Creator takes a box containing the Doctor away. Whilst wandering around the house Cynthia almost falls victim to a vacuum cleaner leading her to utter one of the greatest lines in the series:

*'Oh my Gawd! Death by hoover!'*

Fortunately she is rescued by a lady from the charity shop who was shrunk down by the mysterious Puppet Master who plans to turn the whole world into action figures with the Great Creator's next video. The Doctor (who has also made a new friend) and Cynthia concoct their own plans to stop the Puppet Master from succeeding in his dastardly plan.

Cynthia bravely interrupts the Puppet Master as he is recording his video. The Puppet Master then kills one of his subjects in anger and sends hordes of dolls to seize Cynthia. Cynthia, however, proves more than capable of incapacitating the Puppet Master's forces. The Doctor arrives to help but Cynthia, surrounded by the bodies of all those who attacked her, simply says:

*'Never underestimate a woman who can make a cup of tea and butter a scone at the same time.'*

It is worth noting that Cynthia pronounces 'scone' like cone.

With time running out, the Doctor and Cynthia hatch their plans with their code words - 'Deal or No Deal'! Their new found friends get to work as Cynthia distracts the Puppet Master. With the Puppet Master soon put out of the way, the heroes act quickly to replace the dangerous upload with a delightful livestream of Cynthia making tea. Whilst this is happening, the Puppet Master is returned to his own masters... the Cybermen! He pays for his failure with his life.

With the lady from the charity shop returned to normal size and the Doctor's explorer friend content with a newly found box of lost films, the Doctor and Cynthia head back to the TARDIS. Unfortunately for them, the box the TARDIS is sitting in is given to someone for charity and the Doctor and Cynthia rush toward the front door (still the size of action figures, by the way) and fling themselves up to the letterbox. They are too late and can do nothing but watch the TARDIS being taken away!

## Behind the scenes

I, Dave (the person who wrote this article), really like The Woman.