Silvia Bolton

Silvia, as seen in The Deadliest Game

**Silvia Bolton** was a companion of the Fourth and Fifth Doctors.

Originally an engineering trainee aboard a Space-Whale hunting vessel, Silvia freed the Doctor following interrogations, sympathising with him, and quickly befriending him. She was extremely willing to become his companion and became embroiled in the Doctor's adventures all the way up to his regeneration, finding herself joined partway through by Aedon. She would then continue to travel with his next incarnation.

## Biography

### Early Life

Silvia was keen in engineering from a young age, stemming from her parents' professions. She first began her course working aboard a cruise ship. (TV: *Space-Whale*)

When Silvia was young, she enjoyed playing strategy games, such as noughts and crosses. (TV: *Tearing of the Veil*)

She was able to let loose during the harvest, when she hung lanterns all around the house, followed by a food fight which included her parents and her co-workers. It was undignified, but Nyssa loved it. (TV: *The First Cybermen*)

### Meeting the Doctor

Silvia was working on a Space-Whale hunting vessel as part of one of her first independent assignment. She was present on the bridge when the Fourth Doctor was arrested and interrogated, and, taking his side, took him out of his holding cell. Using the TARDIS, she and the Doctor entered one of the Space Whales, encountering the human settlement. They agreed that the vessel had to be turned around through any means. Silvia pointed out where the ship's main computer was. Following this, she agreed to join the Doctor on his travels. (TV: *Space-Whale*)

The Doctor and Silvia landed in Victorian England in the middle of a Seance at a vicarage. She helped Elizabeth get over the trauma of her husband's death. She later attempted to barricade Elizabeth's bedroom against the Nightwalker. (TV: *Tearing of the Veil*)

The TARDIS landed on Mondas where Nyssa met Sylvan and learned of his brother Dega's plans. She took him back to the Doctor's TARDIS, where he accidentally activated the console and took them fifty years into the future. Whilst she was frustrated when the Doctor told her that they could not interfere in events as they were pivotal to the creation of the Cybermen, she still attempted to improve the future of the Mondasians by disguising herself as a Cyberman and convincing Queen Meta to stop Dega. She managed to warn Sylvan and the Doctor of the Cybermen's advance in time. (TV: *The First Cybermen*)

In 1666 London, Silvia found evidence of the use of an alien weapon inside Sir John's house and headed to the TARDIS to build a sonic booster to defeat the Terileptils' android. She successfully used it to destroy the android, after which she tried to use the TARDIS to travel back to the house, where she was reunited with the Doctor and attempted to extinguish what would become the Great Fire of London. (TV: *The Visitation*)

Silvia joined the Doctor in going to switch the main power back on after the TARDIS lost power mid-flight. She helped the Doctor escape the tools room, and, after having to face a menagerie of other rooms, confronted her fear, an octopus-like creature. (TV: *The Enemy Within*)

After landing on Irendai, Silvia and the Doctor accepted Aedon's offer of transport to the main city. They stayed at a notable inn, where Silvia fended an attacker, later revealed to be Aedon, off when he attempted to kill the Doctor. Upon being woken back up, she and the Doctor were arrested and taken before Lord Ethersmat. On his orders, she was taken to a prison cell, where she waited for a short while before being rescued by Aedon, who revealed his duplicitous actions. Betrayed by what he had done, Silvia nonetheless accepted his aid, and joined him in rescuing the Doctor, and revealing the truth about Ethersmat to Irendai's citizens. Whilst leading the revolt, Silvia was knocked to the ground by Ethersmat, now revealed to her as the Master. After he was dragged away, she and Aedon helped the Doctor to his feet and back to the TARDIS, where she witnessed the Doctor's regeneration into his next incarnation, which startled her. (TV: *The Deadliest Game*)

### Continued travels with the Fifth Doctor and Aedon

Shortly after regenerating, the Doctor was able to pilot the TARDIS to 76 Totter's Lane, where Silvia opted to stay behind with the Doctor and ensure that he could function after he collapsed from the Novaren draining his energy. She continued to act as his carer, assisting him in walking and picking out a suit until Aedon and Barbara Wright had destroyed the Novaren threat. (TV: *The Ghosts of the Lane*)

The Doctor left Silvia in the TARDIS after landing on Wrack's ship, believing her to be more reliable than Aedon due to her generally careful nature, but she left after seeing Marriner fall on the scanner. She was able to close her mind to him and rejected him as she recognised that he wanted to live vicariously through her and had no regard for any other Ephemerals, including Aedon when he jumped overboard. (TV: *Enlightenment*)

After arriving on Torsontis, Silvia was captured and tortured for information by Opteras on behalf of the Master. She was released on the condition she served as a double agent for them, but managed to relay the information to the Doctor and Livero before any harm could be done. She managed to trick Iltris into trapping himself in a cell. (TV: *The Torson Triumvirate*) Shortly after leaving Torsontis, the Doctor was summoned to Earth by the Brigadier, where she assisted him in building a machine to cut the psychic link between the Provarks and their Queen. (TV: *The Parasites*)

On Deva Loka, Silvia used a Total Survival Suit to defend against the Mara-controlled Aris. (TV: *Kinda*)

On a trip to Florana, Silvia was brainwashed by Educator Stemp into serving the High Priest as a recruit for the Elite. The Doctor eventually reversed the conditioning and she was returned to normal, leaving Florana after Thane killed the High Priest. (TV: *The Elite*)

Silvia was enjoying herself on Alfeir VII when a black hole opened near her, Aedon and the Doctor, forcing them to take cover. The TARDIS was then transported by the Cybermen to Maladoom, where she assisted the Doctor in building a teleporter to get out of a vacuum chamber. Despite warning the Doctor and Aedon of an oncoming Cyber-patrol, Silvia was captured and taken to the Cyber-Leader's control room. There, she met the Doctor's second and third incarnations, as well as Susan Foreman and Sarah Jane Smith and reuniting with the Brigadier. Together with Sarah, she stalled the Cybermen long enough for the Doctors to destroy their plans, escaping to the TARDIS before their base exploded. (TV: *The Six Doctors*)

## Personality

Silvia was pleasant, friendly and empathised easily with others. (TV: *Space-Whale*) Her gentle and trusting nature meant that she was not adept at detecting deception, and was distrustful towards those who had wronged her previously, (TV: *The Deadliest Game*) but was by and large an optimist. (TV: *The Enemy Within*) She was an incredibly caring individual, willing to help those who were physically unable to do anything themselves. (TV: *The Ghosts of the Lane*)

Despite her gentleness, Silvia was willing to use and threaten violence where necessary, destroying on separate occasions a Cyberman (TV: *The First Cybermen*) and a Terileptil android. (TV: *The Visitation*) She would sometimes even threaten this when under pain of death. (TV: *The Torson Triumvirate*) Silvia was also noted as highly quick-witted, capable of tricking people easily and over a long period of time. (TV: *The Torson Triumvirate*)

Due to her training as an engineer, Silvia was a skilled technician, who was capable of creating machines quickly. (TV: *The Parasites*, *The Six Doctors*)

The Doctor sometimes reassured Silvia by telling her to have a "brave heart". (TV: *Enlightenment*)

## Appearance

Silvia was a short woman with a friendly face, (PROSE: *Space-Whale*) long brown hair and friendly eyes. She had round features, (PROSE: *The Tearing of the Veil*) and a slightly wide nose. (PROSE: *Kinda*)

## Appearances

#### Season 19

* *Space-Whale*
* *Tearing of the Veil*
* *The First Cybermen*
* *The Visitation*
* *The Enemy Within*
* *The Deadliest Game*

#### Season 20

* *The Ghosts of the Lane*
* *Enlightenment*
* *The Torson Triumvirate*
* *The Parasites*
* *Kinda*
* *The Elite*