Nardole

Facts

Name:

Nardole

Tenure:

25 December 2015 to 25 December 2017

First Seen In:

The Husbands of River Song
Last Appearance:

Twice Upon A Time
Number of Series

Main Actor:
Matt Lucas

Gallery

click on images to enlarge

Biography

24 YEARS ON DARILLIUM

The Twelfth Doctor and River Song. were together for 24 years togetheron Darillium. During this time, The Doctor grew fearful being alone, and so returned to Nardole and reassembled him, taking his head from Hydroflax and “glueing” it back on. (The Return of Doctor Mysterio)

At River Song’s final request, Nardole followed The Doctor to a planet where Missy was to be executed. Here, The Doctor swore an oath to protect her body for a thousand years. Disguised as a priest, Nardole intervened in the proceedings and instructed him not to kill Missy as his late wife wouldn’t approve. The Doctor let Missy live, and he and Nardole locked her in a Quantum Fold Chamber at The Doctor’s oath, the pair would guard the vault for next thousand years. (Extremis)

WORKING FOR RIVER SONG

Nardole first encountered The Doctor when he was told to find the surgeon. The surgeon was required as River Song needed to extract the Halassi Androvar from the head of King Hydroflax. However, Nardole accidentally found the Twelfth Doctor and brought him to Professor Song instead.

When River and the Doctor eventually escaped Hydroflax’s ship with his head in a bag, Hydroflax’s mechanical body turned to Nardole and wanted to extract strategic information. Although Nardole claimed to know very little of River’s plans, there was only one way for Hydroflax’s body to be sure, so it removed Nardole’s head and attached it to its own.Later, whilst holding a gun to Nardole’s head, Hydroflax’s body forced him to draw in Ramone, whose head the body took While storing Nardole’s within itself.
On the Harmony and Redemption, the body pulled Nardole’s head out of storage to confirm River’s identity before putting it back against his protests.

After the crash of the Harmony and Redemption on Darillium, Hydroflax’s body was recovered from the wreckage. As the hostile onboard computer was destroyed by The Doctor, Nardole and Ramone shared control of the body, working in a restaurant situated before the Singing Towers. When River arrived several years after the crash, Ramone was in control as Nardole was getting some”me time” inside the body, something he admitted was hard when he greeted River from inside Hydroflax’s body. (The Husbands of River Song)

TRAVELS WITH THE DOCTOR

Nardole at the controls of the TARDIS, following “a few accidental stop- offs”. (The Return of Doctor Mysterio)
After spending twenty-four years with River Song, the Twelfth Doctor feared being alone, and so returned to Nardole and reassembled him, taking his head from Hydroflax and “gluing” it back on. Nardole became his companion and saw it as his duty to make sure that The Doctor was alright following her death.
Together they investigated Harmony Shoal with the help of “The Ghost”. He also spent some time as the Emperorof Constantinople, in which he ruled “firmly, but wisely”. (The Return of Doctor Mysterio)

The Doctor and Nardole spent a number of decades at St Luke’s University in Bristol, where they watched over a secret vault hidden beneath the campus. While stuck on Earth, The Doctor took a job as a lecturer and Nardole acted as his valet. (The Pilot)

Bringing tea with an “bit of coffee” in it to “give it some flavour”, Nardole was dismayed to learn that The Doctor and Bill had been to Regency London while he was out, which he considered “naughty” of the Doctor as he had broken his oath, only for The Doctor to argue that his return proved he kept it. After being told by The Doctor to “leave [him] alone”, a frustrated Nardole voiced his frustrations to himself While standing guard at the Vault before being interrupted as the prisoner started heavily knocking on the door. (Thin Ice)

GUARDING THE VAULT

After The Doctor had saved Bill and her friends from a creaking house and a creepy Landlord, The Doctor gave Nardole the night off, much to his annoyance. He was disappointed when he learned that the Twelfth Doctor had put a piano in the Vault, saying that he “never learns”. (Knock Knock)

PERSONALITY

Nardole was loyal and humble. He saw it as his duty to make sure The Doctor was alright following the death of River Song. (The Return of Doctor Mysterio)
He was timid and could show great fear when faced with danger. He was particularly scared of heights. (The Husbands of River Song)

Although he could sometimes appear incompetent, (The Husbands of River Song) he was knowledgeable and, despite not originating from Earth, knew that New York wasn’t a capital city, unlike Washington DC.

Nardole could also be child-like. He happily played with children’s toys (The Return of Doctor Mysterio) and enjoyed a “cuddle” with The Doctor and Bill. (Oxygen)

Nardole appeared to have a distaste for humans. He refused to make Bill tea because he’s “not a slave for any human, that’s for sure”. (Smile)

Nardole has suggested a possible criminal past. He referred to a time when he was “on the run”, and was quick to deny that he was capable of both murdering and robbing the workers aboard Chasm Forge. (Oxygen)

ABILITIES

Nardole was capable of flying the TARDIS, a talent displayed by very few of the Doctor’s previous travelling companions. (The Return of Doctor Mysterio)

Following his reassembly at least, Nardole had a longer-than-human lifespan. He remained at St Luke’s University for a number of decades during which he didn’t appear to age. (The Pilot)

Nardole appeared to have a distaste for humans. He refused to make Bill tea because he’s”not a slave for any human, that’s for sure”. (Smile)

Following his reassembly at least, Nardole had a longer-than-human lifespan. He remained at St Luke’s University for a number of decades during which he didn’t appear to age.. (Smile)

He was also adept at using a sonic screwdriver. When they travelled to a Dalek-Movellan war zone, he used it short-circuit several panels and successfully quarantined all the Daleks in the vicinity to prevent them from attacking the Twelfth Doctor and Bill. (The Pilot)

At 30.3 degrees Celsius, Nardole had a lower body temperature than the average human. This was likely due to his cybernetic body. (The Pyramid At The End of the World). His left hand was not his original hand but ratherone he won in some kind of game. (The Lie of the Land)

He was still vulnerable to contamination from deadly Earth bacteria due to being”human enough”, Nardole was capable of surviving where humans wouldn’t due to his alien physiology. However, this could make him too ill to do anything for up to six weeks. (The Pyramid At The End of the World, The Lie of the Land) He would also die without an oxygen supply, much like an organic being. (Empress of Mars)

Nardole, along with Bill, became temporary companions of Missy when The Doctor decided to give her a”test run” to test her loyalties. They arrived on a Mondasian colony ship flying towards a black hole and encountered Jorj, who shot Bill out of fear. Nardole, The Doctor and Missy remained at the top of the ship to incapacitate Jorj and eventually made their way down to rescue Bill, only for ten years to have passed for (Bill, who had been converted to a Mondasian Cyberman by The Master. The Doctor and Nardole encountered both incarnations of the Master as they discovered Bill (World Enough and Time).

Nardole escaped from the two Masters whilst they captured The Doctor. He found a spaceship and used it to fly The Doctor, (Bill and the Masters to safety when the Cybermen began to attack them. When they arrived on Floor 0507, Nardole took command of the villager’s defence due to The Doctor being unconscious, and he was able to turn the floorof the spaceship into a minefield to stop the Cybermen progressing. During this time, Hazran began to take a liking to him. When the Cybermen began to outnumber them, The Doctor told Nardole to take the remaining children and adults to a higher floor and stay there to protect them. Nardole initially opposed this but eventually relented, seeing his role as a babysitter a fitting way to make up for his past. He took the children away from Floor 507 as it began to blow up and remained on the ship, ready to defend the villagers against more Cybermen if they came back (The Doctor Falls).

LEGACY

The Twelfth Doctor remembered Nardole along with his other past companions as he lay dying on the TARDIS floor. (The Doctor Falls)

Following his eventual death, Nardole’s memories were retained by the Testimony. The Testimony sent a glass avatar ofNardole alongside Bill Potts to visit The Doctor before his regeneration into the Thirteenth Doctor. The Twelfth Doctor thanked both his friends for what they had done for him and they shared a cuddle before Nardole and Bill’s avatars teleported away. (Twice Upon a Time)

BEHIND THE SCENES

Several characters in Doctor Who Legacy are based on Nardole, including Hydroflax with Nardole’s head, which is used as both an ally and an enemy.

Nardole is mentioned by the Twelfth Doctor in Doctor Who and the micro:bit.