St John Colchester

St John Colchester-Price (né Colchester), better known simply as Mr Colchester, was a member of Torchwood Three in the 2010s and 2020s.

Honourably discharged from the British Army following the Falklands War, Mr Colchester joined the Civil Service and was later assigned to assist Jack Harkness and Gwen Cooper in the reestablishment of Torchwood. He helped try to maintain peace with the Sorvix and was resurrected by God after he was killed by an assassin, allowing him to go on to fight the Committee, befriend Dorothy McShane and investigate the power behind Phlobos.

Early life
St John Colchester came from Hove (AUDIO: A Kill to a View) and had a sister, Jane. (AUDIO: Future Pain) In the 1960s, the family stayed in a caravan in Rhyl and Mr Colchester collected "naughty postcards" which his mother told him would make him grow up "funny". (AUDIO: Death in Venice)

Mr Colchester was homosexual, (AUDIO: Changes Everything) something that his family did not like and which caused them to ask him several times if he had to be "so gay". He saw very little of Jane after she moved to New Zealand and their mother and father were dead by the late 2010s. (AUDIO: Future Pain)

Army years
Mr Colchester went to university and made a friend there whom he saw only twice after graduation. (AUDIO: Future Pain) He joined the British Army (AUDIO: Herald of the Dawn) where he did special ops training under cover of night. (AUDIO: Escape Room) He fought in Basra and Iraq (AUDIO: Aliens & Sex & Chips & Gravy) and treated his fellow soldiers like family, but they still had a problem with his sexuality. (AUDIO: Future Pain)

Whilst in the army, Mr Colchester shot and killed a man who begged him not to. (AUDIO: Tagged) He and his team once worked with the Doctor, but they were ordered to stand clear of him as it was known that those who stood too close to him tended to die. He saw the Doctor from afar but never spoke to him. (AUDIO: The Red List)

In 1982, (COMIC: The Infinite Astronaut) Mr Colchester, by then a sergeant, fought in the Falklands War alongside Graham Graves. (AUDIO: Eye of the Storm, Pariahs) He learnt during the fighting that one had to give up or carry on believing that things would get better only to give up at a later date. (AUDIO: Death in Venice) He stayed with a soldier he was known to be close to and cradled his body as he died, after which he was seen by Graves in what he believed to be a compromising position and was honourably discharged. (AUDIO: Pariahs)

Civil Service
Mr Colchester began a career in the Civil Service (AUDIO: Changes Everything) and was overlooked for the position of Head of Procurement by the major-general. (AUDIO: Future Pain) He was aware of Yvonne Hartman and her many achievements, believing that she was brilliant. (AUDIO: Poker Face) During the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, which he considered to be a difficult time to be gay, he once attended eight funerals in one month. (AUDIO: Eye of the Storm)

In the 2000s or earlier, (AUDIO: Orr) Mr Colchester entered into a romantic relationship with Colin Price. They got engaged and, before their wedding, rented a cinema and screened North by Northwest for their friends and family. (AUDIO: Aliens & Sex & Chips & Gravy) They got married on a beach in the rain, which had been Colchester's decision. (AUDIO: Future Pain) Colin's mother disapproved of their relationship (AUDIO: Aliens & Sex & Chips & Gravy) and did not attend.

The couple both took the surname "Colchester-Price", although Mr Colchester went more often by his original name. (AUDIO: Future Pain) They went on an expensive honeymoon in Venice and, because of the amount of money that they spent, they felt guilty for doing nothing and had their first proper argument after Mr Colchester insisted on taking Colin on a regimented tour around all of the museums. He had planned for them to go on a midnight cruise, but they did not. (AUDIO: Death in Venice)

A cousin of Colin's once sent Mr Colchester a scented candle. (AUDIO: Night Watch) The pair lived together in a farmhouse in Hove, (AUDIO: A Kill to a View) although Mr Colchester was often away because of work. (AUDIO: Future Pain) The two had sex in their car on the day that they bought it. (AUDIO: Thoughts and Prayers) During the Planetary Relocation Incident in the late 2000s, Mr Colchester and his colleagues endeavoured to save people who were attempting to hold back the Daleks by throwing fire extinguishers at them. (AUDIO: The Red List)

During the Miracle, Mr Colchester visited care homes and met elderly people who were unable to die. (AUDIO: How I Conquered the World)

Joining Torchwood
By 2017, (AUDIO: The Torchwood Archive) Mr Colchester had been assigned to assist Jack Harkness and Gwen Cooper in the reestablishment of Torchwood Three. (AUDIO: Changes Everything) Jack had him film a last message not long after they first met (AUDIO: Future Pain) and often left him in charge of the Rift. (AUDIO: Changes Everything, Zero Hour, Herald of the Dawn)

Mr Colchester's new job with Torchwood required him to relocate to Cardiff (AUDIO: A Kill to a View) and he tried to get Colin to stay in Hove for his comfort, but Colin insisted on joining him. (AUDIO: Future Pain) They lived on Davenport Street for a month before Ritz Tower opened and they were able to move in. (AUDIO: A Kill to a View)

A new team
The Sorvix arrived in Cardiff (AUDIO: Changes Everything) and, whilst Jack was concerned about their presence in the city, Mr Colchester was not convinced that they were a threat. Both were unaware for some time of why they had arrived, what their species was called and whether they had the means to leave (AUDIO: Aliens & Sex & Chips & Gravy) in addition to being oblivious to Gwen's possession by Ng. (AUDIO: Orr, etc.)

Mr Colchester saved Ng and Tyler Steele from fire drones by neutralising them and was unenthusiastic at the prospect of the latter joining Torchwood, particularly after he ran away when Mr Colchester killed an alien who came through the Rift with a spanner. Several days later, Tyler told Mr Colchester about his suspicions that 3Sol was behind a recent bombing and accused him of being racist and homophobic, prompting him to tell him about Colin and leave. He presumably shared Tyler's concerns with Jack, who went to 3Sol and rescued him from the aliens. (AUDIO: Changes Everything)

Aware of Madrigal's hen night, Mr Colchester and Ng observed the party to ensure that it did not get out of hand and to gather information, but they were forced to flee with Madrigal after 3Sol came after them. Mr Colchester and Ng learnt from her that her species were the Sorvix, that they did not have any spacecraft and that they had come to find a new god after their last one let them down. After obtaining this information, Mr Colchester convinced Madrigal to wait for 3Sol and marry Osian as intended so as to avoid civil war. (AUDIO: Aliens & Sex & Chips & Gravy)

Mr Colchester was given a bow tie by Colin on their anniversary and he wore it to work. After a Sorvix assassin killed Vincent Parry, Mr Colchester tracked her movements using CCTV and put a block on Catrin Parry's passport so that Jack and Tyler could stop her leaving the country, leading them to discover that it was Orr in the real Catrin's place. He stayed with Orr, who took on the form of a younger Colin, whilst Jack and Tyler went to find a way to defuse the control necklace around their neck. (AUDIO: Orr)

He and Jack went to Cardiff Bay Intelligent Hotel and Spa to shut it down. (AUDIO: Superiority Complex)

Mrs Cooper sent him to investigate the Committee and he went to the retirement home on Cathedral Road hoping he would learn more about them. Afterwards he logged his experience into the Torchwood computer and briefly spoke with Orr. (AUDIO: The Torchwood Archive)

A new mayor
After Mr Colchester caught a vent scrit in the Hub, Orr was able to work out that they had parasites. His love for Colin was able to stabilise Orr after they suffered a seizure. (AUDIO: Love Rat)

Mr Colchester learnt that Colin was in danger at Ritz Tower and saved him by killing Andrea and Sandra, unwittingly helped Bilis Manger send a message (AUDIO: A Kill to a View) to God. (AUDIO: Herald of the Dawn)

When Deliverables tried to take control of the Rift, Mr Colchester had to turn his laptop on and off again every five minutes to hold the Rift Manipulator in place. (AUDIO: Zero Hour)

Being especially critical of the police due to how Colin had been discriminated against in the past, Mr Colchester was sceptical of Andy Davidson's claim of not being responsible for shooting a refugee. Once Andy was exonerated, Mr Colchester joined Ng and Orr in confronting Jack about how he ran Torchwood. (AUDIO: Herald of the Dawn)

A new leader
Mr Colchester was the most willing to listen to Yvonne Hartman when she appeared. Having seen Jack speaking with Xander Vaughn on CCTV, Mr Colchester pulled a gun on him and later released Yvonne. He agreed to remain at Torchwood under her leadership. (AUDIO: Poker Face)

On his first day working for Yvonne, Mr Colchester analysed the "I know what you did" cards and later took a blood sample from Yvonne which he used to locate the Meme. He met with Jack in a restaurant, having worked out that Jack had a hand in the Meme's creation, and told him to leave Red Doors. (AUDIO: Tagged)

Brent Hayden twice approached Mr Colchester, once at his home, when Mr Colchester slammed the door in his face, and once in a shop, where Mr Colchester threatened him. (AUDIO: The Man Who Destroyed Torchwood)

Mr Colchester went to the Escape Room with Colin, Ng and Rhys Williams at Yvonne's suggestion and attempted to sacrifice himself to save Colin and Ng. His relationship with Ng was soured when she chose to pull the lever that would execute him. (AUDIO: Escape Room) He began to think that there was something strange about her.

Mr Colchester tried to contain the Rift when it suddenly became unstable and was shot by an assassin whilst helping Tyler escape into the Hub. He began to go blind and directed Tyler in what to do to control the Rift, being saved from the assassin by Ng. Tyler and Orr took Mr Colchester to the hospital. (AUDIO: Herald of the Dawn)

Return to life
Mr Colchester died of a heart attack on the way to the hospital and, per Torchwood protocol, Yvonne did not release his body to Colin. His funeral was attended by Colin, Jack, Tyler, Rhys, Gwen, Orr and Andy, as well as a number of other friends. He had asked Colin to begin his funeral with something embarrassing; he played their wedding video, having discounted The Birdie Song which he knew his husband had hated. Yvonne showed Mr Colchester's last message to Colin after apologising for not giving him his husband's body. (AUDIO: Future Pain)

Tyler was offended when Brent Hayden talked about Mr Colchester on one of his Tomorrow's Truth videos, telling him that he had no right to speak about him before uploading child pornography onto his computer and informing the police. (AUDIO: The Man Who Destroyed Torchwood)

God brought back Mr Colchester because of Tyler's wish at Mr Colchester's funeral, letting the Night Sun through the Rift to feast on dreams for balance. (AUDIO: Night Watch) Mr Colchester awoke and returned to his flat, finding Colin and Jack kissing. (AUDIO: See No Evil)

He was upset at Colin's choice of man and was soon left in a waking nightmare due to the light, making him believe that he was not real. Once Orr had absorbed the light, Mr Colchester and Colin kissed, (AUDIO: Night Watch) proving that he was alive. (AUDIO: Flight 405)

Back to work
Mr Colchester found that he was unable to sleep and found Jack on a rooftop, who assured him that he would recover. Mr Colchester thanked him for looking after Colin but stated that Colin did not need him anymore. They then talked about resurrection and Norton Folgate. (AUDIO: Flight 405)

Whilst heading to the reservoir to deal with the poisonous mould, Mr Colchester was approached by Tyler who attempted to tell him about Oblation. However, Mr Colchester assumed that he was taking drugs. Tyler later lured him and Ng with a report of a Weevil and tagged them, taking them to Ben's house in Newport to attract a Street Guardian. (AUDIO: Hostile Environment)

Mr Colchester woke up in Jack's body, naked, covered in confetti and with seven Penashi. He waited in Antonio's toilets for Jack but agreed that he should continue pretending to be him for the sake of Colin's birthday. He texted Jack his plans for the day and, after the body swap was undone, he was grateful that Colin had had a good day. (AUDIO: Another Man's Shoes)

With Jack, Ng and Norton, Mr Colchester went to the Sorvix power plant to prevent it from destroying western Europe. He and Ng placed detonators around the station whilst Jack and Norton went inside, but later blew up the hatch to get in despite Yvonne's orders. Mr Colchester found Norton and became suspicious of him, pulling out his gun but being rendered temporarily paralysed by Norton's remote shockpad. He fell into the water and was saved by Jack. (AUDIO: Eye of the Storm)

After the flood
Following the tsunami, Colin helped with the refugee camp at Ritz Towers (AUDIO: A Mother's Son) whilst Mr Colchester and Ng continued with Torchwood, although Mr Colchester began to think about leaving. The pair investigated the death of Jeff Morris and connected it to Meredith Pope's character ScrapeJane, whom Mr Colchester came to believe in. He unwittingly endangered Colin by telling him about the monster, which was eventually destroyed by Ng. (AUDIO: ScrapeJane)

On Day Zero, Mr Colchester and Ng pretended to be from Water Wales in order to analyse the poisonous mould. They went to the Ritz Tower camp and Mr Colchester managed to sneak into the building to find Colin, instead bumping into Tyler, who finally told him that he had been the one to bring Mr Colchester back to life. He had previously believed that it had been Colin and prepared to thank Tyler, but Tyler told him to wait until he meant it. (AUDIO: Day Zero)

Mr Colchester and Ng tried to get Orr out of the city, but were arrested by Andy who revealed that he had been working for Jack and took them to the Hub. Mr Colchester and Ng located the Lens, which they gave to Yvonne to direct Orr's new powers through the dimension bridge to destroy the Committee's final form and Erebus. Mr Colchester tried to call Colin, having promised that he would be with him during the end of the world, but was unable to reach him and was forced to go on the run with Jack, Ng, Orr and Tyler. (AUDIO: Thoughts and Prayers)

The pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic, which he referred to as the "Dullpocalypse", Mr Colchester obeyed the rules and wore a face mask when required, something that earnt him disapproving looks from those who disagreed with the government's response to the virus. He suspected that governments would get a taste for holding people from other countries in quarantine. (AUDIO: The Red List)

Mr Colchester worked day and night to protect the world during "interesting times" and blocked the invasion force of the Savash on Newport Road, showing the leader and chief science warlord the state of the Earth on his mobile phone. This resulted in the Savash declaring that the planet was "screwed" and deciding to leave in their spacecraft rather than attempt a terraforming. (AUDIO: A Postcard from Mr Colchester)

Torchwood regroups
After Ng and Orr became aware of the Child manipulating humanity, (AUDIO: Aliens Next Door) Mr Colchester purchased guns and bombs from Ilya Goloshchyokin in Sydney and killed two fugitive cryptocurrency traders. He became aware that Jeff and Mira were ruining Colin's life in an attempt to track Torchwood down and returned to Cardiff where he killed them both and saved Colin, taking him to safety before having to leave once again. However, he promised not to be too far away. (AUDIO: Colin Alone)

Mr Colchester worked as a taxi driver in London whilst Tyler investigated Barry Bean's algorithm and attempted to save Petra Malik from being killed. He followed Tyler using a tracker and protected him from being taken advantage of by a man he considered unattractive and from being hit by a lorry he was pushed in front of by Barry. Barry was defeated and Petra saved thanks to Tyler's computer skills, although Mr Colchester could not understand Tyler's explanation of how he rendered the newspaper's website unusable. (AUDIO: Moderation)

With Ms McShane
After receiving a request from Señor Fernández to help save his country from an alien invasion, Mr Colchester travelled abroad and was kept in quarantine for more than two weeks, ostensibly due to concerns about viral malaria. He met Dorothy McShane and together they learnt that the Unity intended to use them to take over A Charitable Earth and discredit Torchwood by having him kill President de Santos, after which they escaped and evacuated the hotel. The Unity dissolved themselves to avoid being discovered and Mr Colchester and Ms McShane left, uncertain as to whether or not everybody who left the hotel was human and not a clone. (AUDIO: The Red List)

Torchwood became aware of a plan to assassinate Ms McShane, so Mr Colchester killed Albert Congretto, who lured her to Venice, and warned her of an assassin aboard the aeroplane she was taking. They fled from attackers in paper masks and Mr Colchester realised that the board of A Charitable Earth had been taken over by aliens from another dimension who were intent on framing Ms McShane for murder and taking control of the charity. After running from the aliens to Slovenia and back to Venice, he contacted Torchwood and had them close the door to the aliens' dimension to banish them, after which Ms McShane declined his offer to continue their trip. (AUDIO: Death in Venice)

Fighting Friend
Torchwood was reunited and planned to expose Phlobos for mining data, with Mr Colchester being tasked with ensuring that Graham Graves attended as his presence was necessary to get Kyle Lansman to talk. He killed an assassin during the train journey to Birmingham and made a spectacle to make sure that Graves could not be kidnapped or quietly killed once they arrived, allowing Tyler to transport them both to the inquiry in a police car. During the inquiry, nanites were released from Kyle's body and Mr Colchester shot Graves as he suffered, after which armed police burst in to arrest him, Ng, Tyler and Orr whilst Yvonne disappeared. (AUDIO: Pariahs)

Legacy
In 4421, the Torchwood Archive selected a classic Torchwood theme for Jeremiah Bash Henderson's visit. This included a hologram of Mr Colchester. (AUDIO: The Torchwood Archive)

Appearance
Mr Colchester often wore cardigans. (AUDIO: Escape Room, etc.)

Personality
Mr Colchester told Roy that he was a "stubborn bugger" who was good at losing his temper. (AUDIO: The Torchwood Archive)

Upon hearing that Mr Colchester was working on behalf of Torchwood, his new friendship with Dorothy McShane quickly soured. This was because she was aware of the main reason for the founding of Torchwood, the hunting and capturing of the Doctor, her best friend. McShane also recognised by the way he walked and acted that Mr Colchester was an army man. Despite her early reservations, the two seemed to work together amicably, but also used Mr Colchester's short fuse to annoy him for her own amusement. (AUDIO: The Red List) She described him as having the personality of a pub carpet. (AUDIO: Death in Venice)

Behind the scenes

 * His first name is pronounced /ˈsɪnʒən/.
 * James Goss and Scott Handcock revealed that the character was pitched by Russell T Davies, who helped to develop Aliens Among Us for Big Finish Productions. His idea was to bring an older gay character in a stable relationship, the opposite of Tyler Steele in terms of personality and uncommon in science fiction. (BFX: Aliens Among Us 3)
 * Mr Colchester was intended to be Scottish, but when Scott Handcock suggested casting Paul Clayton, he and James Goss decided that he was perfect for the role. (BFX: Aliens Among Us 3)
 * The first name of Mr Colchester remained a mystery for quite some time. (VOR 104) It was first revealed in A Kill to a View, the 6th episode of Aliens Among Us. There, "St John" was used as a safe word between Mr Colchester and his husband Colin to get out from a dinner party, but Colin also called his husband St John at the end of the episode. The name was later unambiguously stated again in the 9th episode, Poker Face.