David Taylor (Shada)

 was a human resident of Cambridge in 1979. He died after Skagra transferred his mind into his Sphere to learn how to drive a car. (WC: Shada, BFA: Shada, DWN: Shada)

Biography
David's education stopped after three O-levels. He lived a quiet life with his widowed mother. He enjoyed the music of Cilla Black. (DWN: Shada) He was also the treasurer of the Ford Prefect Appreciation Society. (WC: Shada, BFA: Shada)

When Skagra stopped him and asked for a ride, David thought he was trying to pick him up (an unexpected and thrilling prospect). (DWN: Shada) However, Skagra merely wanted transport to his ship, which was parked and cloaked in a field. Skagra used his Sphere to absorb David's mind and ability to drive; David did not survive long after the process was completed. (WC: Shada, BFA: Shada, DWN: Shada)

However, David's mind lived on in the Sphere. After the Doctor defeated Skagra, he took the Sphere to Drornid, where he had the minds of David and the other victims transplanted into new bodies. David asked the Doctor to fetch his mother from Earth for him, and the Doctor obliged, saying "she'd only have worried". (DWN: Shada)

Behind the scenes
The hapless Cambridge motorist killed by Skagra has neither a name nor much of a personality in the original, unbroadcast television story of Shada. In the webcast and audio versions from Big Finish Productions, he was played by Stuart Crossman, and given a bit of character. He was portrayed as an enthusiast for the Ford Prefect car, which was of course a tribute to the character of Ford Prefect in Shada author Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series.

The motorist's name, character and resurrection on Drornid are all derived from Gareth Roberts' novelisation.