England



England was a constituent country of the United Kingdom on Earth. Frequently visited by the Doctor, it was also his temporary home on a number of occasions, (TV: An Unearthly Child; AUDIO: The Haunting of Thomas Brewster) as well as the location of his Time Lord-imposed exile. (TV: The War Games)

Many of the Doctor's companions hailed from England — or at least embarked on their journeys in the Doctor's TARDIS from there — beginning with Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton and continuing on through to Clara Oswald. Only a few human companions expressed antipathy towards the country, most of whom were not themselves English. Scots Jamie McCrimmon and Amy Pond weren't fans, the latter of whom called it, flatly, "rubbish". (TV: The Eleventh Hour) Egyptian Erimem encountered England only after visiting France first, which she preferred. American Peri Brown, who accompanied the ex-Pharaoh on her visit to the country in the 15th century, said that it "beat her" why the Doctor kept coming back to England's "muddy glory", but admitted that it "got better" in the 20th century thanks to The Beatles and "fashion sense". (AUDIO: The Kingmaker)

England was also the main base of operations for Sarah Jane Smith (TV: A Girl's Best Friend, Invasion of the Bane; AUDIO: Comeback) and for K9 Mark 2. (TV: Regeneration)

Geography
England was south of Scotland, (TV: Tooth and Claw) and east of Wales. (TV: Boom Town, TV: Children of Earth: Day One) It was separated from the mainland of Europe by the English Channel. (TV: The Sea Devils)

The capital of England was London up until the 24th century when London was absorbed into Central City. (TV: "Strangers in Space")

Influence on the Doctor
The majority of the Doctor's visits to England followed the creation of the United Kingdom, but he still visited the country many times prior to this. (TV: The Time Meddler, et al.) Of all the countries in the UK, it was England that influence him the most. He adopted much of its customs, dress, and other cultural elements. Many of the Doctor's companions were English. (TV: An Unearthly Child onwards) The Doctor once declared 19th century England to be his favourite time and place. (PROSE: The Banquo Legacy)

History
England was frequently the subject to various alien invasions, attacks, plans, intergalactic battles, experiments or conspiracies, particularly throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. It was the home to Torchwood One and UNIT operated throughout the country. (TV: The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Army of Ghosts, The Web of Fear) The Doctor visited it throughout its history, from the time of the Celts (AUDIO: The Relics of Time) to its journey into space as part of Starship UK. (TV: The Beast Below)

England founded the UK in 1705 when it passed the Alien Act, which forced the Scottish Parliament to negotiate full union with England. (TV: The Highlanders)

Sport
"England" was also frequently the casual name of sporting teams that represented the country in international play. The English cricket team who participated in The Ashes, for instance, was said to simply be "England". (PROSE: Graham Dilley Saves the World)

Cricket was popular within small communities who often had a village team. (TV: Black Orchid) Stockbridge was such a village, and one greatly favoured by the Doctor. He would sometimes spend the entire cricket season living in the village and playing for the local slub. (AUDIO: Summer)

Still, football was the most popular sport in England, and one of the oldest. (COMIC: Doctor Who and the Nightmare Game, The Lodger, TV: The Lodger)

Other sports were popular within England. It had a long heritage of golf players and the sport was often played with great seriousness. (TV: The Sea Devils)

Anglia