St John Colchester

St John Colchester-Price (né Colchester), better known simply as Mr Colchester, was a civil servant who joined Torchwood Three in 2017.

Early life
St John Colchester came from Hove. (AUDIO: A Kill to a View) He had a sister named Jane who moved to New Zealand and whom he rarely saw. Their mother and father were dead by 2017.

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 the Falklands War (AUDIO: Eye of the Storm) and in Basra, Iraq. (AUDIO: Aliens & Sex & Chips & Gravy) Although he treated his fellow soldiers like family, some asked if he had to be "so gay", something that his family also did. (AUDIO: Future Pain)

During the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, Mr Colchester once attended eight funerals in one month. He considered the decade to be a difficult time to be gay. (AUDIO: Eye of the Storm)

Marriage and career
In the 2000s or earlier, (AUDIO: Orr) he 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 wedding. He and Colin both took the surname "Colchester-Price", although Colchester went more often by his original name. (AUDIO: Future Pain)

A cousin of Colin's once sent Colchester a scented candle. (AUDIO: Night Watch) The pair lived together in a farmhouse in Hove, (AUDIO: A Kill to a View) although 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)

Whilst in the army, Colchester shot and killed a man who begged him not to. (AUDIO: Tagged) Whilst in the army, Colchester's team worked with the Doctor. The men were ordered to stand well clear of the Doctor. They were made aware that people who stand too close to the Doctor tended to die, a fact he would later bring up to defend Torchwood from Dorothy McShane. (AUDIO: The Red List) The major-general overlooked him for Head of Procurement (AUDIO: Future Pain) and he worked in the Civil Service, aware of Yvonne Hartman and her many achievements and believing that she was brilliant. (AUDIO: Poker Face) It was during his time in Civil Service that the Daleks invaded the Earth. Colchester and his team were responsible for stopping the human race from risking their lives by tackling the Daleks with fire extinguishers. (AUDIO: The Red List)

Joining Torchwood
By 2017, Mr Colchester had been assigned to assist in the reestablishment of Torchwood Three. (AUDIO: Changes Everything) This required Colchester and Colin to relocate to Cardiff, moving into Ritz Tower after a month on Davenport Street. (AUDIO: A Kill to a View) He had attempted to leave Colin in Hove for his comfort, but Colin insisted on moving with him.

Jack Harkness had him film a last message not long after he first met him and Gwen Cooper. (AUDIO: Future Pain) In 2017, Gwen Cooper sent him to investigate the Committee and he went to the retirement home on Cathedral Road hoping he would learn more about them. (AUDIO: The Torchwood Archive)

The Sorvix occupation
Mr Colchester was often left in charge of the Rift. (AUDIO: Changes Everything, Zero Hour, Herald of the Dawn) He and Jack were both unaware of Gwen's possession by Ng (AUDIO: Orr, etc.) and, unlike the other two, he was not enthusiastic about Tyler Steele joining them. Mr Colchester neutralised the fire drones that chased Ng and Tyler to the Hub and beat an alien to death with a spanner when it came through the Rift. (AUDIO: Changes Everything)

He and Ng observed Madrigal's hen night and left with her, obtaining information about the Sorvix from her and later convincing her to marry Osian to avoid a civil war in Cardiff. (AUDIO: Aliens & Sex & Chips & Gravy) On his and Colin's anniversary, Colin gave him a bow tie which he wore to work. Mr Colchester tried to remove the control necklace from Orr, who transformed into a younger Colin when around him. (AUDIO: Orr) He and Jack went to Cardiff Bay Intelligent Hotel and Spa to shut it down. (AUDIO: Superiority Complex)

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 she 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) and 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. (Herald of the Dawn)

Death and resurrection
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 but, on the way, he had a heart attack and died. (AUDIO: Herald of the Dawn, Future Pain)

Per Torchwood protocol, Yvonne did not release Mr Colchester's 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.

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)

God and the Committee
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)

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)

Later career
In 2022, Mr Colchester found himself lockdowned with Dorothy McShane, who was there representing A Charitable Earth, in a foreign dictatorship, unable to escape and solve the alien invasion attempt outside. Throughout his lockdown, St John's own subscious was hijacked by the Unity, convincing him through the propaganda television channel, his Bible and his cryptic crossword, to assassinate the president, allowing the Unity to take over with their clone armies. Noticing this, Dorothy McShane snapped him out of his mind control and together they escaped their lockdown, confronted the numerous clones of Xavier and took down his premature army. Unsure of their clone statuses, the two left the hotel to return to their normal lives. (AUDIO: The Red List)

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

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 St John 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 Colchester was an army man. Despite her early reservations, the two seemed to work together amicably, but also used Colchester's short fuse to annoy him for her own amusement. (AUDIO: The Red List)

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.