Editing Iris Wildthyme

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox character
| name        = Iris Wildthyme
| series      = [[Doctor Who]]
| first       = ''Marked for Life''
| last        = Ongoing
| portrayer   = [[Katy Manning]] (voice)
| species     = Humanoid (speculated to be a [[Time Lord]])
| affiliation = None
| home        = Unknown (speculated to be [[Gallifrey]])
| lbl21       = Home era
| data21      = If from Gallifrey, most likely the [[Rassilon|Rassilon Era]]
}}
'''Iris Wildthyme''' is a [[fiction]]al [[Character (arts)|character]] created by writer [[Paul Magrs]], who has appeared in short stories, novels and audio dramas from numerous publishers.<ref>[http://www.starburstmagazine.com%2Fbook-news%2F2072-book-news-paul-magrs-at-starburst Book News] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705142646/http://www.starburstmagazine.com/book-news/2072-book-news-paul-magrs-at-starburst |date=2013-07-05 }}, Starburst, March 2012</ref><ref>[http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/magrs_paul The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction], eds John Clute, David Langford, Peter Nicholls and Graham Sleight</ref>  She is best known from [[Doctor Who spin-offs|spin-off]] media based on the long-running British [[science fiction on television|science fiction television]] series ''[[Doctor Who]]'', where she is sometimes depicted as a renegade [[Time Lord]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Dcz6RlYN3PEC&pg=PA324 "Canonicity Matters" in ''Time and Relative Dissertations in Space: Critical Perspectives on Doctor Who''], Lance Parkin, pp.246, 257, Manchester University Press, 2007</ref>

Her stories are in the [[New Wave (science fiction)|New Wave]] mold, characterised by nonlinear, sometimes [[Stream of consciousness writing|stream of consciousness]] narrative, intertextual references to the rest of ''Doctor Who'' and [[popular culture]], and themes of [[unreliable narrator|unreliable narration]]. She has a playful, mischievous personality, delighting in baiting [[Doctor (Doctor Who)|the Doctor]] and getting into trouble.

==History==
Iris Wildthyme first appears in one of Magrs's non-genre novels, ''Marked for Life'',<ref name="sfo">[http://www.sci-fi-online.com/reviews/audio/05-11-27_WildthymeLarge.htm Wildthyme at Large]</ref> as a lesbian novelist who has lived for far longer than a normal lifespan.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=UxUtJJKycRoC&dq=%22Iris+Wildthyme%22&pg=PA140 "Hypothetical Hills", in ''Territories of Desire in Queer Culture: Refiguring Contemporary Boundaries''], James Knowles, pp.133, 140</ref> At the end of the novel, Iris Wildthyme seems to die and then become a baby in a scene reminiscent of [[Time Lord#Physical characteristics|regeneration]]. The infant Iris appears in later books by Magrs taking place in the same Phoenix Court setting, and an apparently adult version re-appears in the story "Hospitality", in the collection ''Iris: Abroad''.

Iris's first ''Doctor Who'' appearance is in the short story "[[BBC Short Trips#Short Trips|Old Flames]]", where she meets the [[Fourth Doctor]] and [[Sarah Jane Smith|Sarah]]. [[The Doctor (Doctor Who)|The Doctor]] already knows Iris as an "old friend", and she is seen to be travelling in a 20th-century [[London]] [[AEC Routemaster]] [[double-decker bus]] (the [[London Buses route 22|route 22]] to [[Putney Common]]), which is, in reality, her [[TARDIS]].<ref name="iwho">{{cite book |title=I, Who: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who Novels |last=Pearson |first=Lars |author-link=Lars Pearson  |edition=1st |year=1999 |publisher=[[Mad Norwegian Press]] |location=Des Moines, Iowa |isbn=0-9673746-0-X}}</ref><ref name="ahistory" />

The character was described as "a studied affront" to existing ''Doctor Who'' texts<ref name="britton">Britton, Piers, [https://books.google.com/books?id=S89yHFl57uQC&pg=PA200 TARDISbound: Navigating the Universes of Doctor Who], IB Tauris, p.200</ref> and "an ethical challenge" to some of the series' "main inconsistencies".<ref name="britton2">Britton, Piers, [https://books.google.com/books?id=S89yHFl57uQC&pg=PA200 TARDISbound: Navigating the Universes of Doctor Who], IB Tauris p.201</ref> In 2011, ''[[SFX (magazine)|SFX]]'' called Iris Wildthyme one of the 'Top 5 Spinoff Companions' and said 'her adventures (with the Doctor, and in her own line of books) are a joy'.<ref name="top5">[http://www.sfx.co.uk/2011/11/23/the-ultimate-doctor-who-top-fives/2/ SFX - The Ultimate Dr Who Top Fives], SFX, November 2011</ref>

Iris was featured at length in ''[[The Scarlet Empress (novel)|The Scarlet Empress]]''<ref name="dwm269">"Shelf Life", Dave Owen, Doctor Who Magazine No. 269, August 1998</ref> and ''[[The Blue Angel (novel)|The Blue Angel]]'',<ref name="dwm282">"Shelf Life", Dave Owen, Doctor Who Magazine No. 282, August 1999</ref> and went on to appear in several more short stories and novels in the [[BBC Books]] range, most recently ''[[Mad Dogs and Englishmen (Doctor Who)|Mad Dogs and Englishmen]]'' in 2002.<ref name="ahistory">{{cite book |title=AHistory: An Unauthorized History of the ''Doctor Who'' universe |last=Parkin |first=Lance |author-link=Lance Parkin |author2=Lars Pearson |author2-link=Lars Pearson |edition=2nd |year=2007 |publisher=[[Mad Norwegian Press]] |location=Des Moines, Iowa |isbn=978-0-9759446-6-0}}</ref><ref name="dwm312">"Preview: Mad Dogs and Englishmen", Paul Magrs, Doctor Who Magazine No. 312, January 2002</ref><ref name="dwm314">"The DWM Review", Doctor Who Magazine No. 314, February 2002</ref>

Since then the character has been the subject of a number of short story anthologies, edited by Magrs and others, published by [[Obverse Books]] and one by [[Big Finish Productions]],<ref name="wot">[http://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/wildthyme-on-top-158?range=12 Big Finish - Wildthyme on Top]</ref> and two novels published by [[Snowbooks]].<ref name="snow1">[http://www.snowbooks.com/webs/471#nav=0 Snowbooks - Enter Wildthyme!] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615165943/http://www.snowbooks.com/webs/471 |date=2013-06-15 }}</ref><ref name="snow2">[http://www.snowbooks.com/webs/525#nav=0 Snowbooks - Wildthyme Beyond!] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130825110618/http://www.snowbooks.com/webs/525 |date=2013-08-25 }}</ref>

In 2001, [[Philip Purser-Hallard]] submitted a proposal for a novel, ''Iris Wildthyme in the City of the Saved'', which would have seen Iris in a hedonistic artificial world at the end of time where all people are resurrected and made immortal. It was rejected as an Iris Wildthyme novel range was considered unviable at the time. Purser-Hallard reused elements of the story in 2002's ''[[The Book of the War]]'' (in which Iris appears as an unnamed traveller) and 2004's ''[[Of the City of the Saved...]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.infinitarian.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/iriscity.html|title=Iris Wildthyme in the City of the Saved - Rejected Novel Proposal|last=Purser-Hallard|first=Philip|author-link=Philip Purser-Hallard|work=infinitarian.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk|date=2001|access-date=26 November 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218193226/http://www.infinitarian.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/iriscity.html|archive-date=18 December 2014}}</ref>

In 2002, the character started appearing as an occasional crossover character in audio plays by [[Big Finish Productions]], where she is voiced by [[Katy Manning]].<ref name="manning">[http://www.katymanning.co.uk/ Katy Manning CV]</ref><ref>Sandifer, pp. 274–275</ref>  Following the casting of Manning in the role, imagery of the character used by Big Finish (and, later, Obverse Books) on packaging and covers now depicts Manning's likeness.<ref name="bf">[http://www.bigfinish.com/ranges/v/iris-wildthyme Big Finish - Iris Wildthyme]</ref>

The character has appeared as the main character in five "seasons" of audio dramas, released respectively in 2005, 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2015,<ref name="bf" /> along with a 2009 Christmas special.<ref name="bf2">[http://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/iris-wildthyme-and-the-claws-of-santa-100?range=12 The Claws of Santa]</ref><ref name="kmnews">[http://www.fantomfilms.co.uk/katy/news.htm Katy Manning News and Event] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130707041742/http://www.fantomfilms.co.uk/katy/news.htm |date=2013-07-07 }}</ref>  Each release of the second season is a pastiche of a decade of televised ''Doctor Who'', from the 1960s through to the 1990s.  The 2012 release ''[[Iris Rides Out]]'' is a crossover with the out-of-copyright character [[Carnacki|Carnacki the Ghost-Finder]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/series-3-box-set-727 |title=Series 3 Box Set |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=August 2012 |website=[[Big Finish Productions]] |access-date=31 May 2013}}</ref>

Although in some of her early appearances (including ''[[Verdigris (novel)|Verdigris]]'' and ''[[Wildthyme on Top]]'') Iris is accompanied by her companion Tom (played on audio by [[Ortis Deley]]), her usual foil in her Big Finish, Obverse Books and Snowbooks appearances is Panda, a 10-inch-tall sentient, stuffed toy (played on audio by [[David Benson]]).<ref name="interviewbenson">"Soho Stories", Clayton Littlewood, Polarimagazine, Feb 2010</ref>

==Character==
Iris claims to have been raised by a House of Aunts (as opposed to Cousins), in the mountains of southern [[Gallifrey]],<ref name="ahistory3">{{cite book |last1=Parkin |first1=Lance |author-link1=Lance Parkin |last2=Pearson |first2=Lars |author-link2=Lars Pearson |title=AHistory: An Unauthorized History of the Doctor Who Universe |edition=3rd |year=2012 |publisher=Mad Norwegian Press |location=Des Moines, IA |isbn=978-193523411-1 |pages=710–711}}</ref> and also that she has erased all of her records from the [[Matrix (Doctor Who)|Matrix]], explaining why the Time Lords know nothing about her. She is known to have survived the destruction of Gallifrey and the apparent retroactive wiping of the Time Lords from history that took place at the end of the novel ''[[The Ancestor Cell]]''.

Iris regenerates at the end of ''The Scarlet Empress'' (into a form resembling [[Jane Fonda]] in ''[[Barbarella (film)|Barbarella]]''),<ref name="iwho"/><ref name="bafflement">{{cite journal |last1=Magrs |first1= Paul |author-link=Paul Magrs |date=5 April 2000 |title=Bafflement and devotion |journal=[[Doctor Who Magazine]] |issue=289 |pages=26–29 |publisher=[[Panini Comics|Panini]] }}</ref> and is known to have at least six other incarnations. One of these, Bianca (voiced by [[Maria McErlane]]), appears in the [[Big Finish Productions]] audio play ''[[The Wormery]]'' and is similar to the Doctor's villainous [[Valeyard]] incarnation. Iris has also apparently worked for [[United Nations Intelligence Taskforce|UNIT]] as a Scientific Advisor, and for the Ministry of Incursions and Ontological Wonders (MIAOW).<ref name="bafflement" />

There is no indication of what relationship the character has with the new television series. In "[[The End of the World (Doctor Who)|The End of the World]]" (2005), the Doctor states that his homeworld had been destroyed and that he is the last of the Time Lords.

Attempting to pin down the exact details of Iris's history is problematic because such details are not only kept deliberately vague by Magrs and other writers, but also because the accounts of her adventures may not be reliable, in whole or in part.<ref name="bafflement" /><ref name="iwho2" /> For example, some of her claimed exploits bear a remarkable similarity to those of the Doctor's, and some have suggested that it is the Doctor's adventures that are [[plagiarism|plagiarised]] from Iris's life, rather than the other way around.<ref name="bafflement" />

Her TARDIS is a double-decker red London bus, the number 22 to Putney Common.<ref name="iwho" /> In contrast with other TARDISes, hers is slightly smaller on the inside, a fact attributed to the fact that her TARDIS was dying when she found it. She also claims to have stolen the TARDIS, and to be on the run from her "mysterious superiors".

Iris has also argued that her adventures are more "true" than the Doctor's recollections because she writes them in her diaries while the Doctor does not. Magrs has explicitly stated that Iris "knows — of course she knows — that she's a very deliberate parody of ''Doctor Who''. That's why she loves him so."<ref name="bafflement" /> In [[postmodernism|postmodernist]] style, Iris is portrayed as playfully aware that she is a character in a television programme (or a series of books and audio dramas spun off from a television programme).<ref name="eruditorum">{{cite book |last=Sandifer |first=Elizabeth |title=TARDIS Eruditorum: An Unofficial Critical History of Doctor Who, Volume 3: Jon Pertwee |year=2013 |publisher=Eruditorum Press |location=Danbury, Connecticut |isbn=9781484030233 |pages=218–225}}</ref> Even more so than the Doctor's TARDIS, Iris's bus is a device for moving her between fictional genres and even texts. In the context of the ''Doctor Who'' universe, all this may be explained by Iris's claim in the novel ''[[The Blue Angel (Doctor Who)|The Blue Angel]]'' that she is from the Obverse, a surreal [[Parallel universe (fiction)|parallel universe]] with radically different physical laws.<ref name="ahistory3" /><ref name="iwho2">{{cite book |last=Pearson |first=Lars |author-link=Lars Pearson |title=I, Who 2: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who novels and audios |year=2001 |publisher=Mad Norwegian Press |location=New Orleans |isbn=1-57032-900-1 |pages=117–120}}</ref> More recently in both Big Finish audios and Obverse Books short stories, she has claimed to come from The Clockworks, a planet in the Obverse, ruled over by a race not unlike the Time Lords.<ref name="ahistory3" />

==List of appearances==
===''Phoenix Court'' novels by Paul Magrs===
*''Marked for Life'' ([[Vintage Books]] 1995)
*''Does It Show?'' (Vintage Books 1997)
*''Could It Be Magic?'' (Vintage Books 1998)

===BBC ''Doctor Who'' novels===
*''[[The Scarlet Empress (novel)|The Scarlet Empress]]'' by Paul Magrs (1998)
*''[[The Blue Angel (novel)|The Blue Angel]]'' by Paul Magrs and Jeremy Hoad (1999)
*''[[Verdigris (novel)|Verdigris]]'' by Paul Magrs (2000)
*''[[Mad Dogs and Englishmen (Doctor Who)|Mad Dogs and Englishmen]]'' by Paul Magrs (2002)

===Snowbooks novels===
*''[[Enter Wildthyme]]'' by Paul Magrs (Snowbooks, 2011)
*''Wildthyme Beyond'' by Paul Magrs (Snowbooks, 2012)
*''From Wildthyme with Love'' by Paul Magrs (Snowbooks, 2013)

===The New Adventures of Iris Wildthyme===
* ''Iris Wildthyme and the Polythene Terror'' (Obverse Books, 2019)
* ''Mother, Maiden, Crone'' (Obverse Books, 2020)

===Short stories by Paul Magrs===
*"Old Flames" in ''[[BBC Short Trips#Short Trips|Short Trips]]'' ([[BBC Books]] 1998, ed [[Stephen Cole (writer)|Stephen Cole]])
*"Femme Fatale" in ''[[BBC Short Trips#More Short Trips|More Short Trips]]'' (BBC Books 1999, ed Stephen Cole)
*"Entertaining Mr O" in ''Perfect Timing '' (1999, ed [[Mark Phippen]] and [[Helen Fayle]])
*"Bafflement and Devotion" in ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' (essay with fictional elements)<ref name="bafflement" />
*"Being an Extract from 'The Amazing Adventures of Iris Wildthyme on Neptune'" in ''Tales of the Solar System'' (2000, ed [[D Paul Griggs]])
*"In the Sixties" in ''Walking in Eternity'' (2001, ed [[Julian Eales]]), reprinted in ''Twelve Stories'' ([[Salt Publishing]], 2009)
*"Suitors, Inc." in ''[[Short Trips: Seven Deadly Sins]]'' ([[Big Finish Productions]] 2005, ed [[David Bailey (writer)|David Bailey]])
*"The Dreadful Flap" in ''Iris Wildthyme and the Celestial Omnibus'' ([[Obverse Books]] 2009, ed Paul Magrs & [[Stuart Douglas (writer)|Stuart Douglas]])
*"The Delightful Bag" in ''The Panda Book of Horror'' (Obverse Books 2009, ed Stuart Douglas & Paul Magrs)
*"Hospitality" in ''Iris: Abroad'' (Obverse Books 2009, ed Stuart Douglas & Paul Magrs)
*"Hang onto Yourself" in ''Lady Stardust'' (Obverse Books 2012, ed Art Critic Panda)
*"The Ninnies on Putney Common" in ''Fifteen'' (also known as ''Iris:Fifteen'', Obverse Books, 2013, ed. Stuart Douglas, {{ISBN|978-1909031159}})

===Short story anthologies===
*''Wildthyme on Top'' ed Paul Magrs (Big Finish Productions 2005)
*''Iris Wildthyme and the Celestial Omnibus'' eds Paul Magrs and [[Stuart Douglas (writer)|Stuart Douglas]] ([[Obverse Books]], 2009)
*''The Panda Book of Horror'' eds Stuart Douglas and Paul Magrs (Obverse Books, 2009)
*''Iris: Abroad'' eds Paul Magrs and Stuart Douglas (Obverse Books, 2010)
*''Wildthyme in Purple'' eds Stuart Douglas and Cody Quijano-Schell (Obverse Books, 2011)
*''Lady Stardust'' ed Art Critic Panda (Obverse Books, 2012)
*''Fifteen'' ed Stuart Douglas (Obverse Books, 2013)
*''Iris Wildthyme of Mars'' ed [[Philip Purser-Hallard]] (Obverse Books, 2014)
*''The Perennial Miss Wildthyme'' ed [[Dale Smith (writer)|Dale Smith]]  (Obverse Books, 2015)
*''A Clockwork Iris'' ed Stuart Douglas, [[George Mann (writer)|George Mann]], and Paul Magrs (Obverse Books, 2017)
*''Wild Thymes on the 22'' ed Stewart Sheargold (Obverse Books, 2019)
*''Locked in Space'' ed Stewart Sheargold (Obverse Books, 2023)

===Novelette anthologies===
*''Ms Wildthyme and Friends Investigate'' (Obverse Books, 2010)

===Cwej: The Series===
* "Flickering Flame" by [[Andy Lane]] 

===Big Finish audio plays===
{{see also|Iris Wildthyme (audio drama series)}}
*''[[Excelis Dawns]]'' by Paul Magrs (2002)
*''The Plague Herds of Excelis'' by Stephen Cole (2002)
*''[[The Wormery]]'' by Stephen Cole and Paul Magrs (2003)
*''Wildthyme at Large'' by Paul Magrs (2005)
*''The Devil in Ms Wildthyme'' by Stephen Cole (2005)
*''The Sound of Fear'' by [[Mark Michalowski]] (2009)
*''Land of Wonder'' by Paul Magrs (2009)
*''The Two Irises'' by [[Simon Guerrier]] (2009)
*''The Panda Invasion'' by Mark Magrs (2009)
*''The Claws of Santa'' by [[Cavan Scott]] & [[Mark Wright (writer)|Mark Wright]] (2009)
*''[[Find and Replace (audio drama)|Find and Replace]]'' by Paul Magrs (2010)
*''The Iris Wildthyme Appreciation Society'' by Cavan Scott (2012)
*''Iris Rides Out'' by [[Guy Adams]] (2012)
*''Midwinter Murders'' by [[George Mann (writer)|George Mann]] (2012)
*''Whatever Happened to Iris Wildthyme?'' by Cavan Scott & Mark Wright (2013)
*''Iris at the Oche'' by Mark Wright (2013)
*''A Lift in Time'' by David Bailey (2013)
*''The Elixir of Doom'' by Paul Magrs (2014)
*''Wildthyme Reloaded'' (2015)
** ''Comeback of the Scorchies'' by [[James Goss (producer)|James Goss]]
** ''Dark Side'' by Nick Campbell
** ''Oracle of the Supermarket'' by Roy Gill
** ''Murder At The Abbey'' by Mark B. Oliver
** ''The Slots of Giza'' by Hamish Steele
** ''High Spirits'' by Cavan Scott
** ''An Extraterrestrial Werewolf in Belgium'' by [[Scott Handcock]]
** ''Looking for a Friend'' by Paul Magrs
*''Muse of Fire'' by Paul Magrs (2018)

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.bigfinish.com/ranges/v/iris-wildthyme Big Finish Productions, publishers of Iris Wildthyme audio plays]
*[http://obversebooks.co.uk/product-category/iriswildthyme/ Obverse Books, publishers of Iris Wildthyme short story collections]
*[https://archive.today/20130630080745/http://www.snowbooks.com/webs/222/author_show%23nav=0 Snowbooks, publishers of Iris Wildthyme novels]
*{{TardisIndexFile|Iris Wildthyme}}

{{Doctor Who characters|selected=Companions}}

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[[Category:Iris Wildthyme| ]]
[[Category:Time Lords]]
[[Category:Doctor Who book characters]]
[[Category:Female characters in literature]]