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Fear Her

"Fear Her" is the eleventh episode of the second series of the British science-fiction series Doctor Who, first broadcast on BBC One on 24 June 2006. It was written by Matthew Graham and directed by Euros Lyn.

The episode takes place in London on the day of the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony. In the episode, the alien time traveller the Doctor (David Tennant) and his travelling companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) investigate the lonely girl Chloe Webber (Abisola Agbaje), who has the ability to make people disappear by drawing them.

The episode was brought in to be a low-budget replacement for a script by Stephen Fry that had been pushed back. Location work was filmed mainly in the Tremorfa area of Cardiff in January 2006, with other scenes shot in Cardiff and in the studio in Newport in January and February. Graham was asked to write an episode primarily for children which would soften the much darker finale that would be broadcast after. The episode was watched by 7.14 million viewers in the UK, and was given an Appreciation Index of 83. The episode received praise from reviewers for the acting and the housing estate setting, and was criticised for having a "formulaic" and "ordinary" plot which "plods along". Graham received letters from children who enjoyed the episode, while also later discovering that adult fans' reactions were poor.

In London, on the day of the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games, the Tenth Doctor and Rose investigate the disappearance of three children and a spot of fresh tarmac which cars momentarily break down on. They realise that the source of the problems is a solitary 12-year-old girl named Chloe Webber. She has the unique ability to cause people to disappear by drawing them, causing Dale Hicks, Danny Edwards and Jane McKillen to go missing. The Doctor hypnotises Chloe and finds out that she is possessed by an immature Isolus, an alien that travels through space with a family of four billion siblings. Six days ago, this particular Isolus crashed its pod to Earth due to a solar flare. The Isolus relates to and befriends Chloe, who had a troubled childhood. The Isolus has also caused Chloe to draw a life-sized, exaggerated figure of her late, abusive father.

The Doctor explains that if they can find the Isolus pod and provide it power, the alien will leave Chloe. A frantic Chloe draws the TARDIS and the Doctor, trapping them both in one of her sketches and forcing Rose to try to find the pod herself. She rationalises that the pod is located on the hottest spot on the street, a patch of fresh tarmac, and digs it up with council equipment. Meanwhile, Chloe has caused the entire crowd at the Olympic stadium to disappear and now is set on making everyone in the world disappear. Rose realises that the pod is powered by both heat and emotion and throws it towards the Olympic Torch—a symbol of hope, fortitude, courage, and love—as it passes down the street. The missing children and the crowd at the Olympics reappear, and Rose realises that the drawing Chloe had made of her father will similarly come to life. Chloe and her mother, Trish, are able to calm Chloe by singing the "Kookaburra" song, causing the unseen monster—having fed off of Chloe's emotions and fears—to disappear.

As the torch bearer approaches the Olympic Stadium he collapses, and the Doctor promptly and suddenly appears, picks up the torch, and completes the run to light the Olympic Flame. The heat of the flame and the emotion of the crowd power the pod, allowing the Isolus to leave Chloe and return home.

"Fear Her" was an overcommissioned episode, which replaced a planned but unproduced script, known as "Doctor Who and the Green Knight", by Stephen Fry. Writer Matthew Graham was told by showrunner Russell T Davies that it was going to be an inexpensive episode and had to take place on a housing estate, but Graham was nevertheless thrilled to be asked to write an episode. Graham stated in 2011 that they "set out to do right from the start" making the episode more aimed at children, rather than adults and older Doctor Who fans, as the much darker finale would be broadcast following it. Davies specifically asked Graham to write for his seven-year-old son.

Early drafts of this episode were titled "Chloe Webber Destroys the Earth", and later, "You're a Bad Girl, Chloe Webber", with one such draft having the episode take place on another planet.

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