 Davies wrote former Prime Minister Harriet Jones ( Penelope Wilton ) into the script on 22 December — before Wilton was approached about reprising the role — because Gardner and Collinson wished for the character to have a satisfying and redemptive conclusion ; in the dénouement of her previous appearance in " The Christmas Invasion " , the character faced a vote of no confidence in Parliament after she ordered Torchwood to shoot down a fleeing Sycorax ship . Harriet Jones ' story arc thus formed a tripartite storyline which consisted of an introduction , animosity towards the Doctor , and redemption ( albeit at the cost of her life ) . Davies was aware that Wilton was " very hard to book " and restricted her appearance to one day 's filming in one location ( Harriet 's home ) to make negotiations easier ; had Wilton declined , Davies planned to replace her with either Donna , Mr Copper ( Clive Swift ) from " Voyage of the Damned " , or Elton from " Love & Monsters " . Wilton accepted unconditionally because she " would do anything for ... Davies " and she wished to act in Phil Collinson 's last filming block as producer ; her first appearance in " Aliens of London " was filmed in the first production block of the first series . Collinson and Davies lamented the character 's death : Collinson " [ couldn 't ] bear the thought she 's dead " and argued that she escaped death ; and Davies generally stated in Doctor Who Magazine issue 397 that " when [ significant characters a writer creates ] have to die , it 's a genuinely emotional time " . 
