Conrad Clark

Played by Jonah Hauer-King

“I don’t accept your reality, Doctor. I reject it” 

Conrad Clark initially presents himself as an eager Doctor fan, investigative podcaster, and loving boyfriend to Ruby Sunday, who connects with him over both his kindness and interest in the Doctor. But Conrad is hiding less than noble intentions: he is in fact using Ruby to expose the “lies” of her and UNIT as part of activist organisation Think Tank. 

Manipulative, cold but ultimately scared and insecure, Conrad uses the power of social media influencing to give himself status and present himself as more knowledgeable and powerful than he is – but he may have bought into his own reality a bit too much. 

Character Bio

Conrad Clark first meets the Fifteenth Doctor and Belinda Chandra as an eight-year-old child on New Year’s Eve 2007. The Doctor tells him it’s his “lucky day” and gives him 50p. As the TARDIS departs, Conrad runs back into the crowd with both the coin and a newfound fascination for the Time Lord.

In 2024, Conrad spots the TARDIS once again and tails the Doctor and Ruby Sunday on one of their adventures. As they track down the Shreek, Conrad is marked with its green tracking goo. He gets a good look at the creature before escaping, sneaking a photo of Ruby as she enters the TARDIS.

In 2025, having convinced Ruby to share her experiences on his podcast, Conrad then invites her on a date; where she reveals the Shreek have marked Conrad to hunt him, and gives him the antidote. Conrad and Ruby begin dating regularly and he invites her on a weekend away to meet his friends.  

While on their holiday, the electricity begins to fail: a possible sign of a Shreek incursion. Conrad reveals to Ruby that he did not take the antidote, wanting to be as brave as the Doctor and prove himself to her. Enlisting the help of UNIT, Conrad and Ruby set out to stop the Shreek – only for them to suddenly reveal themselves to UNIT as actors in costume, at which point Conrad reveals his true nature. He is in fact a conspiracy theorist, working with radical group ‘Think Tank’, and faked his romance with Ruby in order to lure UNIT into the open to expose their “lies”. He starts a livestream to 'prove’ that UNIT are just tracking fake aliens and wasting taxpayer money, which begins a wider smear campaign against the organisation.

As UNIT struggle to re-organise against the backlash, Conrad uses his network of followers to infiltrate the UNIT tower, intending to “expose” them from within their headquarters. Making the mistake of goading Kate Lethbridge-Stewart about her father’s legacy, Conrad is forced to face the real Shreek, live on air! He continues to claim that the creature is fake until it is fully upon him, becoming terrified and losing his angry façade. Ruby saves his life by tasering the creature, at which point Conrad reiterates that it’s all fake – earning himself a bite in the arm from the pacified creature.

Recovering from the bite, Conrad is held in a UNIT cell, at which point the TARDIS materializes around him. Condemning him for his actions, the Doctor warns Conrad about the path he is on. Conrad rejects the Doctor’s “reality” and taunts him about his companions, mentioning Belinda who, at this point in time, the Doctor has not met.

The Doctor leaves Conrad back in his cell, alone; only for Mrs Flood to appear shortly after, dressed as a police warden, telling him it’s his “lucky day”…