Doctor Who: “It’s kind of life for me”.

Doctor Who YouTuber, Harbo Wholmes, tells the story of the boy who pursued his passion to manhood.

March 26^th, 2005. Harvey Williams, age 6, sits down to watch Rose, the resurgent episode of a sci-fi show that disappeared from our screens in the late 80s. Transfixed and engulfed, he watches this mysterious young woman as she walks through the basement of the shop where she works. Unanimously, Harvey and Rose recognise danger, as the shop window dummies that surround her come to life and begin to pursue with violent intent. They back her against the wall, ready to strike. Harvey, terrified, takes a deep breath when… “Run!”. The Doctor reaches out his hand, saving her life, taking both Rose and Harvey on the adventure of a lifetime.

Harvey is now 24 and goes by the name of Harbo Wholmes, an internet persona that started as a secondary school nickname. His YouTube channel has a bold 52k subscribers, 309 videos, and 14m views. His passion for Doctor Who flourishes as strongly as the day he was introduced. “I was actually in the perfect demographic to start with series one when it aired. So, I was there from day one, with Rose” he says.

Today, Harvey’s career is based on that early blossomed love. He makes a living creating Doctor Who-centred videos: reviewing and analysing each individual episode, as well as researching deeper and niche information about the show to educate his audience on Doctor Who’s vast expanded universe.

He started his YouTube career in 2017, but with a slightly different topic of video. Inspired by YouTubers like GameGrumps, his initial angle was comedic commentary over gaming footage. “My friend and I tried doing our own. It was terrible, we weren’t funny. I basically removed it all from existence.”

Harvey was 18, and like many teenagers, it was a pivotal age for him, defined by change. He had studied media at A-Level, and although talented and encouraged by teachers to pursue the subject to university, he decided against it. “I just knew that wasn’t my path” he says.

“One of the most meaningful episodes for me was Twice Upon a Time”, the final episode of Harvey’s favourite version of The Doctor, Peter Capaldi. “In 2017 when that came out, I was 18, a couple of months out of school, I hadn’t gone to uni. The story is about changing and accepting the fact that you have to leave some stuff behind and move on.”

During the early days of his YouTube career, before it became profitable, Harvey supported himself through part-time jobs. He worked at the FedEx depot, and then as the social media manager/receptionist at a hotel. It was during this time that he developed his YouTube skills to resemble more of what we see today.

“I was watching channels that make video essays and I thought ‘I kind of want to do that’… to get my thoughts out there. I didn’t particularly care if anyone watched them.”

The pandemic was another pivotal time for Harvey. Laid off from his part time job, he had no choice but to double down on YouTube in order to support himself, which eventually turned out for the best: “I was making more videos more often, and then those really blew up and it became financially viable enough for it to become a job.”

Fast-forward to present day, and Harvey has found success on YouTube. Not to the level of those like Logan Paul, or Mr Beast, who brag about living in luxury penthouses. But enough to live a normal, humble life, doing what he loves. And although reviewing Doctor Who isn’t a very common job, it is still a job, so comes with its own troubles and challenges.

Harvey is a very honest reviewer, so isn’t afraid of stating unpopular opinions. For example, Matt Smith is a very popular version of The Doctor, but not one of Harvey’s favourites. He is critical of the inconsistent writing of the show at the time. This is often not well received by Doctor Who’s online fanbase, who adore Matt Smith. And, as we all know, people on the internet can be unkind to those they disagree with when it comes to the comment section.

This, although challenging, does not dwindle Harvey’s authenticity: “I always just try and be honest with everything. And as cliché as it is, I just be myself.”

The upcoming 60^th anniversary special is an example of this honesty. Harvey has been more vocally apprehensive than the average Doctor Who commentator. Despite being excited to see the return of David Tennant, who was an important Doctor in his formative years, he still has concerns: “I’ve always had this belief that the show needs to be constantly moving forward, and never dwelling too far on the past, as that can become quite dangerous.”

Which is understandable, as through Harvey’s whole life, he has moved forward with Doctor Who: “Every turn of my life, Doctor Who has had some form of impact… I’ve grown up with it. Obviously now it’s my career… It’s the way I bond with some of my friends. It’s something that’s brought me closer with my girlfriend… It’s been there my entire life, its inspired me in so many ways, both career wise and personability wise.

“It’s almost like a way of life.”