Zoe was a character in an early draft of William Shakespeare's play Macbeth.

Appearing at several crucial moments throughout the narrative, she and Jamie travelled with the Doctor in the Tardis, a ship capable of traversing time, as well as locale beyond Earth. Zoe was clearly based upon her namesake Zoe Heriot while her fellow travellers were blatant versions of the Second Doctor and Jamie McCrimmon.

The additional subplot with the three extra characters was ultimately omitted from the finished play with The Shakespeare Notebooks speculating this was "likely" for reasons of "staging, dramatic unity, and plausibility". Before the discovery of the Shakespeare Notebooks, many critics had considered that, as the version of Macbeth printed in the First Folio was the shortest of Shakespeare's tragedies, it was actually a heavily edited version of what was originally a play of similar length to Othello and King Lear. In the finished version, Zoe (along with the Doctor and Jamie) was replaced by the Weird Sisters during Act IV. (PROSE: The True Tragedie of Macbeth)

Character biography[]

Act I[]

Zoe first appeared with the Doctor and Jamie in Act I Scene III after "some small malfunction of Tardis circuits" had brought them to Scotland. Jamie described being in the control room "one minute" and "on some blasted heath" the next. Although it was rainy in the middle of the night, the Doctor advised against finding shelter as he predicted "the fault [would] mend itself" and at that point they would be swiftly returned to the Tardis. Zoe soon tripped over a bush in the thick fog.

Hearing Macbeth and Banquo approach, the trio attempted to hide in the mud but this was to no avail. Upon hearing Macbeth's name, Jamie recollected that he knew of him as the Thane of Glamis and the Thane of Cawdor with Zoe chiming in with a reference to a play during which he also became the King of Scotland. This greatly upset the Doctor who unsuccessfully begged for them to keep quiet. After listening, Macbeth explained he knew he was the Thane of Glamis but that the Thane of Cawdor lived. Just as Jamie was about to tell him how they could prophecise this, the Doctor clamped his hand over Jamie's mouth as all three started to vanish, returning to the Tardis.

Act II[]

The trio next appeared in Act II Scene III, having "landed properly" outside Macbeth's castle. After the Doctor chastised Jamie for telling Macbeth his destiny because he would now want to slay the King and take the throne for himself, damage the Doctor was convinced they had to mend before it was too late, Zoe brought up the Shakespeare play Macbeth. She asked if the tale "must be true" and "come to pass" as he had written it. The Doctor countered Shakespeare had taken "poetic license with the truth" and that Macbeth did not neccesarily become king through murder.

Zoe, the Doctor and Jamie were granted entry into the castle by a porter and then ducked out of sight when they heard Macbeth and Macduff coming, deep in conversation. At this point the Doctor realised that they had failed and Macbeth had already slain the King. Believing they might be blamed for the heinous act if caught, the trio slipped away in the ensuing chaos.

In Act II Scene V, the Doctor discussed with Zoe and Jamie that Banquo was now a threat to Macbeth as Jamie had told him he would "beget kings" and that he would have him killed unless they could prevent the misdeed. Jamie suggested they shouldn't interfere but the Doctor disagreed as they had "set this train upon its track" and it was therefore up to them to ensure no ill proceeds. At this point they were found by a servant who told them "King Macbeth" required their services. Jamie and the Doctor followed, with Zoe, despite her protests, remaining in the "safer" environment until they returned.

Act III[]

After the Doctor and Jamie had been asked by Macbeth to kill Banquo that night, they reunited with Zoe and set out to confront him, albeit "wield[ing] no thought of harm" and having come to "deliver [him] from death's reach". They encountered Banquo and his son Fleance in Act III Scene III. Fleance was told to flee to Wales while Banquo was to follow after helping the Doctor prove he was killed. At the Act's conclusion, the Doctor realised Macbeth was planning to meet with the Weird Sisters, a reference to himself and his companions.

Act IV[]

At the beginning of Act IV Scene I, Zoe, the Doctor and Jamie stood around a bubbling cauldron in a cave on the heath. They all wore rags and applied mud to their faces to disguise themselves as witches. As Zoe had memorised the entire play by heart, the Doctor told her to do the talking while he and Jamie occasionally joined in. Zoe added several ingredients to the cauldron and then told Macbeth to be aware of Macduff. He asked for more information and Zoe responded by telling him "none of woman born" would harm him and that he would not be vanquished until Great Birnam Wood came to Dunsinane Hill. As a final request, Macbeth sought to know if Banquo's issue would ever rule in the kingdom and, despite Zoe commanding him to "seek to know no more", she obliged and thanks to one of the Doctor's devices images of future Scottish kings appeared on the cave wall.

They all later heard Macbeth talking to Lenox about conspiring to kill Lady Macduff and her children resulting in the Doctor deciding to offer his and Jamie's services to the King once more.

Act V[]

In Act V Scene IV, Zoe met with Macduff, Malcolm and Banquo in Great Birnam Wood, Banquo having left his son in Wales to join the amassing English army. Zoe told them Macbeth expected their assault meaning they would have to use camouflage. She suggested leaves and branches from Birnam Wood, thus fulfilling the prophecy. After the Doctor and Jamie watched Macbeth leave his castle to fight a losing battle, they left themselves to find Zoe.

In Act V Scene VIII, the trio approached "a blue dwelling" as the Doctor reflected on the end of Macbeth's story. Zoe asked him if Shakespeare had got it right after all to which he responded "not quite", asking her to imagine how many more foul murders there would have been if they hadn't intervened. At this, he pondered how he had to "make sure Shakespeare [wrote] it straight" upon their "next" meeting, prompting Zoe to question if he had met Shakespeare before. All three then entered the dwelling and, with a "wheezing" and "groaning", it vanished, its occupants "bound for another adventure". (PROSE: The True Tragedie of Macbeth)