Aunt Ashley
|
Ashley "Ash" Spratt |
|
|---|---|
|
Former sponsor |
|
| Gender | Female |
| Date of birth | About 1964 |
| First appearance | Chapter 27 |
| Chapters with POV scenes | |
Aunt Ashley (sometimes referred to as Ash) is a trans woman who worked as a sponsor at Dorley Hall.
Ashley was one of the first sponsors to work under Aunt Bea's tenure and was "instrumental" to the early design of the rebooted programme. She has not been involved in "almost ten years". [SD 31]
Ashley is in her mid-fifties. [SD 28] She is white, tall, and dyes her hair blonde; Beatrice describes her as "attractive". [SD 27] She has large breasts and is not above joking about them. [SD 28]
Found family
Ashley was already staying in Teri and Linda's home when they took in Beatrice in 1988, and already at least jokingly called them her "mums". [SD 27] She continued to live with them until 2003, when Linda died. [SD 28]
As of 2019, she is still close with Teri and may still be living with her. [SD 31] Beatrice describes Ashley as "almost a sister" to her. [SD 28]
As a sponsor
When Beatrice first met her, Ashley was studying for her A-levels and intended to woodwork; [SD 27] by 1994 she was working for an insurance company. [SD 28]
In July 2003, following Linda's funeral, Bea disclosed the truth of her origins, her new affiliation with Elle Lambert, and her plans for the Hall. [SD 28]
At some point in 2004, Ashley was "betrayed" by her male partner who assaulted and outed her, ending her career and leaving her without a home. Soon after, she volunteered to become a sponsor in the first modern intake as an outlet for her anger towards men. [SD 31]
On Christmas Eve December 2004, following Elle's hostile takeover of the Hall, Ashley joined with Beatrice, Maria, Barbara, Sarah, and Trish to plan the 2005 intake. [SD 31]
Ashley retired from sponsorship once her anger had been exhausted, sometime around 2010. She is still well-respected at Dorley Hall in 2019; Christine, Indira, and Jane all call her "Auntie Ashley". [SD 31]
Charges
Ashley may have sponsored as many as five or six intakes, but only two have been mentioned in the text.
- 2005 intake: An unnamed boy [SD 31]
- 2007 intake: The washout who would become Cora [SD 45]
Notes
- Full name: Chapter 28 originally gave Ashley's last name as "Baker", but Alyson indicated that Chapter 45's "Spratt" would be canon.
- Age: Ashley is "almost thirty" in April 1994. [SD 28]
- It is not known whether Aunt Ashley retired immediately after Cora washed out or if she stayed on afterwards. Jane’s intake preceded Ashley’s retirement by a year. [SD 31]
| Dorley girls (and a few non-girls) | |
|---|---|
| 2005 intake | Edy (Maria), unnamed (Aunt Ashley), unnamed (Barbara), unnamed (Sarah), unnamed (Trish) |
| 2007 intake | |
| Outside friends, family, and allies | |
|---|---|
| Aunt Bea | Aunt Ashley, Cynthia, Dahlia, Linda, Sammy, Sue, Teri |