Esther Drummond, portrayed by Alexa Havins, is a fictional character in the BBC television programme Torchwood, a spin-off from the long-running series Doctor Who.

Within the series narrative, Esther is a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) watch analyst who becomes aware of the defunct British Torchwood Institute on "Miracle Day", when it is discovered that no one can die.

Amid her research, she encounters former head of Torchwood, Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), who helps her escape the destructive blast of a suicide bomber.

However, she initially struggles as a field agent, nearly compromising the team's mission when she attempts to get help for her mentally ill sister Sarah (Candace Brown).

[3] Later whilst trying to escape during an undercover mission in an effective concentration camp, in which the gravely wounded are incinerated, Esther strangles Colin Maloney (Marc Vann) in unarmed combat, leaving her aghast and shaken.

Reviewing the novel, SFX columnist Alasdair Stuart commented that author Guy Adams provided "interesting, and brave, context to Rex’s relationship with Esther."

She revealed that her husband, actor Justin Bruening, being a Torchwood "fan-boy" influenced her decision to accept the role, stating that he told her "you've got to take this part" and offered to assume child-minding responsibilities.

[14] A promotional video released by Starz provided background information on Esther including her college education—the character introduces herself by stating that she has a BA in Linguistics and a Masters in Cognitive science.

"[16] Esther's introduction invites parallels that of lead female character Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) in the series' 2006 premiere episode "Everything Changes"; she represents an audience surrogate for new American viewers.

[18] Head writer and executive producer Russell T Davies described Esther as "a very healing force" in helping the other more outspoken characters gel together as a team because she is "much more able to empathise with people.

It’s a really lonely world that she hasn’t experienced before, and you see her slowly grow out of it, and she catches her stride a few episodes in".Esther has a romantic interest in Rex Matheson (Mekhi Phifer), who she idealises and looks up to.

[17] Espenson notes that by the final episode Esther has earned a degree of admiration from Rex through her work for the Torchwood team, which she feels to be because "he just can't fail to see how smart and brave she is.

[25] Den of Geek's Simon Brew felt the character's storyline with her sister in "Escape to L.A." to be "welcome exposition, and Alexa Havins is proving to be an excellent bit of casting".

[26] Digital Spy's Morgan Jeffrey stated that throughout the fourth series, "Alexa Havins was consistently excellent, bringing a real warmth and likability to her role.

[28] Dave Golder, writing for SFX noted the character's incompetency in the episode "Escape to L.A." showed her to be "every bit as incapable of acting professionally for more than 60 seconds as Owen and Tosh were back in the old days.

"[32] Conversely, Los Angeles Times correspondent Emily VanDerWerff opined that it was hard to invest in Esther, in addition to Rex and Oswald, and though her death was intended as the "one big, emotional moment of the finale" it came across to him as "kind of a dud".