"W" appears whenever Alton needs expert advice on a tool or appliance. She occupies the same role as James Bond's ascerbic armorer "Q" and has many similar character traits: she's an expert at what she does, and she suffers Alton's occasional appearances with reluctance. Generally standoffish, she was once smitten, by the mysterious Mr. Vlad, Alton's guest in "The Bulb of the Night." She seems to move around from job to job, or perhaps she consults; she has appeared in various kitchenware stores over the years.