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Donna Noble

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Template:Doctorwhocharacter Donna Noble is a fictional character played by Catherine Tate in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A secretary from London, she is a companion of the Tenth Doctor, appearing in one scene at the end of the final episode of the 2006 series, "Doomsday", and in the second Christmas special, "The Runaway Bride". The character will return as a full-time companion in the fourth series.[1]

Character history

In the events of "The Runaway Bride", Donna Noble is a temporary secretary at H.C. Clements, a security firm which, unknown to her, provides a front for the Torchwood Institute. Little is known about her family or past life. Both of her parents are alive and attend her wedding, at which her mother is heard to mention that Donna was sent home for biting on her first day at school.

On the day of her wedding, she is accidentally pulled into the TARDIS as a result of being dosed with Huon particles by her duplicitous fiancé, Lance Bennett, who is following the orders of the Empress of the Racnoss. She aids the Doctor in defeating the Racnoss Empress, but declines his invitation to travel with him — she is frightened not only by his adventures, but also, to a certain extent, by the Doctor himself.

The character of Donna Noble will be returning to Doctor Who as the Doctor's full time companion for all 13 episodes of Series 4 alongside David Tennant.[1][2] Her return to the series will see her track down the Doctor during an "alien emergency", after which she is set to encounter returning aliens the Ood and mystery writer Agatha Christie.[3][4]

Personality

Donna's strident reaction to her sudden appearance in the TARDIS includes yelling at the Doctor and leaping to the conclusion that she has been kidnapped. The Doctor appears to find her loud-mouthed manner off-putting at first, saying "I don't want you here, anyway". He sarcastically wishes Lance "good luck" with the marriage, and later reminds Lance in person of his pending promise to "honour and obey". Even at the end of the episode, when the Doctor and Donna are on better terms, he remarks, "Blimey, you can shout." Series producer Russell T Davies at one time dismissed Donna's potential as an ongoing companion due to her abrasive personality, saying that "she'd get on your nerves".[5]

The Doctor says that Donna is neither special nor clever. Upon learning that she is unaware of both the Sycorax ship flying over London and the Battle of Canary Wharf, due to hang-overs and holidays respectively, he takes her to task for missing "the big picture". Fixated on her interrupted wedding, Donna initially shows little interest in understanding the strange things she encounters, such as the TARDIS and robot Santas, viewing them instead as obstacles between her and her goal. Upon being informed that "this is serious" by her husband to be and asked what they are going to do, she responds by recommending a new date for their wedding. Once his duplicity toward Donna is revealed, Lance criticises her for her stupidity and her preoccupation with "trivia".

Nevertheless, as she begins to trust the Doctor more, she follows him as he investigates H.C. Clements and stands up to the Empress of the Racnoss. Gaining perspective on the human condition after witnessing the formation of the Earth, she decides to make something of her life, walking "in the dust" of the Earth and no longer taking "the big picture" for granted. When the Doctor tells her to "be magnificent", she intends to do just that.

Despite her faults, and her failure to discover Lance's villainy earlier, Donna shows a surprising amount of insight in her interactions with the Doctor. Shocked and scared by his merciless defeat of the Racnoss, she initially turns down the Doctor's offer of full time companionship, but urges him to find someone else to travel with, "because sometimes I think you need someone to stop you".

Production and publicity

Catherine Tate, the actress who portrays Donna, was the first guest star to be named in the show's opening credits, and her character was considered by the production team to have companion status long before the announcement of the character's return.[5] Billie Piper, Freema Agyeman, and John Barrowman (during his tenure with Tennant only) have all been credited in this manner for their continuing roles as companions.

List of appearances

References

  1. ^ a b "Donna says "I do!"". British Broadcasting Corporation. 2007-07-03. {{cite news}}: Text "accessdate 2007-07-03" ignored (help)
  2. ^ "Tate to be Doctor's new companion". bbc.co.uk. 2007-07-03. Retrieved 2007-07-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ood was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ ""Whodunnit"". BBC News. 2007-08-10. Retrieved 2007-08-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ a b Cook, Benjamin (January 31, 2007 (Cover Date)). "The Runaway Bride — Along Came A Spider". Doctor Who Magazine (378). Panini Magazines: 25–26. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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