Donna Noble

Donna Noble is a fictional character played by Catherine Tate in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A temp from Chiswick, 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", leading into the programme's second Christmas special, "The Runaway Bride". When the character refused the Doctor's invitation to become a permanent travelling companion, for the programme's third series (2007), the Doctor travelled alongside medical student Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman). However, Donna returned as The Doctor's sole full-time companion for the whole of the fourth series in 2008, and reprised the role once more in the 2009–10 special The End of Time.

Within the series' narrative, Donna begins as an outspoken mid-30s Londoner, whose view of the universe is small in scope. Although she at first finds alien time traveller the Doctor terrifying, their initial encounter leaves her unsatisfied, and she decides to travel alongside him when the next opportunity arises. Her very human perspective saves the Doctor's life when they first meet, and persuades him to act more compassionately and make exceptions to conventions in order to save individual lives; Likewise, Donna becomes a more worldly and heroic individual, and the pair develop a strong friendship. It is Donna who ultimately saves the universe in the fourth series' conclusion, although tragically at the cost of the memories of her travels with the Doctor. In a contrast to the Tenth Doctor's prior companions, who both harboured romantic feelings for him, Donna and the Doctor shared a strictly friendly relationship, and she does not feel the need to prove herself to travel with the Doctor; the Doctor refers to her as his "best mate".