Donna Noble returns to Doctor Who in 2023 for the 60th anniversary. Here’s why the Doctor once called Donna most important woman in the universe.
Nov. 1, 2023 sees the return of Catherine Tate as Donna Noble on Doctor Who as part of the sci-fi series’ 60th anniversary celebrations. Tate joins her former co-star, David Tennant, who previously appeared as the Tenth Doctor and has now rejoined Doctor Who for a brief stint as the Fourteenth Doctor. Trailers for the three upcoming 60th anniversary specials have featured Tennant’s Doctor claiming that destiny “is heading for Donna Noble.” It appears that unseen forces are bringing the Doctor and Donna back together. It wouldn’t be the first time destiny has united the two of them.
During her travels with the Tenth Doctor, it soon became clear there was something different about Donna Noble — even if she didn’t see it herself. Throughout their adventures, the Doctor and Donna kept encountering hints of Donna’s significance and the dark fate that awaited her. Ultimately, the truth behind what had been bringing the Doctor and Donna together was unveiled, as Donna underwent a transformation that turned her into the savior of all reality. Beyond this lofty destiny though, Donna became one of the Doctor’s best friends. This effectively her fate all the more tragic, which raises the stakes for her upcoming return to Doctor Who.
Donna Noble’s Travels With the Tenth Doctor
Before she became a full-time companion on Doctor Who, Season 4 in 2008, Donna Noble first traveled with the Doctor on the 2006 Doctor Who Christmas special, “The Runaway Bride.” The episode saw Donna being unexpectedly teleported into the TARDIS on her wedding day after being dosed with Huon particles by her fiancé, Lance, who was in league with the sinister Racnoss. This first adventure with Donna came at a pivotal moment for the Doctor, who had just lost Rose Tyler. His experience with Donna helped him come to terms with the loss of his previous companion. Donna also reminded the Doctor why it was important for him to have someone at his side, paving the way for his future adventures with Martha Jones.
After parting ways with the Doctor at the end of “The Runaway Bride,” Donna soon came to regret choosing not to travel with the Time Lord. Although her experiences with the Doctor had been transformative, Donna struggled to escape the mundanity of her life on Earth and longed to be back on board the TARDIS. Her wish was granted when, following the Doctor’s example, Donna started looking into the mysteries surrounding Adipose Industries. The Doctor was also investigating the company, which was a front for an alien matron using humanity to rear the offspring of the Adipose species. After coming close to crossing paths several times, the Doctor and Donna finally reunited while eavesdropping on the villainous Miss Foster.
Donna and the Doctor then remained with one another throughout the rest of Doctor Who, Season 4, which saw them traveling to the Ood Sphere, meeting Agatha Christie and crossing paths with River Song for the first time (from the Doctor’s perspective). Ultimately, it was the Daleks’ attempts to destroy all reality that would tear the Doctor and Donna apart. In this final adventure, absorbing the energy of the Doctor’s aborted regeneration turned Donna into a human-Time Lord Meta-Crisis. This gave her the Doctor’s consciousness, enabling her to disable Davros’ Reality Bomb and destroy the Daleks. Sadly, her human biology could not support a Time Lord mind and the Doctor was forced to erase all Donna’s memories of their time together.
Hints of Donna Noble’s True Significance on Doctor Who
The true importance of Donna Noble as the savior of all reality was steadily set up throughout her time on Doctor Who. At first, her reunion with the Doctor was portrayed as coincidence — albeit, a coincidence that was helped along by Donna’s determination to find the Doctor. However, it gradually became clear that a fate unlike that of any other companion was lying in wait for Donna Noble. Prophetic warnings followed her throughout time and space, warning of her tragic fate, but also predicting her true importance to all existence.
While the Doctor and Donna were visiting the Ood Sphere in the episode “Planet of the Ood,” the psychic Ood referred to Donna as “the DoctorDonna,” foreseeing her eventually gaining the Doctor’s mind. Later, in “Silence in the Library,” River Song — the Doctor’s wife from the future — reacted with shock and sorrow when she realized who Donna was, apparently aware of Donna’s fate. In “Turn Left,” Donna met Rose Tyler in an alternate reality. During this encounter, Rose revealed that reality was bending around Donna and always had been, hinting at her role in stopping the Daleks’ Reality Bomb.
The Doctor’s and Donna’s fateful encounter with the Daleks played out in the Season 4 finale, “The Stolen Earth” and “Journey’s End.” In this finale, the Doctor realized there was more than coincidence bringing him and Donna together. He cited the fact they had met twice against astronomical odds: the fact he had unknowingly met Donna’s grandfather the Christmas after he first met her, and the fact she parked her car right beside where the TARDIS was going to land the day they reunited. Their intertwining paths were ultimately revealed to be the work of Dalek Caan, the mentally-compromised final member of the Cult of Skaro, who was secretly manipulating time to bring about the DoctorDonna’s creation, having decided the Daleks needed to be destroyed.
The Doctor’s and Donna’s Story Continues
Donna Noble’s return to Doctor Who for the series’ 60th anniversary this year suggests that the loss of her memories may not be the final word in the story of her time with the Doctor. Despite the Doctor claiming that Donna would die if she ever regained her memory, the two have been side by side in the trailers for Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary specials. Donna seems to remember who the Doctor is and the Time Lord has even returned to his old appearance, regenerating back into the form in which Donna knew him. However, there’s still a chance that this reunion will be short-lived and doomed to end in tragedy for Donna.
It has been confirmed Neil Patrick Harris is playing the Toymaker, one of the Doctor’s oldest and most powerful enemies, in the upcoming specials. It’s likely that he is the one who has brought the time-traveling duo back together this time around, perhaps doing so specifically to threaten Donna’s life. There’s certainly no other companion who means quite as much to the Doctor. After losing Rose, with whom he shared an unspoken love, and parting ways with Martha without ever recognizing the feelings she had developed for him, the Doctor found a best friend in Donna Noble.
The Doctor and Donna were able to simply enjoy the thrill of time travel with one another, until their adventures came to a devastating conclusion as Donna was forced to forget every moment of their time together. The Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials offer hope for the Doctor to finally put things right with his old friend. But such a reunion cannot come without a cost, following Donna’s fate in Season 4. Maybe Donna will finally meet her demise after reuniting with the Doctor. Or maybe this time, the Doctor will have to sacrifice himself to save Donna Noble.
