Donna Noble is one of the most loved companions in Doctor WhoBut despite her popularity, she didn’t really have much screen time compared to the other companions featured in the show. Although she appeared in every episode of the fourth season alongside David Tennant, Doctor Who Brought a lot of other companions, such as River Song, Martha Jones, Jack Harkness and Rose Taylor. This inevitably limited Donna’s screen time – making it even more impressive that she managed to have such an outsized impact.
Despite her lack of screen time, Donna still had enough presence to make audiences fall in love with the character, so much so that Catherine Tate returned as Donna alongside David Tennant for the 60th anniversary special in 2023. Donna was smart, witty, and sarcastic, along with being caring and nurturing, making her a perfect companion in Doctor Who. Donna Noble’s close, platonic bond with Tennant’s 10th Doctor created an irreplaceable dynamic – which makes her relative lack of screen time even more surprising in hindsight.
Dana was difficult in her first couple of episodes but soon began to appear less
After Martha Jones returned, Donna’s screen time began to reduce
For the first three episodes of season 4, Donna was a relatively typical Doctor companion, accompanying him on his travels while helping him save lives. She even demonstrated her independent streak, going against the Doctor in “The Fires of Pompeii”, asking him to change the past and save the lives of some civilians in the Roman city. One of her best appearances was in “Planet of the Oud” Where she helped save all of Odd Min and demonstrated her inherent empathy. However, once Martha Jones returned to the series in “The Sontaran Stratagem”, Donna began to take a back seat.
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After Martha Jones’ reappearance for three episodes, more companions only came into the Doctor’s life throughout season 4, taking time away from Donna and the Doctor. River Lied was introduced to audiences in the episodes “Silence in the Library” and “Forest of the Dead”.Which led to Donna being trapped in the virtual world, alone, cutting her off from the episode’s main story. In “Midnight,” Donna was only in the opening and closing scenes, and in the two-part season finale, all of the revival-era companions returned, meaning that Donna inevitably became an even more peripheral presence.
Donna’s separate storylines made her feel like she had even less time
The show began giving Donna storylines away from the Doctor
Compared to Martha’s time as a companion, Donna’s era sees her play a much less central role in the wider story. Even though the two companions were with the Doctor for the same number of episodes, the characters’ storylines were much more distinct, with Martha being a major player in almost every story. Martha was on screen for most of the third season as she always traveled along with the Doctor and never really strayed away from him. however, Donna loses the Doctor PhilHighlighting her free-spirited nature but resulting in less screen time.
In the episode “Partner’s in Crime”, the doctor and Donna split almost immediately, compromising her role. In “The Sontaran Stratagem”, Donna goes on a side quest to find her family, reuniting Martha and the Doctor in the process. In “Silence in the Library”, she is sent away by the Doctor into the virtual world, while “Midnight” only includes her for two scenes while the Doctor goes on a journey alone. Then, in “Journey’s End” Donna is alone when everyone thinks she’s dead, before she becomes Doctor Donna.
…Danna rarely appears all the way through an episode, as Rose did in the first two seasons or Martha in the third.
All of these examples mean that Dana rarely appears all the way through an episode, like Rose did in the first two seasons or Martha in the third. Instead, when she is given her separate storylines from the Doctor, She will only appear on screen for about half an episode. This causes Donna to have less screen time relative to other companions.
Donna Noble still being so beloved shows how great a character she was
Her personality reached audiences despite her lack of screen time
Donna was only originally supposed to appear in the Christmas special, “The Runaway Bride”, but audiences loved Donna so much that she became a series regular for the fourth season, and returned again for the 60th anniversary special. Donna’s sarcasm and humor are addictiveMaking audiences fall in love with her when she’s on screen. This, along with her playful, platonic relationship with the Doctor, and the redemption story that turns Donna from being a selfish, unruly person, to being a responsible, savior of humanity, makes Donna even more beloved by audiences.
That she remains so popular despite her lack of screen time compared to others Doctor Who Companions is a testament to Donna Noble’s character. Time and again, she proved capable of stealing the limelight and dominating the story, even if she was technically on the periphery. It is for this reason that she has been brought back to the show on multiple occasions, ranking as one of the rare companions who can survive apart from the Doctor.