FEATURE: How Doctor Who's Donna Noble Could Return

 FEATURE: How Doctor Who's Donna Noble Could Return

Lately rumours have been swirling among the online Twittersphere regarding the potential return of Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) to Doctor Who. On Monday 22nd March, a Twitter user by the name of @brenswrld had claimed to have met actor Catherine Tate in Liverpool, on the very same day that the popular sci-fi series had been shooting in the iconic city. To slightly misquote the eighth incarnation of The Doctor (Paul McGann), this could be 'seeing patterns in things that aren't there', but to my eyes at least it seems a pretty major coincidence if this is not the return of everybody's favourite Chiswick temp.

So just how could Donna Noble return to Doctor Who?

Well, here are just a few theories on how this beloved fan-favourite character could make her long anticipated grand comeback. 

The Doctor Restores Her Memory

Donna's memory wipe is without a doubt one of the cruellest fates to befall any Doctor Who companion. Adric (Matthew Waterhouse) may have lost his life, and Rose (Billie Piper) may have found herself trapped in a whole other universe, but at least their memories of their adventures with the Doctor remained. Donna, on the other hand, was forced to forget everything she had witnessed with the tenth incarnation of the Time Lord (David Tennant); her travels with the Doctor had undoubtedly made her a better person than the one who had helped defeat the Racnoss in 'The Runaway Bride', and yet Donna's fate saw all of that growth vanish in the blink of an eye.

A Series 13 return could see the incumbent incarnation of the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) decide to bring her memories back. In the years since she was in his tenth incarnation,  perhaps the Doctor has discovered a means of allowing Donna to remember without the Time Lord metabiology frying her brain? Just as we gain new knowledge as we grow older, it is reasonable to suggest that Time Lords do the same, and so it is entirely possible that Jodie Whittaker's Doctor has worked out a means for Donna to maintain her memory which David Tennant's Doctor had yet to discover.

Whilst this would significantly undermine the dramatic integrity of Donna's exit, it would also open up the character to future appearances, and who wouldn't want to see more of Catherine Tate in the show?

Donna Is Dan's Girlfriend

A common theory doing the rounds across the internet is that Donna could actually be the girlfriend of upcoming Series 13 companion Dan (John Bishop). This would allow Donna's tragic departure to remain, whilst adding a great sense of peril to proceedings, as we worry about Dan's new world aboard the TARDIS clashing with Donna's more mundane life on Earth. These anxieties about Dan's life with the Doctor causing Donna to remember her own journeys as a companion would add some extra stakes to the show, as suddenly we're not just worrying about whether Dan survives his encounters with the likes of the Daleks and the Sontarans, we're also fretting over Donna's continued survival too.

However one thing that could contradict this theory is that when we last saw Donna, she was married to Shaun Temple (Karl Collins). So what happened to their marriage, if she is potentially with Dan? Donna certainly does not seem to hold much luck with romantic partnerships, that's for sure.

Donna's Doctor-less Adventures In The TARDIS

As those who listen to Big Finish will know, River Song (Alex Kingston) is not the only companion to steal the TARDIS when the Doctor isn't looking. Donna Noble has also taken this crafty move. In-between the events of 'Silence In The Library/Forest Of The Dead' and 'Midnight', Donna took the TARDIS for her own spin, with her own choice of companion in the form of her old friend Natalie Morrison (Niky Wardley). So could we see one of these Doctor-free jaunts in the form of a TV adventure?

It seems unlikely that the television series would promote Big Finish's audios in such a direct manner, as it would potentially violate the BBC charter's views on product advertisement, but stranger things have happened. It would certainly make for a nice surprise if viewers see the TARDIS arrive, and out steps Donna rather than the Doctor and her current batch of companions.

Donna's Investigations Before Adipose Industries

In the Series 4 opener 'Partners In Crime', it is heavily implied that Donna investigated other strange occurrences before she infiltrated Adipose Industries and eventually crossed paths with her Doctor once more. Perhaps we could see one of these other investigations in Series 13?

Now, I know what you're all thinking. 'If she met the Doctor again before the events of Partners In Crime, why didn't she just travel with the Doctor then?'

Well, maybe the Thirteenth Doctor didn't even tell Donna who she was, as a way of preserving the timeline so that she'd eventually travel with the Tenth Doctor? 

There's something undeniably hilarious about the idea that Donna went undercover at these various places in an attempt to locate the Doctor, and yet the Doctor was under her nose the entire time. It's textbook Donna, in fact, that she'd miss what was right in front of her, and could allow for some great comedy as Jodie Whittaker's Doctor tries desperately to avoid Donna discovering her true identity.

Catherine Tate Is Playing A Different Entity Entirely

Remember in 2013, when Doctor Who Magazine announced Billie Piper was returning in Doctor Who's fiftieth anniversary special 'The Day Of The Doctor'? We all thought she was playing Rose Tyler.

In actual fact, we were wrong.

Billie Piper, in reality, was playing a sentient weapon known as 'The Moment' taking on the form of Rose Tyler. In her Bad Wolf guise, no less.

Who's to say a similar trick couldn't be at play here?

Perhaps something or someone could be taking on Donna's form, as somebody The Doctor would recognise? 

It's undeniable that Donna left a major impact on the Doctor's life and emotional viewpoint. In 2015's 'The Girl Who Died', it is the memory of Donna's words during 'The Fires Of Pompeii' which remind him of his duty as the Doctor to save people. Donna arguably changed The Doctor more than any other companion since Ian Chesterton (William Russell) and Barbara Wright (Jaqueline Hill) in the 60s, and so it would seem fitting for an extra-terrestrial presence to pick her form in order to appeal to the Time Lord.

What are your thoughts on Donna Noble's potential return to Doctor Who? Let me know in the comments section.

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