Doctor Who is perhaps one of the most successful British shows of all time and is certainly flying the flag for intelligent, brilliant and touching science fiction in a genre that is sorely misrepresented and snubbed by most regular viewers. Fortunately since its reboot and continuation in 2005 in the UK, there's been a tremendous surge of popularity and affection for the show as viewers, both new and old, find themselves immersing themselves back in the world of the Doctor, a time-travelling alien and his blue police box-shaped spaceship, the good ship TARDIS. However, a lot of the success has been in pairing the Doctor with a companion - someone for whom the Doctor can travel with and the audience can find a surrogate figure in. The companions are usually smart, heroic and strong-willed, a more-than-equal match for the Doctor. In this same vein, while the Doctor's intelligence and mind usually sweep in to save the day, it's always more impressive when it's the companions who do so, proving their mettle against a monstrous evil. Why is it more impressive and affecting when the companions triumph? Because the companions are the best versions of us - in our hearts, we might believe that in a terrifying, out-of-this-world situation, we'd be the ones to step up to the plate to save the world or say the right thing at the right time or be simply brave enough to be there. The companions of the Doctor regularly go above and beyond this and so here are my ten selections, from many examples, of when the companions truly were brilliant, bold and brave heroes...