Doctor Who: 20 Things You Didn't Know About The Ninth Doctor

3. He Unknowingly Saved Donna Noble

Donna Noble didn't become a regular companion until 2008, although she did have an earlier adventure with the Tenth Doctor in the 2006 Christmas special.

But unbeknownst to her – and unbeknownst to the Doctor – their connection goes back even further than that.

During the episode Rose, an army of Autons wreaks havoc throughout downtown London, terrifying Jackie Tyler and murdering good ol' Clive.

As revealed in Russell T Davies' novelisation of the episode, Donna can hear the commotion caused by this Auton attack from the safety of her Chiswick home, with the book mentioning that she's "annoyed" by the noise.

However, she then nods off, and sleeps through the whole thing. Classic Donna.

If the Ninth Doctor hadn't stopped the Auton threat, they probably would've reached Donna quite quickly, given her proximity to the incident. In other words, the Ninth Doctor saved his future companion in his very first episode.