10 Doctor Who Moments Deeper Than You Think

10. Sontarans Or Sonterrans?

It's fairly on-brand for Donna Noble to mispronounce the name of one of the Doctor's alien foes. However, the way Donna pronounces "Sontaran" is also a deep-cut reference to the making of the Jon Pertwee classic The Time Warrior.

As detailed by Elisabeth Sladen in her posthumously-published autobiography, Sontaran actor Kevin Lindsay decided that it should be pronounced with the emphasis on the "tar" - SonTARan. Director Alan Bromly disagreed, believing that it should be pronounced "Son-terran".

Lindsay responded, "Well I think it's SonTARan. I come from the 'effing place, so I should know!"

And thus, a classic Doctor Who monster was born.

The Tenth Doctor and Donna reignited this debate in The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky, albeit in a more PG fashion. When Donna's trapped inside the TARDIS onboard a Sontaran ship, the Doctor calls her to give her advice on how to fight her way to the teleporter.

"But there's Sonterrans out there!" she exclaims, in objection to the Doctor's plan.

She's understandably daunted by the prospect, so the Doctor doesn't tell her "It's SonTARan, I've fought them a bunch of times, so I should 'effing know!"