10 Best TV Performances Of 2017 (So Far)

9. Pearl Mackie - Doctor Who

After a year off, Doctor Who returned to screens in April with a rebooted feel: gone were the bigger mysteries, and instead we had a season that felt more fun and traditional, and a lot of that was to do with Pearl Mackie's Bill.

Here was a companion who wasn't a puzzle to be solved or a secret to be kept; she was the regular girl, not The Impossible Girl, and Mackie (almost completely unknown) serves as the perfect audience analogue within this version of the show.

She has an instant chemistry with Peter Capaldi's Doctor (who is once again ridiculously good himself), and is likeable right from the off, allaying fears carried from the first sneak peak of her introduction.

She asks all the right questions that other companions somehow ignore, and has actual sci-fi knowledge, but it's Mackie's enthusiasm that makes these work so well, while there's an inherent goodness to her that makes Bill so easy to root for.

She brings real humour and warmth to the role, but also makes sure the character isn't one-note, imbuing plenty of depth and nailing the more emotional scenes, which are key to helping sell the later developments for the character, and it's a real shame she's done after just one series (and the Christmas Special).